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'Bighouse' I
700th Can
By ROBERTELLER
Staff Writer
Editor's note: Eller sat on thp hench
with WSSU Coach "Bighouse - Gaines
during his 700th career win Nov. 25.
Here is his account of that night.
He certainly doesn't look like a
coach about to shoot for his 700th win
30 minutes before game time.
In fact, most people who don't know
the 6-5, 280-pounder might think he's
the ticket manager as he sits at his desk
peddling seasonnickets. "I just picked
up five customers," he jokes, his huge
frame emerging from his office door.
Moments later, it is obvious that
something special is about to happen as
network and local TV crews wire him
for sound.
Still, as he walks toward the gymnasium,
a throng of TV cameras and
reporters following him, he shows no
signs of nervousness.
And why should he? Nervousness
has never been a trait of the man who
came fresh out of Morgan State in 1945
to take over the entire^ports program
at what was then called Winston-Salem
State Teachers College.
Now, some 38 years later, WinstonSalem
State's Clarence Edward
"Bighouse" Gaines is about to do
"Is it fair for one team to get a /
Final Four and another quarter o
while another team can 7 afford
after a game?"
something only four other men in his
profession have ever accomplished.
Only Adolph Rupp (875), Poag
Allen (771), Hank Iba (767) and Ed
Diddle (759). among college basketball
coaches have reached the 700-win
plateau.
But to Gaines, already a member of
six halls of fame, including the
Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, the
major significance of this game is not a
chance to gain Win Number 700.
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about 700, but the thing I'm concerned
about is winning Number One this
season," he says just prior to the start
of the contest. The same sentiments are
echoed again as his team breaks its pregame
huddle with a chant of "700!"
When they take the court, Gaines
shouts "Number One!" back to them.
Once the game begins the coach
doesn't change his mannerisms or
techniques, despite his every word being
recorded. As his team rolls to an
early lead over outclassed BarberScotia,
Gaines shows little emotion.
But when center Kevin Vaughn, a
young man Gaines expects to carry
much of the inside load for his team
this season, drives past his defender,
scores and is fouled, the coach
responds by yelling 4'good move" and
clapping his hands.
"
Sain(es)
ier Victory
Moments Jater, the coach gets a
chance to air one of his pet peeves. One
of his players sails in for a dunk.-ts?fouled
and misses .--'All he had to do^
?was lay the ball up,^Uie says to ncLonc__
in particular.
As is his usual bench decorum, he
says little to players sitting with him or
3UU31HUIC5, suupiy pointing a linger
and usually not giving the player going
in any instructions or saying anything
to the player coming out.
Trailing 13-4 less than four minutes
into the game, Barber-Scotia calls a
timecrut and Gaines takestfTeoppOFtunity
to mention the missed dunk.
A few moments later, Buck Mitchell,
the Rams' 6-4 leaping utility man, is
whistled for a foul. "Buck, just don't
grab the kid!** shouts Gaines. "1 didn't
touch him, Coach," declares Mitchell.
"You had to. They called a foul, didn't
they?" Gaines responds.
-Gaines' Rams continue to add to
their advantage and lead by more than
20 points with nearly six minutes left in
the half. Gaines is still a picture of total
concentration on the bench, however.
He jumpMo his feet to point out the
one-and-one situation when the officials
are about to award the Rams the
ball out of bounds. "NO, that's the
seventh team foul/' he sternly reminds
them.
jalf-mUlion dollars for making the
f a million dollars for being on TV
to buy hamburgers for the players
Barber-Scotia calls two more
timeouts before the half and Gaines
uses the breaks to point out mistakes to
his players in their matchup zone, a
defense Gaines uses most of the time.
At halftime, Gaines tells his players
to go to the bathroom and get a drink
of water, "then we'll decide what we're
going to do in the second half."
In the second half, his team leading
by more than 15 points, Gaines mimics
a poor move and laughs at one of his
players. Later, he tells a freshman
wingman to "stop looking blank,"
smiling slightly.
But the big man is still in control and
his serious mood returns when the
team gets sloppy while leading by 22
points. 4'Oct out from under the
. basket! I said open the floor!" he yells
with three minutes left.
He calls his first timeout of the game
with 1:58 left and tells his players to
spread out and keep the ball moving.
When Watkins asks about going for
the 100-point mark, Gaines responds,
"Just play basketball. You'll have
your team next year and you can coach
it."
As the buzzer sounds, the coach is
mobbed by his players, the BarberScotia
team, well-wishers and
reporters.
After cutting a large cake comuSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSm
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A Milestone
Winston-Salem State's Btghouse Gal
Club' (photo by Jamee Parker).
memorating the event and talking with
various friends and fans, Gaines walks
back to his office in the complex named
for him.
^""~S4e is happy with the win but there
are ohver things on his mind now. The r
media rrtave in for more interviews and
comment^and Gaines obliges. He talks
about his commitmenMo the game and
to the young men who play it.
But just as quickly Gaines, tells they
media something many don*t want to
v hear. Reflecting on the 700th win, he
says, "I would have liked to have seen
more fans out (fewer thato 1,000 people
attended the game). You would
wonder with the amount of publicity
the game got if the Chamber of Com
i . /??? - ? t % ^
merce ana me (winston-saiem) sports
Commission are for the entire community
or not."
As for the well-wishers, Gaines says
he is happy that people recognize and
commend his efforts at WSSU but
adds, "I enjoy the pats on the back and
praise I'm given, but what I'd like to
see is those people pay ten bucks for a
ticket. We sell less than 300 season
tickets a year and the amount of money
we get from alumni contributions
won't even pay tuition for two out-ofstate
students."
The answer to the financial problems
for predominantly black and Division
II institutions are not simple ones, according
to Gaines, but he says giving
these schools a fair share of print
media and TV coverage would be a
start.
"Around here, if it's not ACC, or
Big Four (North Carolina, N.C State,
net: a member off the exclusive *700
Wake Forest and Duke) or Division I,
the media acts as if it's not worth
covering/* he^ays.44And if one of our
games is televised, then some so-andsos
complain."
Division II schools need a fair shake,
too," he continues. "I'm not advocating
a boycott or anything. We
just need to be given a chance to get a
piece of the pie. Is it fair for one team
to get a half-million dollars for making
.1 w** ? - *+
me rinai rour ana anotner quarter or a
million for being on television while
another team can't afford to buy hamburgers
for the players after a game?"
As the reporters move on to print
their stories and edit their film, Gaines
returns his attention to the Ram
basketball team. "We have a lot of
work to do," he says. "Our kids are
missing assignments on defense and
our outside shooting needs work."
But those are things Gaines can correct
or at least work on. They are not
like the inequities he sees in the world
of college basketball.
Crv iitkt/ ie man u>k/> Vtat> n
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complished a feat only four others
before him could reach continuing to
teach classes, sell tickets, travel
countless hours scouting and recruiting
and coach before small crowds in
dimly-lit gymnasiums throughout the
South? n*K
"It is still a challenge to me. 4 J
haven't conquered or mastered it," he
says.
That may be true. But considering
he's managed 700 wins with many
more to come, few can say they have
come closer.
5SS5?fiSB)?cember, 1983-Page 23