Advance's Hall joins coaching hall of fame

Winning basketball games was only half of Jim Hall's job when he arrived at Advance five years ago.

Befriending the community was a challenge in itself.

"For 27 years I was sort of a hated individual in Advance," said Hall, who coached at Dexter, an Advance rival, for 27 years. "There were several people who weren't quite sure they wanted Jim Hall at Advance."

But three years after turning Advance into a district champion, Hall on Friday became the latest to join the Missouri Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame during a ceremony in Springfield. He was among 12 coaches inducted based on nominations and votes from his peers.

Advance fans have warmed up to him over time, too.

"Winning takes care of a lot of those things," he said. "We've won big for five years, so they've sort of adopted me."

The Hornets have averaged more than 20 wins a season in Hall's five years with the school's boys basketball program, including a district championship win in 2000. That same team won the University Christmas Tournament -- the program's first since 1958.

Hall, who won his 500th career game during the Christmas tournament in December, was reluctant to return to coaching after leaving Dexter in 1997. After spending a season as a spectator, he said he was eager to return -- but only as a coach.

"The rat race of the school ... I'd had about all of that I wanted," he said. "I never lost the love and thrill of coaching. It just so happened the situation at Advance presented itself."

Being elected by coaches carries a special significance, Hall said, but that's not what keeps him in the business.

"Each time a kid you've coached comes back later and says good things about the relationship he had with the school ... that's probably the most satisfying thing," he said, "and I've had a multitude of those."