Hall of Fame
Horace “Bones” McKinney, co-founder of the Campbell Basketball School, was inducted into the Campbell Athletics Hall of Fame in October 1996. Born in Lowland, N.C., and raised in Durham, “Bones” is one of the most recognized names in college basketball history.
A standout player at North Carolina State, the University of North Carolina and with the Boston Celtics of the NBA, McKinney is best known for his time as head coach of Wake Forest from 1957-65.
While serving as assistant coach at Wake Forest, McKinney joined with Campbell head coach Fred McCall in 1956 to establish the Campbell Basketball School, which grew into the nation’s oldest and largest summer basketball camp. McKinney and McCall brought the nation’s top basketball minds to Buies Creek each summer, including the likes of John Wooden, Press Maravich, Bob Cousy, Pete Maravich and Michael Jordan to instruct young players.
A 1970 inductee into the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame, “Bones” guided the Demon Deacons to a pair of Atlantic Coast Conference championships and five berths in the ACC tournament final in eight years. He posted a 122-94 coaching record at Wake and was the only coach in ACC history to own a winning record against UNC’s Dean Smith.
McKinney’s 1962 Wake Forest team advanced to the NCAA Tournament Final Four, where it finished third. Among the players that McKinney coaches at Wake were Billy Packer, Len Chappell and former Campbell Athletics Director Wendell Carr.
An ordained Baptist minister, McKinney left Wake Forest after the 1965 season and entered the sports broadcasting profession, where he served as color commentator on ACC telecasts until 1986. He also coached the Carolina Cougars of the American Basketball Association for two seasons (1969-71).
A much sought-after public speaker, McKinney and his wife Edna retired to Willow Springs, N.C., and he devoted much of his time to appearances at Campbell, where he was a featured speaker at the summer basketball camp through the mid-1990s. He died May 16, 1997 at the age of 78.
