The History of Texas High School Basketball Volume IV 1983-1984
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The History of Texas High School Basketball Volume IV 1983-1984 By Mark McKee Website www.txhighschoolbasketball.com Contents Perface 4 Acknowledgements 5 AAAAA 1983 6 AAAA 1983 89 AAA 1983 107 AA 1983 115 A 1983 123 AAAAA 1984 125 AAAA 1984 211 AAA 1984 235 AA 1984 243 A 1984 248 Preface History of Texas High School Basketball Volume IV By Mark McKee By 1982 my brother-in-law was no longer able to attend the state tournament and I went with a coaching friend. The old Stephen F. Austin Hotel, where I stayed for the first five years at the tournament was remodeled and renamed. The cost became outrageous there, so we no longer enjoyed staying downtown. Today the Hotel is called InterContinental Stephen F. Austin. Visiting Sixth street became popular and I continued to eat at the Waterloo Ice House. The main attraction in those days was playing at Gregory Gym on the campus of U.T. We always had great pickup games at the student activity center, located right next to Gregory. Jogging was also another passion of mine. Town Lake provided great running trails just south of downtown Austin. Coaching clinics became the norm, as I continued to learn the game. Great times. The person who had the greatest impact on my life was my brother-in-law. This book is dedicated to him. At the age of 10, he began coming over to the house dating my older sister. He was like a family member. For the next twenty years he influenced all aspects of my life. He was an independent thinker who didn’t follow the crowd. In my youth, I was struggling like so many young men to find direction and purpose in my life. He provided a strong role model. His artistic background gave him and unusual perspective on life. He always seemed too see things that other people missed. The beauty in life, no matter how insignificant, was what he took away. It was through his eyes that I began to see life in a much more positive light. His generosity with his time and money influenced me throughout my life. Like all of us, he had his battles in life, but his strength, confidence and resilience inspired me. Thanks Jerry. Acknowledgements Where do you start when naming all individuals that have been so instrumental in making this book possible? Charles Freet, Micheal Williams, Mike Kunstadt, Larry Brown, Rick Sherley, Boyce Honea, Ira Terrell, Carven Holcomb, Jim Wall and so many more. Special thanks to the T.A.B.C. and Dave Campbell’s Texas Basketball along with my great friend, R.V. Baugus. Texas Hoops, with Blue Zertuche continues to be very supportive. Basketball historians, Dr. Billy Wilbanks and his fabulous website, Ivy McLemore, Bill McMurray and so many more have kept the high school game of basketball interest alive and well in Texas. Thanks also goes to Bob Springer – Founder & Curator of TEXAS BASKETBALL MUSEUM now in its 10th year of operation, located in Carmine, Texas. Check it out. Welcome back my friends to Volume IV. The 1983 season introduced two teams into the state playoffs for the first time from each District. This was over-all a positive for the playoffs, but many coaches fought against the move. The change meant more quality teams and more revenue as well as great competition. It also gave coaches the bragging rights to say, “we made the playoffs.” The down side of more teams in the playoffs was that you had District rivals sometimes facing each other in the regional finals. A team might be forced to defeat an opponent three or four times to advance to state. This will happen numerous times in the playoffs over the years. Covering the different classifications will continue the same format as before with the emphasize on the top teams in the state. I will try to cover the entirety of the state in the larger classifications and top programs in the smaller divisions. At times I will be redundant. This is not because I suffer from any type of memory loss, but because I realize many people just read the portions of the book that apply to them or their school. My attempt at humor will be minimal, but will occur from time to time. Enjoy! 