Another great DC Basketball Legend has passed away. Tim Bassett was part of the great basketball tradition coming out of the northeast corridor of Washington, DC in the ’60s. The McKinley Tech team was 20-4 in 1968 and ranked #2 in the DMV and in 1969 they were 24-1 and ranked #1 in the DMV. The 1968 team was led by Senior Ernest Lewis but the core players on that 1968 & 1969 season were Ronnie Hogue, Kevin Tatum, Michael Bossard. Randolph Milam, Tim Basset. This mob was called the Magnificent Seven. At one point in time, this group won 33 straight interhigh games. In 1969 four of the five starters made the All-Met Team & all five starters made the all-interhigh east team. I don’t know of any team in the history of DMV basketball that placed four starters on the all-met team. Tim was part of this great team and part of the great Mckinley Tech tradition.
Tim was all-met and followed in the great tradition of rebounding beast from the DMV, Tarzan Spencer, Elgin Baylor Tom Hoover, Bill Otay. Gordon Stiles. Curtis Perry Kermit Washington, Bob Whitmore, John Tresvant, Matt Gnatt, Merlin Wilson, Michael Smith. Tim’s role on the team was to control the boards, and he did just that, he was a beast on the boards.
