Home Inspiration Podcast Interview: Ron “Skippy” Hancock

Podcast Interview: Ron “Skippy” Hancock

July 2, 2018

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Ron “Skippy” Hancock joined the Armstrong State University men’s basketball team in the fall of 1970 as a freshman transplant from Evansville, Indiana. The Pirates went 15 and 11 in the first winning season as a four-year institution. They won twenty games in Ron’s sophomore year and reached the NAIA District 25 playoffs. Ron was awarded the Ashley Dearing Award as an AASU top free throw shooter. During his junior season, the Pirates won a school record twenty-five games and Ron became a two-time Ashley Dearing award-winner. His efforts during his junior year helped lead Armstrong to its first PhibLant Holiday Classic tournament championship. He was awarded Most Valuable Player, and during his senior season was named an All South Atlantic Conference Honoree.

Ron has recently published his book, Armstrong Basketball: A Journey through the Glory Days. This coming-of-age tale takes the reader back to the glory days of college basketball. From 1970 -1974, Armstrong State College shaped student-athletes into young men of purpose on and off the basketball court. It was an era like no other. The basketball program, the school, and my teammates were on the ground floor of something quite remarkable. Nearly a half-century later, it seems highly appropriate that these memories be captured before they are lost to time. Newspaper clippings, old stats from The Inkwell (the Armstrong student newspaper), and yearbooks have supplemented my personal recollections of victories, defeats, and life lessons. If you are a fan of sports history, then you might just enjoy Armstrong Basketball: A Journey through the Glory Days by Author Ron Hancock.