They had two Louisville-bound stars in Billy Thompson and Kevin Walls. The historic basketball program at Paul Laurence Dunbar High School is getting the national spotlight again, courtesy of ESPN. Wade was also hired to coach football. He went to the University of Michigan, playing four years there. By the time of the game, we were mad, and we took it out on the opposing team.. Wade once nabbed two of his boys cutting class. Ill wait two weeks, Wade told The Sun on March 1, 1982. Any longer wouldnt be fair to the kids.. Wade says he has a cardboard box of Poets newspaper clippings at home but has never gotten around to sticking them in a scrapbook. Rhodes played professionally in Italy and Taiwan, and later with the famed Harlem Globetrotters. It didnt matter. They probably couldnt have even kept it close., We thought very strongly that we would beat them again, says Amatucci, whose team starred future NBA player Duane Ferrell. He and his classmate John Duren took Dunbar to the #1 ranking in the country in 1976. He was the Big West Player of the Year in 1986. Similarly, Wade nipped complacency in the bud by scrawling a numberinvariably an odd one, say, 47on the locker room chalkboard before every game. Dunbar High School Report Card; Our District. The team does penalty drills together. Basketball coaches with most all-time wins. In short, Bob Wade used his beloved bricks to help build what many people consider to be the best-ever high school basketball team. trademarks of Slam Media Inc. All rights reserved. Its geographic centrality along the Easternseaboard led to a general lack of cohesiveness between the Northeast andDeep South cultures that it dually and often uncomfortably embodied.Baltimore experienced heavy industrialization during the middle of thenineteenth century, like many northeastern conurbations. Sign up to receive the latest news from Baltimore Fishbowl, delivered to your inbox every weekday. Admittedly, that temptation is a lot less seductive when your 15th player could start on most other high school teams. He had a 272-24 career record and was named Coach of the Year by USA Today. We gonna have a party. Robinson was the 45th (2nd round) pick of the Charlotte Bobcats (now Charlotte Hornets) in the 2004 NBA Draft. Despite playing top schools and tournaments all over the country, Dunbar had only one close call during that 59-game run: a five-point squeaker over New York Citys Martin Luther King High School. The visitors section has vacant seats and a depressing air about it; kind of like a Mexican restaurant with a reputation for food poisoning. I dont know if they all realize exactly how big things were. More than a decade later, he still wont finger who he caught playing hookey: Its an in-house thing. He then went to the University of Pittsburgh. When these young kids took the floor, everyone came out to watch. The riot squad didnt usually need to be called. round) pick by the Sacramento Kings in the 1994 NBA Draft. While at Dunbar, his team was ranked #1 in the nation in 1976. round) pick of the Charlotte Bobcats (now Charlotte Hornets) in the 2004 NBA Draft. The odds of such NBA lightning again striking the same high school teamnot some parochial or prep school hoops factory, but a public high schoolis infinitesimally small. (1992) 267/330, 70.4 - Tyler Renner, Sugarcreek Garaway (1999-2003), 95.83 - Bede Lori, Caldwell (2021-22) 207-216, 93.45 - Bede Lori, Caldwell (2020-2023) 714/764, 54.7 - Heath Mckinniss, Gallia Academy (1996-97) 58/106, 48.7 - Tre Beard, Chillicothe (2016-2020) 149/306, 1,883 - Canton McKinley, 1,883-637-2 (Updated through the 2018-2019 season), 12 - Wooster Triway, Mohican Area Conference (1989-2000), 171 - Deavertown vs. Chesterhill (2/12/1965), 252 - Dayton Colonel White (130) vs. Sidney (122) (12/11/1993), 25 - Bluffton vs. Cory-Rawson (1/16/2021), 890 - Richard Kortokrax, Kalida (1975-1989, 1991-2015), Ottoville (1962-1974) & Fort. He was a teacher, he was a coach and a brother to all those guys. Camden was no patsy. Darryl Wood, who went on to play for Virginia State and serve 23 years in the Marine Corps, backed up Bogues. The largeand increasingly free black community in Baltimore created vast social networks in the postCivil War years. It is a lifelong privilege, and Bob Wade exercises his right regularly. While some of them joined the well-known black neighborhoods of west Baltimore, others fortified the black migration into east Baltimore. Time passes. A shotgun marriage made in basketball hell. Paul Laurence Dunbar (1872-1906). Then the leech sucked him dry. The film appears to try to capture the environment in which the players came together one replete with rampant drug use, violence, segregated poverty to thrive. We couldnt drop them on the floor. But Amatuccis phone never rang. They are still checking in. Their accomplishments seemed impossible and unattainable even as theyoccurred. While the team did have its stars, there were also several key role players, including Keith James, who played at UNLV and Mike Brown, who went on to play at Clemson. In addition, those three aforementioned players from the class of 82-83 were all ultimately selected in