[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 33 (Wednesday, March 15, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E371]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     HONORING COACH THOMAS BILLUPS

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. BENNIE G. THOMPSON

                             of mississippi

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, March 15, 2006

  Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Mr. Speaker, I would like to recognize 
Coach Thomas Billups, head coach of the State Champion, Lanier High 
School Boys Basketball Team. I submit the following article by Bill 
Spencer of the Clarion Ledger Newspaper of Jackson, Mississippi.

       Fiery Coach Thomas Billups has created a dynasty. Thomas 
     Billups doesn't want to come off as boastful, even though his 
     success may be unmatched in the history of Mississippi high 
     school boys basketball.
       He's a staunch believer in his methods, however, and who 
     can argue with the veteran Lanier coach's incredible run?
       ``I'm not saying I'm the greatest coach ever,'' said 
     Billups, whose Bulldogs (34-3) won their final 19 games and 
     finished No. 1 in The Clarion-Ledger Super 10 rankings for 
     the second consecutive year. ``There are a lot of good 
     coaches out there. I'm not saying everything I do is right. 
     But what I'm doing . . . there's been some good in it. 
     Because look at what we've done.''
       In 15 seasons, Billups has coached in 12 state finals, 
     including eight in a row. Last Thursday, he guided the 
     Bulldogs to a second straight Class 4A state championship, 
     tying him with Gulfport's legendary Bert Jenkins for the most 
     Mississippi High School Activities Association boys state 
     titles with seven.
       Lanier won again despite the graduation of McDonald's All-
     American Monta Ellis, who jumped to the NBA.
       Billups, 53, has built a hoops machine on Maple Street in 
     Jackson. Not even Jenkins--who won 866 games in 28 seasons--
     coached in eight consecutive state finals.
       With a 463-73 record shouting orders from Lanier's bench, 
     the demonstrative Billups has averaged more than 30 victories 
     per year and won an astounding 86 percent of the time.
       Billups' latest gold ball may be his most satisfying. 
     Although senior point guard Al Graham, junior guard R.L. 
     Horton and senior forward Kalauso Williams entered this 
     season with some experience, most of the Bulldogs were new 
     faces.
       ``We were young, but these kids wanted to be just like 
     these Lanier teams that came through here,'' Billups said. 
     ``They do everything I ask them to do to win a ballgame.''
       Lavel Johnson, the Mississippi correspondent for the 
     recruiting magazine Hoop Scoop, believes Billups will cherish 
     this state crown the most.
       ``This was his top coaching job,'' said Johnson, who has 
     watched Jackson basketball for 20 years. ``This title is very 
     satisfying for him because for so many years, people have 
     said he wins because of his talent and not because he's a 
     good coach. If anything dispels that belief, this does.''
       Billups' in-your-face style is relentless. During games, he 
     alternates between chewing on referees and yelling at his 
     players. Rarely does he sit. He paces the sidelines, roaring 
     like an angry, nattily attired bear. Sometimes, he'll stop, 
     arms folded, and scowl, staring at a striped shirt--or 
     player--who has done him wrong.
       He plays no favorites, either, and will berate a player for 
     a mistake in a flash, whether the Bulldogs are leading by two 
     points or 20.
       ``Whatever goes for one player goes for all of them,'' 
     Billups said. ``You've got to let kids know that there's only 
     one way, the coach's way. In my case, it's Billups' way. My 
     style of coaching is not going to change. Kids need to know 
     that I'm going to be in their face every practice, every 
     game, screaming and hollering.''
       Horton has come to appreciate Billups' tactics.
       ``He puts you through a lot,'' said Horton, who averaged 
     about 25 points per game, scoring a career-high 50 twice. 
     ``He makes you feel like you almost want to quit. Players 
     ahead of me like Monta used to tell me to stick with it 
     because it's going to make me better. He sees a player's 
     potential before they ever see it. He brought a lot of stuff 
     out of me that I didn't ever think I could do. He makes 
     players work their hardest.''
       For all of his bluntness, there's also a gentler side to 
     Billups, whether he's attending church with his team or 
     hosting a Super Bowl party.
       Many have noticed, including Lee Vance, a Jackson Police 
     Department veteran of nearly 19 years and Lanier alumnus, 
     Class of 1976.
       ``The greatest tribute I've ever seen or read is what his 
     players and former players said about him publicly, the 
     father-figure and nurturing comments that have been made,'' 
     said Vance, JPD's Precinct 2 commander.
       Former Lanier coach N.Z. Bryant, who won one of the 
     Bulldogs' 15 state titles in 1969, said Billups enjoys a 
     special bond with his players.
       ``Coach Billups has control of his players and they respect 
     him,'' said Bryant, now deputy director of the MHSAA. ``Young 
     players nowadays have a tendency to have their own mind. 
     Those kids are going to run exactly what he says.''

  Coach Thomas Billups has built a winning tradition and legacy in 
Jackson's inner-city. The high-level, high-profile programs that 
Billups has put together have ignited the competitive fancies of the 
other inner city teams making for some of the most competitively 
rivaled basketball in the State. I take pride in recognizing Coach 
Thomas Billups and the dynasty that he has built with some of our most 
talented inner-city young men.

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