[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 9]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 12349]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




              THE 1965 LANIER HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL TEAM

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                        HON. BENNIE G. THOMPSON

                             of mississippi

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, July 24, 2013

  Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Mr. Speaker, 1965 will always be 
remembered in American History as a year of turmoil, unrest and great 
change. The Civil Rights Movement was in full swing, with marches, 
demonstrations and often dramatic confrontations by brave African 
Americans that were attacked, beaten and jailed as they struggled for 
equal rights. Their struggles shocked the world and made front page 
news and formented a change in the deep south.
  Meanwhile as the war over civil rights raged, few noticed a sports 
revolution in the small city of Jackson, MS. They were seven skinny 
kids from Lanier High School and they dared to take on all corners. 
Under Principal Luther Buckley and Assistant Principal Will Anderson, 
legendary basketball coaches Harrison Barnes and Orsmond Jordan, this 
team honed their skills, speed and prowess and developed into an 
unstoppable force whose starters came to be known as the Lanier 
Magnificent Seven. Known for their quickness, scoring offense and 
devastatingly tough defenses, this team ran up an amazing in-state 
record of 43 and 0 and averaged over 100 points a game in eight minute 
quarters and this was before the three point shot had been instituted 
into the game. With each game their record and legend grew and they not 
only won the State championship, in March 1965 they were invited to 
compete in the National Invitation Interscholastic Basketball 
Tournament, the NIIBT at Alabama State College in Montgomery Alabama.
  On March 6, 1965, those seven inner city kids from Jackson, MS took 
on the best in the Nation, the vaunted Bears from Booker T. Washington 
High School from Suffolk, Virginia. The Bears were a force to reckon 
with, with two fantastic guards and the team was described by some 
sportscasters as the ``team of the century.'' While both teams were 
known for their scoring prowess and dynamic offenses, the game was a 
defensive struggle from the very beginning. It featured heart-stopping 
action, amazing shots and stellar defense by both teams that dazzled 
the spectators and fans. The papers described it as an amazing game 
between two titans of high school basketball that featured great ball 
handling, tough perimeter defense and some of the best high school 
players and most electric shooting many had ever seen. At the buzzer 
the Lanier High School Bulldogs prevailed 58 to 55 and had done it. 
They beat the team of the century and won the coveted National High 
School Basketball Championship and were deemed the best in the Nation. 
These proud, defiant and jubilant national champions rode a public bus 
back to Jackson, a bus also loaded with Freedom Riders determined to 
change the hearts and minds of a Nation. The Lanier Basketball Team 
came home winners but their triumph was swallowed up by the news of the 
day and the rabid turmoil of the civil rights movement.
  These young men, heroes to their legion of fans at Lanier High 
School, the city of Jackson and the entire State of Mississippi never 
got their due. True champions, they held their heads high with their 
national championship trophy in their hands and placed it in the Lanier 
Trophy Case where it has sat for 48 years gathering dust and forgotten. 
But not anymore. Thanks to the efforts of Jackson businessman Johnny 
Morrow that has now changed. Morrow demanded that these men be 
recognized and put his name and clout behind the effort. He organized 
and brought together city, county and State government entities, local 
businesses and talented individuals to help with his cause. He 
energized schools and local and even national media and forced this 
recognition ceremony which he developed to right this long overdue 
wrong. And now due to his efforts they will be recognized.
  Now is their time to be remembered and recognized. They have been 
called the best team you never heard of. Well now you have. Take pride 
Jackson. In 1965 seven inner city young men took on the best in the 
Nation and won. As we salute the accomplishments of African Americans 
during Black History Month, let us not forget our local heroes. Help us 
to remember, congratulate and salute the 1965 Lanier High School 
Basketball Team, the only Mississippi high school basketball team to 
ever win a NATIONAL championship.
  We invite everyone to come out and show your love, support and 
admiration for what these men accomplished. On January 23rd at 6 p.m. 
at the Mississippi Sports Hall, the State will finally salute and give 
their due to the 1965 Lanier High School Basketball team. Come and meet 
the men who accomplished this amazing feat and learn of their daring, 
their courage and of their basketball dominance in 1965. Come and meet 
the only Mississippi High School Basketball Team to ever win a national 
championship. Come and meet the men who were and are the Lanier High 
School Basketball Team Bulldogs of 1965. The National Champions.
  Joe Usry Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram is sponsoring the National 
Championship Rings to be presented to the surviving team members. 
Please join us on January 23rd at 6 p.m. at the Mississippi Sports Hall 
of Fame in Jackson, Miss. Come and meet the Magnificent Seven and the 
other members of the 1965 Lanier Basketball Team!
  Coach Harrison Barnes and Assistant Coach Orsmond Jordan.
  Team Members: Marvin Scott, Cornell Warner, Larry Hayes, Eddie 
Clanton, James Hudson, Elliot Guinn, Mitchell Johnson, George Amerson, 
Louis Tucker, Arthur Brown, James Garland, Charles Dalley, Robert 
Mayberry, Otha Mitchell, Henry Brown Jr.

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