LONG AFTER INDUCTION, BASKETBALL HALL OF FAMER FINALLY SEES SHRINE

Joe Aden was installed into the Illinois Basketball Hall of Fame in 1995.

But it wasn't until a dozen year later that Aden, the mayor of East Cape Girardeau, Ill., for the past two decades, had an opportunity to observe his spot of basketball honor.

Aden and three of his area friends -- James "Gus" Lingle, Robert "Cherry Top" Colyer and William "Witz" Colyer -- visited the Basketball Hall of Fame, located at Bloomington, Ill., recently.

Aden, one of only two high school basketbll players from Southern Illinois to be inducted into the hall of fame, is still recognized as the third-leading career scorer as a prep player in Illinois. He scored more than 3,000 points the during the late 1950s while playing for Dongola High School.

Aden, who averaged 36.9 points a game during his senior year at Dongola, played from 1954-58 for the Demons. He averaged 28 points a game as a sophomore, and 34 as a junior.

For a brief time, he held the record as the top career scorer in Illinois.

There was a time when Southern Illinois basketball fans relished games between Dongola and rival Tamms.

This meant the match-up of Aden and Tamms' Charlie Vaughn, the other Southern Illinois player to make it to the Hall of Fame.

Charlie, better known as "Chico," played at Tamms High School from 1953-59, and during his senior year emerged as the state's top career scorer, bettering Aden's record.

Aden and Vaughn continued their basketball careers in college -- Aden with Union University at Jackson, Tenn., and Vaughn with Southern Illinois University at Carbondale.

Aden had a tryout with the St. Louis Hawks of the National Basketball Association. After a second look by the team, he made the squad. He also played in the NBA's rival circuit, the American Basketball Association.

Aden has often said if he could change anything about his career he would have "wished to two inches taller and a step faster."

Inducted into the Hall of Fame on April 12, 1985, Aden never visited the state basketball memorial until last month.

Aden, who received a degree in health and physical education from Union University, later received a degree from Southeast Missouri State University in administration. He worked in the field of education, but retired recently.