the first round of the 87 NBA Draft. Coach Cyrus Jones played for outstanding Dunbar teams in the early 90s, when recollections of Muggsy and the Reggies were riper. Paying the transaction fee is not required, but it directs more money in support of our mission. They would have stepped up to any challenge.. On 2/8, the Dunbar varsity basketball team lost their away playoff game against Port Charlotte (FL) by a score of 67-62. At 5-foot-3-inches, he is the shortest man to ever play in the NBA. He began his collegiate career at Georgetown University, playing there from 1981-83 before transferring to University of Nevada-Las Vegas (UNLV) in 1984. The University of Arkansas Press advances the mission of the University of Arkansas by publishing peer-reviewed scholarship and literature of enduring value. He went to the University of Michigan, playing four years there. Nineteen eighty-two Dunbar graduateGary Graham played college basketball at the University of Nevada, LasVegas (UNLV), which was then a powerhouse. The basketball gymnasium at Paul Laurence Dunbar High School on the Eastside of Baltimore, Maryland is well-known for its storied history. Share team highlights with fans & media. On 1/30, the Dunbar varsity basketball team won their away non-conference game against Bonita Springs (FL) by a score of 65-61. 22). I guess, eventually, down the road, someone will assemble a team that might be comparable to the one I was blessed with., Hanging somewhat inconspicuously on the upper left corner of the wall behind the far basket in the gym is a yellow banner honoring the 1981-1982 Varsity Basketball City Champions. While another conceivably could hang on its level, theres no room for anything above it. Williams was the fourth overall pick and Muggsy went No. Robinson was selected as Third Team All-Big Ten from the league coaches and the media his junior and senior seasons. Toward noble deeds every effort be straining Worthy ambition is food for the soul! Log in, Miami), a leaper and tough player inside. They were so brutal, when the first couple of games rolled around we saw how easy it came to us. On 2/14, the Dunbar varsity basketball team won their neutral conference game against Benbrook (TX) by a score of 73-44. He graduated from Dunbar in 1971, and figures hes seen most every Poets game since 1966. Boys Basketball Results by Year. This team was full of Division I talent and it showed. He went to the University of South Carolina. The current crop of Poets literally look up to that storied past. Monthly He then began his college career at Howard, becoming the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Rookie of the Year in 1997. OVERALL 5-15 0.25 Win % DISTRICT 1-3 4th5A District 11. Its all the sweat and blood that you left behind on that court. Led by future NBA stars Muggsy Bogues, David Wingate, Reggie Williams and Reggie Lewis three of whom were picked in the first round of the 1987 NBA draft the Dunbar Poets racked up a 59-0 record over two seasons, winning a citywide championship in 1982 and a national one in 1983. The one area Wade wasnt reluctant to over-coach was his players personal lives. Theyd stand five-deep behind the end line. Being the way I was, I was more determined than ever not to do it.. Players (12) Staff (5) Do you have a team photo? Diehards. The network yesterday announced the premiere of the upcoming documentary Baltimore Boys, which chronicles the journey of one of the greatest high school basketball squads to ever take the floor. He played for the Hawks in 1980-81 and four games into the 1981-82 season, playing the remainder of the season in the CBA for the Atlantic City Hi-Rollers and Lancaster Lightning. They had no idea they were bordering on the unforgettable. He and his classmate John Duren took Dunbar to the #1 ranking in the country in 1976. Now that Im the coach, I try and get my players to understand the importance of what type of history the school has, Jones says. It was the season USA Today began its weekly Super 25 and it helped spread the Poets' national notoriety. I watched him, not literally, grow.. Nonetheless, he kept things simple. In the 1979-1980 season, they were joined by three guys from the Madison Recreation Center in East Baltimore: James "Pop" Tubman, Paul Edwards (Daryle's brother) and Marc Wilson. Ohio High School Athletic Association. Key Illinois high school boys basketball games, state tournament brackets, computer rankings, stat leaders, schedules & scores - live & final. national team in 85 and again in 2004. Wade told him how bad in no uncertain terms. Seventeen conference championships between 1956 and 1988. Matthews was the 19th pick in the 10th round by the Boston Celtics of the 1981 NBA Draft. But these are the things I want covered: I want the weak side of the basket covered, fight for someone being in front of the basket, and I want someone to protect against the break. Dunbar High School Mighty Men. Coaches may stop coaching, but they never stop razzing their players. They may have been a little ahead of their time, whether they were doing it on purpose or by mistake, says The Baltimore Suns Davis. Wingate, like Bogues, took advantage