Decatur High School - Indecatur Yearbook (Decatur, GA)

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Varsity Basketball The first year of coaching at Decatur for Roger Kaiser proved to be very successful. Seven seniors, led by fantastic Herb White, seven juniors, and three sophomores, compiled a 20 and 4 record. Six other seniors. Rankin Thomas Alan Cole. Don Ellis, Steve Powell, John Hightower, and Richard Tucker were all vital members of the team, and contributed to the versatile attack of this year ' s Bulldogs. Before Christmas the team won 9 and lost 2, scoring decisive wins over Sylvan, 82 to 36: Cross Keys. 71 to 42: and Marist. 77 to 54. In the DeKalb Invitational Tournament during the Christmas holidays, the team placed second, sparked by Herb White ' s single game high of 38 points. Finishing the season with a stretch drive of 11 wins and 2 losses, Decatur included a striking win over Avondale. 70 to 52, and a 76 to 51 win over region champions Southwest DeKalb. The 4-AAA Tournament brought Decatur a fantastic 74 to 19 win over R.E. Lee, but in a game decided only in the last minutes, arch rival Avondale eked out a 74 to 67 victory. During this last Avondale game, Herb White scored 34 points in a superb performance, his last game as a high school senior. The excellent back-up support of juniors Jack Williams, Davis Walker, Neale Elliot, Tommy Ball, Johnny Calhoun. Ham Ansley, and Richard Wilson, and sophomores Dennis Chadwick, Bobby Mobley. and Mitt Parker provided talented depth this year and should provide the foundation for a fine team next year. The high level of team spirit maintained in spite of setbacks is- a tribute both to each member of our team and to Coach Kaiser. Head Coach Roger Kaiser and Assistant Coach Bob Rhinehart Steve tallies two against Avondale. Points came hard in the Decatur-Avondale game. 157

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Boy ' s 1st Row: Johnny Calhoun, Richard Wilson, Tommy Ball, Davis Walker, Ham Ansley, Jack Williams, Steve Powell. 2nd Row: Don Ellis, Richard Tucker, Herb White, Neale El liott, John High tower, Alan Cole, Mitt Parker, Den nis Chadwick, Ran- kin Thomas. OCCITII 3 tfCIT(jL ' a 4 V Co-captains Herb White and Rankin Thomas KJ iygClTII h 2 ' l!t V rr — rrt TL i i Alan puts in two at the SWD win. Herb stuffs it in during warm-up. 156

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Herb White Seniors In his first year of coaching at Decatur, Coach Roger Kaiser earned the respect of all of the people a! DHS. In the following paragraphs, he shows his admiration for the senior players on the basketball team. HERB WHITE— Kerb is, without a doubt, the finest basketball player in the state of Georgia, and one of the best high school ball players I ' ve seen in any state. He does so many things exceptionally well — pass, rebound, play defense, and score — that his future is unlimited. How many high school ball players average 18 to 20 points a game, and still feed his teammates many times during a game? Only one — Decatur ' s Herb White! It will be many years before Decatur fans will forget his 38 point performance against rival Druid Hills or his 34 points against Avondale. It has been a pleasure to coach him. RANKIN THOMAS — Rankin has as much heart and desire as any ball player I know. We referred to him as the boy with a big heart and a sore leg. First the left ankle in a cast, then the right one, but he never stopped giving 100%. His defense ranked among the top in the league and, before missing eight games be- cause of injury, he had averaged 14 points a game. Decatur will remember Rankin as their fine, dependable co-captain of their 1965-66 Bulldogs. ALAN COLE — Big Al was one ball player that we had few plans for at the be- ginning of the year. Alan was much more well-known for his humor and laughter than his rebounding and scoring. Mid-way through the year he had improved so much that he had earned a starting position which he never lost. Alan ' s play merited much praise and his strength on the boards and scoring proved to be a big asset for the Bulldogs. DON ELLIS — Don is a player who improved greatly as the season progressed and earned himself a starting position plus much respect from his opponents. Don ' s re- bounding and timely baskets in many games turned the tide for the Bulldogs. His spirit often spurred his teammates on to better play. STEVE POWELL — Steve developed into a fine shooter this year. Many opponents will readily agree to this. A hustling guard, Steve proved to be a valuable asset on defense with his tireless harassment of opposing players. His accuracy from the free throw lane was valuable in many close ball games. JOHN HIGHTOWER — John showed much improvement this year and started several games. He had an exceptionally fine attitude and worked hard all the year for the betterment of the Bulldogs. Several had more ability than John, but few tried harder. RICHARD TUCKER — One of the best shots on the team, Richard ' s outside shooting merited his starting several games for the Bulldogs. Although small for a forward, he played several fine games during the season. Richard ' s finest nights were a 25 point effort against Marist and 17 points in one half against Cross Keys. Rankin Thomas 158