About Roundball Coach

Although I have never been a roundball coach, except for a short stint coaching intramural basketball at my alma mater Birmingham-Southern, I have worked with and have been friends with a whole bunch of fine coaches in my 24 year career as a sports play-by-play announcer.

I have learned a lot about roundball from Larry Chapman and Jack Schweers while calling Auburn University at Montgomery basketball in the 1980’s, James Martin and Ferris Qualls while working with the Griffin High School (Georgia) Bears for 10 years, Donnie Arrington and Benny Dees in 6 seasons broadcasting Toombs County High School (Georgia) games and Steve Barker and Tommy Dalley in a season each with Brewton Parker College and Appling County High School (Georgia) respectively.

I also picked up a lot of roundball knowledge while rooming with Tab Baldwin for over three years when he was a young coach and I was a young broadcaster in Montgomery, Alabama way back in the 80’s.  I always knew Tab would be a fine coach and he has proved that with his success coaching the New Zealand National Team to a fourth place finish at the 2002 World Championships in Indianapolis. 

I have always been amazed with the passion these coaches have for their profession and their sport.  Nobody thinks or talks about roundball more than Trinity Presbyterian High School’s (Alabama) Head Coach, Jack Schweers.  Coach Schweers is very difficult to stump when it comes to basketball trivia and he has a story for every subject.  Schweers transformation from long time assistant to head coach has been quite successful.  His Wildcats are one of the top 4A teams in Alabama year in and year out and Jack got to experience a state championship season not too long ago.

Like Schweers, Coach Arrington is a basketball man, who has the amazing ability to win the game he isn’t suppose to.   Coach Arrington has had his Bulldog teams playing a very entertaining brand of basketball and he won back-to-back region championship games over a very tough East Laurens program.  Donnie’s teams always pass the ball well, run their offense crisply and play tough defense.  Now Donnie is getting the opportunity to coach his son Chase at Toombs.

For six years I called Toombs County football games on the radio with a basketball man named Benny Dees.  Benny is almost like a sports physic.  If he says something is going to happen in a game, it usually does.  When I first met Benny in 1998, a fromer head coach at Wyoming, New Orleans, Western Carolina and VCU, he said he had no desire to coach again.  Benny was wrong.  First he joined Arrington as an assistant at Toombs County and now he is getting ready for his second season as head coach of the Jeff Davis High School (Georgia) Yellow Jackets.  Benny stopped JD’s 59 game losing streak with a win early in 2005.

While covering Brewton Parker College I had the opportunity to meet coaches Steve Barker and Tommy Dalley.  Barker, who I used to watch play at Samford when he was the Bulldogs leading scorer for four straight seasons, has an offensive set for every situation. Barker wins a lot of games he isn’t expected to.  If only his players could shoot it like he did during his playing days.  Dalley, like Barker, was a scorer in high school and college.  He took over the BPC Womens program a year after the Lady Barons had won one game and several years later they were playing in the NAIA National Tourney.  Now he is doing the same thing with the Appling County Boys.    

Back in the late 80’s and early 90’s it was very exciting to be the play-by-play voice of the Griffin Bears.  The Bears’ home, “The House”, was always packed and Darren Hancock and the Bears were always putting on a show.  Coach Martin’s teams always played with great intensity and while they were exciting on offense they were tough on defense and in 1993 I got to call a state championship victory.  The only championship win I have ever called.  Coach Qualls took over the Griffin program when Martin left for Indiana State and he also won a state championhip several years after I had left Griffin for a new radio job in Vidalia. 

In 1987-1988 I had the honor of being apart of one memorable season.  The AUM Senators went 32-3.  For most of the season Coach Chapman’s team was ranked number one.  In the NAIA National Tourney AUM beat Hawaii Pacific, Grace, William Jewell and The College of Charleston to make it to the championship game.  The game with Grand Canyon was memorable even though the result has been haunting for almost 20 years.  Rodney Johns hit a game winning 18- footer with two seconds remaining in overtime to give Coach Paul Westphal’s team an 88-86 win.  Despite the result that game is the number one highlight of my broadcasting career.  Coach Chapman was name the NAIA Coach of the Year and it was well deserved.  Coach Chapman can spot a basketball player from a mile away.

So those are my roundball memories.  Thanks to all the coaches involved for making them possible.

Hopefully, this web site will be a place that all coaches will be able to visit and feel welcome.  Over the coming months and years I hope to have an opportunity to interview all of you and place those  interviews on the site.  Every coach has a story to tell and our goal is to tell them here on Roundball Coach.  Your participation will be the key in determining the ultimate fate of this site.  

I would like to thank Jason Dozier for his help constructing this site.  Jason runs Audio Sports Online.  If you are a coach who is interested in streaming your games on the internet I recommend Audio Sports Online.  I streamed Appling County Basketball on Audio Sports Online to great success.  For more information please click on Audio Sports Online.  

Thank you for visiting and please come back.

Barney Bonfield

Roundballcoach.com