Gary Reed - Inducted 2021
Gary Reed attended Egan High School where he played varsity basketball for five years. He continued his basketball career at the University of Sioux Falls as a four-year starter.
Graduating from USF in 1963, Reed began his teaching and coaching career in Jasper, MN. In 1965 he returned to Sioux Falls to continue teaching and coaching. The first few years he coached and taught at Whittier Middle School. He moved to Lincoln High School where he was assistant track & field and head golf coach for several years. While at Lincoln, he had the opportunity to coach, what many believe, was the best high school golf team ever in South Dakota. Chad and Brad Dubisar, Ryan Jansa, Cory Reed, and Peter Hagen played varsity golf for five years and were seldom defeated. With the opening of Roosevelt High School, Reed transferred there to become Head Girls’ Track & Field and Head Golf Coach.
Reed started his officiating career in 1968. He was able to work and learn from many of South Dakota's outstanding referees., Tom Hanson, his longtime basketball officiating partner, and Reed worked together for 15 years. As the late Hod Nielsen, longtime sportswriter and editor of the Yankton News, wrote, “Those two were the Gold Dust Twins of high school basketball officiating and, for 15 years or so, were the busiest and best pair of basketball officials around." Reed officiated every "A" or "AA" girls’ and boys’ state tournaments for 25 consecutive years for a total of 50 tournaments. He also officiated college basketball in the North Central Conference for nine years.
Reed has been awarded the National High School Coaches Association Official of the Year, the SDHSAA Distinguished Service Award, the SD Basketball Coaches Official of the Year, the Sioux Interstate Conference Official of the Year, the Steve Whithorne Memorial Award, and the ESD Basketball Official Emeritus Award. He was inducted into the SD High School Coaches Hall of Fame and the SD Basketball Coaches Hall of Shrine. Reed and his wife, Susan, are the parents of a son, Cory and grandparents of daughters Ashlynn & Presslie.
