ALJ alum gains induction into Australian high school Hall of Fame

Faunsdale product and former professional basketball player Sidney Mines added to a long list of accolades in Australia this week.

Mines, 58, who grew up in Faunsdale and is now living in Australia, was inducted into the Runcorn State High School Hall of Fame in Brisbane, Queensland.

Runcorn is the school where Mines taught for 15 years and coached them to 33 regional titles. Brisbane, Queensland, is the location of the G20 summit in Australia this week.

The award adds to a long list for the Alabama native, including Runcorn’s “Sid Mines Court” already named in his honour, inducted into the Concordia University hall of fame in Nebraska where he was team MVP and All-District, and playing professionally in Australia set a record 49 rebounds in a single game.

Mines attended Amelia Love Johnson High School at Thomaston, Alabama, where he played under coach Frankie Griffin, before playing as a walk-on at Alabama Lutheran Junior College under coach Danny Crenshaw who Mines credits with giving him the opportunity that led to him travelling the world. Mines then attended Concordia University at Seward, Nebraska, under coaches Ruben Stohs and Wayne Rasmussen.

The legacy left by Mines at the high school will be felt for a long time.

Ten of his players have gone on to play in the United States, including Cameron Bairstow a rookie with the Chicago Bulls in the NBA, and Mines’ son Jonathan who is a starter at Highland University in New Mexico.

Another one of his former players is now head of the Runcorn physical education department, and as Sidney was reflecting on his achievements, another former payer walked by on queue and greeted his former teacher Mines as a long lost friend. That player is now an accountant and lawyer about to be admitted to the bar.