Former St. John's Jesuit basketball coach Ed Heintschel and former University of Toledo men's basketball star Tom Kozelko will be inducted into the Ohio Basketball Hall of Fame on April 12 in a ceremony held at the Hilton Columbus/Polaris in Columbus.
They will be honored along with 12 other individuals (players, coaches, officials) and two teams.
Heintschel, 74, a 1968 graduate of St. Francis de Sales where he played basketball for the Knights, began as an assistant at St. John's in the mid-1970s and served as the Titans' head coach for 40 seasons (1979-2019).
Posting a 725-224 (.764) career record, Heintschel's win total ranked No. 4 all-time among Ohio high school boys coaches. His teams finished as Division I state runners-up in 1993, 1996, and 2004, and reached three other state semifinals (2003, 2006, 2009).
Under Heintschel, St. John's won 16 district championships and 17 league titles, achieved 20 or more wins 17 times, and over 20 of his players moved on to play Division I college basketball.
Three of his players — John Amaechi, Brian Roberts, and Vincent Williams, Jr., — reached the NBA, and another Titans standout, Marc Loving, was named as Ohio's Mr. Basketball in 2013 before playing at Ohio State University.
Heintschel was named D-I northwest Ohio district coach of the year in 2002, and in 2013 he was chosen both district and state D-I coach of the year. His 2001-02 team finished 25-1 was ranked No. 1 in Ohio.
Kozelko, 73, starred at the University of Toledo for three seasons (1970-73), and was the Rockets' No. 2 all-time scorer (1,561 points) when he closed his career.
After starring at Traverse City (Mich.) Central High School, Kozelko was recruited by UT coach Bob Nichols and was twice named Mid-American Conference player of the year (1972 and 1973). He led the Rockets to a MAC championship in 1971-72.
Kozelko was an alternate on the 1972 U.S. Olympic men's basketball team and, after completing his time at UT, was selected in the third round of the 1973 NBA draft by the Washington Bullets.
He played three seasons for the Bullets, then continued his professional career overseas in Italy before a back injury led to his retirement from the game.
First Published April 1, 2025, 8:20 p.m.
