Phillip Carden isn’t one to dwell on the past, but the 1977 Good Hope graduate has thoroughly enjoyed the walks down memory lane that have followed since learning of his inclusion in the Cullman County Sports Hall of Fame’s 20th class.

“It was great just to hear about it,” he said. “It kind of made you think back to your teammates and your coaches and hard work. And just the fun of it.”

Carden was a two-sport standout while with the Raiders, playing baseball and basketball. He collected All-County honors as a pitcher and outfielder in 1976 and 1977, and earned the same distinction on the court his senior season.

Carden was especially exceptional in his final basketball campaign, leading Cullman County in scoring with 25.1 points per game. He credited the uptick in production to his sheer desire to be the best player he could possibly be.

“It seemed like I had to step up my senior year,” he said. “During the offseason between my junior and senior year, I did a lot of work in developing and making myself better. I was bound and determined that I was going to excel at it, that I was going to do something with it.”

Scoring wasn’t the only county list Carden topped by season’s end. He was also No. 1 in free-throw percentage at 84.9 percent.

And just who gets the credit for this particularly impressive stat? Carden won’t claim it, instead deflecting it to his eighth-grade coach, Jerry Bartlett.

“He always taught us that you develop your shot by shooting free throws,” Carden said of the former coach and current Good Hope mayor. “So I would shoot — at practice, after practice and even on my own — sometimes two to three hundred free throws a day.”

Carden’s coaching praise is reserved for more than just Bartlett. He was also quick to dish out kind words for his varsity high school coach and soon-to-be fellow hall of famer, Danny Welborn.

“He really pushed me into working hard and developing my skills,” Carden said. “He was a coach, but he was a friend, too.”

Carden raked in the recognition at the conclusion of his senior basketball season, earning All-Area, All-Area Tournament and All-State honorable mention selections.

All these accolades might lead one to assume Carden favored basketball over baseball, but that couldn’t be further from the truth.

“No, not really. They were both [my thing],” he said. “Baseball was fun, and it was great, all the way from Little League to the time you played your last game in high school. Basketball was always good, too. I just worked hard at both of them.”

After graduating from Good Hope, Carden went to Wallace State Community College on a basketball scholarship and started playing slow-pitch softball. He eventually became an ASA Softball umpire and spent 14 years officiating at various tournaments around the state. Carden also claims eight years as a referee for parks and rec basketball.

“I just wanted to stay involved with sports,” he said. “Whether that was through umpiring or refereeing for parks and rec and maybe some county Pee Wee association basketball up at Vinemont. It was just staying involved.”

Carden and the CCSHOF’s 2019 class will officially be installed at a banquet on Saturday, April 27 at 6:30 p.m. The Raider representative will arrive at the Cullman Civic Center that evening with bells on — and he’ll have plenty of company by his side.

“All my family members are looking forward to it,” Carden said. “All my friends are, and they’re going to be there. It’s going to be a good night. It’s going to be a great award, and I look forward to seeing teammates and people that I played against.”