1983 AAAAA Houston Yates played in the shadows of Houston Wheatley through-out the 1970s. The Lions storied program produced so many standouts and great teams. Yates just reloaded every year led by the greatness of Coach “Doc” Evans. Outstanding players were numerous: 6’7” William “Toothpick” Johnson, Leo “Dutch” Woods, Chester Thomas, Leonard Duffield, Kenneth Berry, 6’1” Jimmy Duffield, 6’4” George “Stretch” Campbell and 6’2” George Walker. Walker was called by the legendary Eddie Owens of Wheatley one of the best he ever faced in High School and Reggie Franklin of S.M.U. called Walker the “best athlete to ever play at Yates.” The ’74 season saw Walker finish his super career scoring 46 points in his last game for the red and gold. “He told me before the game he was going to put up 50 points,” Franklin said years later. Had they counted two dunks he would have scored 50 points. ”Stretch” Campbell was heavily recruited by North Carolina State and could have teamed up with up Hall of Famer, David Thompson, but instead chose Texas Tech with “Toothpick” Johnson. “Toothpick” went on to make All-Southwest conference at Texas Tech and led the conference in rebounding while Campbell didn’t stick with the Red Raiders. The recruiters definitely knew where Yates was on the basketball map. Every year the talent just flowed out of the program. In a thirteen-year period from 1970 to 1982, only three schools in the largest classification finished in the state’s Top Twenty eleven times, Houston Wheatley, Dallas Roosevelt and Houston Yates. That is rarified air, but the Lions impact was not felt state wide because of their District rival, Wheatley. Traditional power Yates really pressed the pedal to the medal in 1980 finishing as the states top ranked team in the polls. The new decade also may have produced the top school-boy ever to play for the red and gold in 6’6” Michael Young of “Phi Slama Jama” fame. Young was the most decorated player in school history. He was named All-American while at the University of Houston. He played in three straight final fours with the Cougars and Guy Lewis. The 1980 season ended in a tremendous disappointment for Yates, as they were upset by eventual state champions, Houston Kashmere in Bi-District by two points. This of course killed the great vibe from the regular season. In 1981 Yates completed a fine campaign with 20 wins and 12 losses and #19 in my final rankings. The 1982 team advanced to the playoffs going 33-4. Kashmere brought down Yates once again in Bi-District by one point. That’s the climate that Yates entered the 1983 season. Many felt that the 1983 version of the Lions would be their best team yet. Yes, better and more talented than the teams of the early 1970s and the Michael Young led 1980 squad. Many experts felt they would take their place along the greats of Texas High School basketball. I would venture to say very few teams in the state’s history have had three players the quality of 6’7” Ricky Winslow, 6’4” Carven Holcombe and 6’8” Stacey Belcher. Immediately, comparisons were being made to the great Wheatley, Kashmere and Houston Madison teams of the past. The Lions of Yates were not alone in 1983. One of the leading state contenders was San Antonio Sam Houston. The Cherokees had advanced to the Bi- District in ’82 losing to Churchill on a last second shot. Coach Wayne Dickey returned several keys players from the year before. Both Yates and Sam Houston had enormous size, depth, talent and speed. Talent was plentiful all over the state in 1983. There was definitely a changing of power in some of the basketball hotbeds in 1983. In Dallas, Kimball emerged as a new force as South Oak Cliff and Roosevelt were in rebuilding modes. Ft. Worth Dunbar re-emerged as a top five team along with the pesky Panthers from Ft. Worth Paschal. Houston Yates and San Antonio Sam Houston were nationally ranked. Beaumont Hebert closed their doors, which ended their three-year run in class 4-A. By order of federal district judge Robert Parker, Forest Brook was merged with Hebert to form Westbrook Senior High School. This was an effort to achieve racial integration in the district. South Park was also subsequently merged into Westbrook, which now occupies the former Forest Park campus. Beaumont Westbrook looked to emerge from the Golden Triangle after inheriting the former players from Hebert. In the pre-season polls by the T.A.B.C., Houston Yates came in at #1, San Antonio Sam Houston at #2, Bryan #3, Plainview #4, Clear Lake #5, Tyler John Tyler #6, El Paso Bel Air #7, Houston Wheatley #8, Spring Branch Memorial #9, and Stafford Dulles at #10. Pt. Arthur Lincoln had moved down to class 4-A and held down the top spot in the polls. Pampa also moved down and had almost their entire team back for another run at state. The Harvesters came in at #2, Waxahachie #3, Houston Furr #4, and Corpus Christi Flour Bluff at #5. The reason I am including 4-A in the discussion with 5-A is that the gap had become very close between the two classifications.