of Dunbars status as a college preparatory school offering career paths in health and medical fields to transfer in. $5 Wade says he beamed like a father when his players graduated and derived his greatest satisfaction from lining up scholarships for them. 6' 2" 185 lbs. Your contributions help pay for current editorial costs and to expand our community coverage. . Nor did he exactly welcome advice on how to do so. 2023-24. Teams were more apt to be awestruck after getting thumped by Dunbar. On 1/6, the Dunbar varsity basketball team won their home conference game against Western Hills (Fort Worth, TX) by a score of 87-54. Syl was an All-American at Dunbar High School in D.C. The Poets just kept winning and they did so in convincing fashion. Reggie Lewiss heart betrays him when his life is in full flower. ($0) He saw mostly garbage time backing up Williams. Herman Harried, who also came off the bench, played four years in Syracuse and is now tearing up the Budweiser League in England, occasionally earning player-of-the-month honors (and presumably a few cold ones). Consequently, only about 200 fans are on hand. Neither one matters. If you didnt get in by halftime of the JV game, you didnt get a seat. round) pick by the Atlanta Hawks in the 1980 NBA Draft. He also played on the V.I. In his seven-year NBA career, he played with the Kings, Vancouver Grizzlies and the Washington Wizards. But oddly enough, they might not even have been the best boys varsity team in their hometown. Promoters and the mayor and the governor all wanted to have it. Copyright 2023 SLAM Media Inc. SLAM, SLAMTV, SLAM MEDIA and the SLAM logo are registered We are the Poets, the fighting mighty Poets! Our Dunbar team, they were the best. Stu Vetter knows quality basketball when he sees it. They both attended to Georgetown, where the two were first team All Big East in 1980. Basketball is still good at Dunbar, but its not the same. When the starting lineups were introduced, the Camden players and fans cackled with delight at the sight of the 5-3 Bogues. We may never see another high school basketball as dominant as the 82-83 Poets. Complete the Roster. Who knows? The schools namesake, who led a brief but illustrious career asa poet and writer, garnered great fame among the African American andliterary communities. Now, Baltimore is widely considered as a basketball hotbed, breeding young talent each and every year, including the likes of Sam Cassell, Wes Unseld, Carmelo Anthony and Rudy Gay. In 1956, Dunbar joined the Maryland Scholastic Association (MSA)with three other historically black schools, integrating the organization.One year later, the Poets won their first MSA championship by defeatingLoyola High School, a team that like Calvert Hall presented a numberof contrasts from Dunbar. Calvert Hall claims the 1982 title, Dunbar the crown for its 83 team. He also played in Italy for Libertas Livorno and in the USBL (Palm Beach Stingrays) and WBL (Las Vegas Silver Streaks). About Us. 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He pulled me and he was fussin at me: Hey, if somebodys in front of you, I dont care if its an inch, youre passin the ball! Right then, you dont want to hear it, but as you get older, youll be like, Damn, thats true what he was saying., Those selfless messages got repeated over and over at practice. You couldnt press him, and you could not handle his pressure when he went after the ball. To read more, see Baltimore Sports: Stories from Charm City, edited by Daniel A. Nathan. So we did all of our drills with bricks.. On 2/3, the Dunbar varsity basketball team lost their away non-conference game against Lely (Naples, FL) by a score of 85-48. On 12/27, the Dunbar varsity basketball team won their home tournament game against South Hills (Fort Worth, TX) by a score of 87-39. On 1/18, the Dunbar varsity basketball team won their home conference game against Carter-Riverside (Fort Worth, TX) by a score of 64-53. He said, Im fine, Mr. Wade. He played for the Lancaster Lightning for the 1983-84 season. Dawson thanked the coach in his Ph.D. dissertation, and keeps a picture of him and his Dunbar teammates on his desk at South Hagerstown High School, where hes principal. You might expect a high school named after one of Americas first celebrated black writers to have a helluva literary magazine, consistently cranking out all-star sonneteers and blue-chip wordsmiths. Reggie Williams and his family stop by the house for summer cookouts. He played for the Lancaster Lightning for the 1983-84 season. University officials accused Wade of not coming clean on the infractions and an attempted cover-up. Player Pos HT WT Birth City Birth Date High School HS Grad Draft Year College; Frank Ford: GF: 6-4: 220: Kissimmee, FL . Follow your favorite high school teams and players, Explore and purchase photos of your local teams, See top plays & highlights of the best high school sports, 2023 Boys Basketball District Tournaments 5A District 11. Its open to children and adults, and attracts about 100 teams, some stocked with players he coached at Dunbar. Smith was the 35th (2nd round) pick by the Sacramento Kings in the 1994 NBA Draft.