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Mississippi’s Greatest Athletics: Hickory’s Denver Brackeen
Denver Brackeen Photo courtesy of Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame
Denver Brackeen of Hickory found fame on the basketball courts of the Southeastern Conference and Mississippi junior colleges. Starring first for East Central Junior College in Decatur and then at Ole Miss, Brackeen earned honors from All-State to All-American.
At East Central, he was named the National Junior College Most Valuable Player in 1952-53 when he averaged a whopping 32 points per game. He was selected as a Junior College All-American that same season. He was All-State twice. Brackeen, the MVP of the Southeastern Conference, was named All-American in basketball at Ole Miss in 1954-55.
He scored 28.1 points per game for the Rebels that season, which placed him as the fifth most prolific scorer in the nation. Brackeen then played professionally with the New York Knickerbockers in 1955-56. But soon he headed back to Mississippi and coached at East Central from 1955-63. Brackeen died in 2006 at the age of 75.
Courtesy of Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame and Museum director Rick Cleveland, author of Mississippi’s Greatest Athletes. Cleveland can be reached at rcleveland@msfame.com.
| Mon, Nov 4 |  | vs Long Island University | W, 90-60 |
| Fri, Nov 8 |  | vs Grambling | W, 66-64 |
| Tue, Nov 12 |  | vs South Alabama | W, 64-54 |
| Sat, Nov 16 |  | vs Colorado State | W, 84-69 |
| Thu, Nov 21 |  | vs Oral Roberts | L, 100-68 |
| Thu, Nov 28 |  | vs BYU | W, 96-85 OT |
| Fri, Nov 29 |  | vs 13 Purdue | L, 80-78 |
| Tue, Dec 3 |  | @ Louisville | W, 86-63 |
| Sat, Dec 7 |  | vs Lindenwood | W, 86-53 |
| Sat, Dec 14 |  | vs Southern Miss | W, 77-46 |
| Tue, Dec 17 |  | vs Southern | W, 74-61 |
| Sat, Dec 21 |  | vs Queens University | W, 80-62 |
| Sat, Dec 28 |  | @ Memphis | L, 87-70 |
| Sat, Jan 4 |  | vs Georgia | W, 63-51 |
| Wed, Jan 8 |  | @ 23 Arkansas | W, 73-66 |
| Sat, Jan 11 |  | vs LSU | W, 77-65 |
| Tue, Jan 14 |  | @ 5 Alabama | W, 74-64 |
| Sat, Jan 18 |  | @ 17 Mississippi State | L, 81-84 |
| Wed, Jan 22 |  | vs 13 Texas A&M | L, 62-63 |
| Sat, Jan 25 |  | @ Missouri | L, 83-75 |
| Wed, Jan 29 |  | vs Texas | W, 72-69 |
| Sat, Feb 1 |  | vs 2 Auburn | L, 92-82 |
| Tue, Feb 4 |  | vs 10 Kentucky | W, 98-84 |
| Sat, Feb 8 | | @ LSU | 7:30 PM SECN |
| Wed, Feb 12 |  | @ South Carolina | 6:00 PM SECN |
| Sat, Feb 15 | | vs 17 Mississippi State | 5:00 PM TBA |
| Sat, Feb 22 |  | @ Vanderbilt | 2:30 PM SECN |
| Wed, Feb 26 | | @ 2 Auburn | 6:00 PM TBA |
| Sat, Mar 1 |  | vs 12 Oklahoma | 1:00 PM TBA |
| Wed, Mar 5 |  | vs 1 Tennessee | 8:00 PM TBA |
| Sat, Mar 8 |  | @ 6 Florida | 5:00 PM SECN |
Anonymous
July 1, 2015 at 3:28 pm
Not only was he a great athlete but a great man and good solider.
Jim Hays
July 11, 2015 at 9:59 am
I owned a drug store in Decatur, Ms. when Denver play for them. Saw most of the home games. Became a good friend when he came back “home” to coach them. I have never known a more likeable, unselfish person!. No one ever had cause to say anything bad about. Denver. A great athlete, Gentleman and friend!