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This is the team photo of Lincon's 1986 state champions taken in Austin. In the front row, from left, are Keith Hall, Jeremy Dabney, Patrick Taylor, Adrian Dewait, James Payne Donald Adams, Derek Baker and Jeffrey Lewis. In the back row, from left, are head coach James Gamble, Sidney Lavine, Gary Hunt, Craig Anderson, Ronnie Haliburton, Anthony Allen. Jeremy Valcin, Craig Turner, Victory Henry, student trainer Donald Guidry and trainer Brent Quick. Not present for the photo were assistant coaches Melvin Getwood, Odis Norris and James Knowles.Bees ’86 team taking another bow in AustinBy Bob WestThe News Sports EditorOne thing legendary Lincoln High School basketball coach James Gamble has always been reluctant to do was single out which of four state champions he thought was his best team. It was much the same with players, although Gamble finally labeled 1974 schoolboy All-America Earl Evans as the greatest player he coached.With his 1986 state champs headed to Austin this weekend for a 25-year salute from the University Interscholastic League, the long-retired coach is somewhat playfully giving them a boost in the best-ever argument. Well, sort of.“There has been considerable discussion of which team was the best,”said Gamble, who produced a 5A state champ in 1981 and 4A winners in 1984, 1986 and 1988. “The 1981 team says they are the best because they won in 5A. The 1986 team says it’s the test because it only lost one game.“One way to compare them is which team has the most players show up in Austin for the UIL reunion. The 1981 group had a great turnout and 1984 had a good one. But it looks like 1986 is going to top them both. Those guys are determined to break the UIL record.”While it’s an unofficial record, Lincoln stands head and shoulders above other state champions when it comes to players returning to Austin. It’s a fact which makes their old coach want to stick his chest out.“This is a great thing the UIL isdoing to honor former champions,” Gamble said. “I am always so proud when I see how many of our players and coaches show up. Most of the schools come back with three or four players and a coach. We come in big numbers.”Gamble’s Lincoln teams, of course, were all about depth. It’s certainly going to look that way for the 1986 champs if everybody who has made a reservation shows up. Melvin Getwood, an assistant coach in 1986, says it appears all 15 living players from that team are headed to Austin. The 16th, Patrick Taylor, is deceased.In addition to the • players, Lincoln’s show of force will include four coaches — Gamble, Getwood, Odis Norris and James Knowles — student trainer Donald Guidry and hall boy/manager David Belvin.That 1986 group can certainly make a strong argument for being Lincoln’s test team. At 33-1, they came the closest of any of Gamble’s champions of going undefeated. '1’heir lone loss was by three points to Lafayette, te., in December in the YMBL tournament. They roared through district with a string of blowouts, although Silsbee offered a couple of mild challenges.In the playoffs only defending state champ Bay City, the team that knocked Lincoln out in a down-to-the-wire regional-ftnals thriller in 1985, made the Bumblebees sweat. Led by future Louisville star LaBradiford Smith, the Black Cats went down 57-52 in a regional final that was probably a matchup of the state’s two test teams.See 'LINCOLN/ page B4
Newspaper Details
Port Arthur News
Port Arthur, Texas, US
Thu, Mar 10, 2011
Page 11
Full Page
Clipped by
Joshua M.
NA, 04 Aug 2023
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