Bowman Bo Davenport may be best remembered for his accomplishments on the basketball court, but his life will be defined by his deeds off the court. The former Edmonson County High School basketball coach died Monday at the age of 76. He was a one-of-a-kind man, former player Chuck Webb said. It seems like he made an impression on everyone he came across. He loved every player he had. If he didnt make a ballplayer out of you, he made a man out of you. In 1976 Davenport led Edmonson County to the state championship where the Wildcats defeated Christian County 74-52 at Freedom Hall in Louisville. Edmonson Countys current athletics director Phil Rich was a member of the state title team. It was Davenports first season at Edmonson County, and Rich says it didnt take long for the coach to impact the team. You still have to kind of wonder how it happened, Rich said. He didnt accept anything or anyone who didnt do the right thing. He expected, whatever you did, to do it the best you could do it sometimes even better. The state title made huge waves in Kentucky high school basketball, which at the time was considering a move to the class system commonly associated with postseason football. The win proved that small high schools could still compete for a state title and is still used today, making Kentucky the only state that still has one true champion. If that team wouldnt have did what it did, I really feel like they would have went to a Class A, 2A, 3A and 4A championship, Warren Central coach Tim Riley said. Davenports 526 victories during his 32 year coaching career were good enough to earn him an induction into the Dawhares/KHSAA Hall of Fame in 1992 and a place in the Kentucky Basketball Coaches Court of Honor just last year. As an alumnus of Bowling Green High School he was inducted into the schools Hall of Fame in 1993. On the court, Davenport led the Purples to two region titles and was an all-state performer in 1945. Davenport was also an Army veteran of World War II before going on to play for E.A. Diddle at Western Kentucky. Clarkson High School, which has since been consolidated into Grayson County High School, was where Davenport got his first coaching opportunity in 1950. For 21 seasons Davenport made the small school a competitive foe to the more established schools in the area. Davenport frequented the sidelines at many of the local high school games after retiring from coaching in 1986. Riley says it was always a treat to see Davenport at the game and that the players and coaches alike enjoyed his insight and enthusiasm for the game. He was a coach until the very end, Riley said. He loved basketball, kids and just people in general. Current Wildcat coach Jarrod Wills, who is in his first year at Edmonson County, got the opportunity to know Davenport when he was an assistant at Warren Central under Riley. During that time Wills says Davenport not only inspired him, but everyone he came in contact with. His mystique is stronger than ever in Edmonson County. Bo will always be special, Wills said. Hes an icon in Brownsville. Hell always have a special place in everybodys heart. Anybody that supports Edmonson County High School sports holds a special place (for him) and always will. Funeral will be at 11 a.m. Saturday at Christ Episcopal Church in Bowling Green, with burial in Fairview Cemetery. Visitation will be from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday and from 1 p.m. to 8 p.m. Friday at J.C. Kirby & Son Funeral Home, Lovers Lane chapel.