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Around/About Central Georgia

Former Central Georgia HS basketball coach Kerbo passes away

Clifford Kerbo coached boys basketball at several schools in Central Georgia, and beyond.

There were common denominators: he won, and was highly respected from all corners.

The basketball communities at Thomasville, Wilkinson County, Dublin, Bleckley County, among others, are mourning his death on June 27 at the age of 67.

The celebration of life is Thursday at 11 a.m. at Victory Baptist Church on Meriwether Road NW in Milledgeville, with interment to follow at Scenic Memorial Gardens.

The family will receive friends at the residence, 135 Jimmie Sanford Rd. NW in Milledgeville.

Yet another of those people you like and respect and haven’t had contact with in toooo long.
          Coach Kerbo was just one of those people who got it, from dealing with the kids to dealing with adults and the media. He is one of the severely underrated coaches out there. He got it.
          Some of us have dealt with dozens – OK, hundreds and hundreds – of high school coaches over the years. Only a few get it. Only a few are the ones you’d be cool if your kid – if you had one – played for.
          One needn’t have loads of connections to know who you’d connect with. Cliff was one of the few. Sure wish I’d’ve reached out awhile back.
          Reminder: Reach out to people. We are woefully bad it at it. People who matter need to know they matter, from being just a coach to a good coach do deal with.
          Cliff was one of those you could’ve talked to for a good bit. Go talk to people, text and message. Communicate with people. Don’t regret not doing it.

Kerbo was a standout two-sport athlete at Thomasville, playing both ways on the Bulldogs’ 1974 state and “national” championship team.

In 2015, the Georgia College graduate was added to the Thomasville-Thomas County Hall of Fame.

“I can see him in Heaven now, preaching discipline, harping on defensive slides, Pepsi in hand,” current Bleckley County head coach Garrett Collins posted Sunday night on Facebook. “Rest in Paradise, Coach Kerbo. Your impact on all of our lives was immeasurable.”

He helped get the Wilkinson County dynasty going with a pair of Sweet 16 trips in 1997 and 1998. He was succeeded by Aaron Geter took over.

Kerbo, who also coached at Baldwin in the 1990s, led Bleckley County to the 2013 state championship game, the Royals’ first such visit, ending in a 69-52 loss to Greater Atlanta Christian. He took that job in 2005, after four years at Thomas County Central

He was hired at Putnam County for the 2013-14 season, but suffered a serious back injury that curtailed his coaching career

Kerbo won six region coach of the year honors, being tapped for the state honor in 2013. His teams won 16 region championship in basketball, also coaching football and track. Kerbo was a track standout in high school as well.

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Round of 32
Wednesday
England vs. Congo DR, 12 p.m., Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta
Belgium vs. Senegal, 4 p.m., Seattle
USA vs. Bosnia & Herzegovina, 8 p.m. – Levi's Stadium, Santa Clara, California
Thursday
Spain vs. Austria, 3 p.m., SoFi Stadium; Portugal vs. Croatia, 7 p.m., Toronto; Switzerland vs. Algeria, 11 p.m., Vancouver, British Columbia
Friday
Australia vs. Egypt, 2 p.m., AT&T Stadium; Argentina vs. Cape Verde, 6 p.m., Hard Rock Stadium; Colombia vs. Ghana, 9:30 p.m., Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City
Round of 16
Saturday
Canada vs. Morocco, 1 p.m., NRG Stadium; Paraguay vs. France, 5 p.m., Lincoln Financial Field
Sunday
Brazil vs. Norway, 4 p.m., MetLife Stadium; Mexico vs. England/Congo DR, 8 p.m., Mexico