“You’re simply the best, better than all the rest.”
This refrain from Tina Turner’s hit song, “Simply the Best,” could have been written to describe Bowling
Green High School’s new career scoring leader, Chauncey Orr.
With his stick-back basket with 2:33 to go in the third quarter of BG’s 85-44 victory over Rossford, Orr
surpassed BGHS and BGSU standout Josh Almanson’s 1,256 career points.
Orr, who totals 1,258 points following his 19-point performance, received a standing ovation from the
crowd upon BG’s immediate timeout.
“It’s a big honor, but at the same time, it’s better when your team is so accepting of you,” said Orr,
who took the game ball to his mother, rewarding her with a kiss. “I just want to thank my teammates and
the coaching staff because they’re the ones who really got it for me. Throughout my four years, they’ve
been there for me. They brought me in like I was their family.”
“He’s a class act,” said BG coach Von Graffin. “In the locker room, he thanked his teammates and his
coaches for being family. These guys genuinely enjoy his company.”
BG athletics director and former head basketball coach Mike Vannett, who coached Almanson said, “They’re
both good people first of all. They’re both quiet kind of people outwardly, but they’re really tough
mentally and have that inner fire and inner drive.
“Those two guys have always done the right thing and that’s a testament to their parents and how they
raised them. Both families are religious people and that governs how they live their lives. They’re
grounded; they’re going to do the right thing.”
The son of Louis Orr, BGSU’s head coach and a former NBA player, Chauncey indicated his father has had a
“tremendous” influence on him. Orr said, “He’s my mentor. He’s a guy I look up to. I love him. I just
try to follow his footsteps.”
Both Graffin and Vannett spoke of the hard work Orr, as well as Almanson, put in to become the versatile
player Orr’s become. As his team’s leading scorer and assist giver, Orr’s an unselfish play-maker who
opens up opportunities for his teammates while becoming aggressive as situations dictate.
“It’s a lot of hard work,” said Orr who considers himself an all-around player. “I think coach Graffin
has pushed us.”
“Xavier (Brown) and Chauncey were at my house so much this past year, that when I back out of my garage I
look for their vehicles as a creature of habit,” added Graffin. “That tells you how much he’s worked at
his game. I personally think he’s the district player of the year.”