Where Are They Now? Lincoln Of 1981

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WHERE ARE THEY NOW

Members of Lincoln's 1981 basketball team have been busy since receiving their gold medals. The News tracked them down.

Leonard Allen -- Nicknamed "Long Goodie" by Gamble, the 6-9 Allen was named Texas Player of the Year, all-conference at San Diego State and a third-round draft pick of the Dallas Mavericks in 1985. After eight years of pro basketball, mostly abroad, Allen returned to San Diego, where he's a computer support technician.

Alvincent Comeaux -- The 5-foot-5 "Soo" was a junior and backup point guard in 1981. He left Port Arthur for school at the University of Houston and is now in the financial services business in Houston.

Mecheal Jackson -- They called this 6-5 player "Baby D" after pro Darryl Dawkins, but now his friends know him as "Biscuit." After playing college basketball at Southern University and the University of St. Thomas, he returned to Port Arthur and now works as a state corrections officer.

Michael Jaco -- An all-state pick, the 6-1 "Juice" played for Willis Reed at Creighton before transferring to finish his career at Lamar. The Port Arthur resident works as an operator for Lucite Acrylics at DuPont.

Kirk Jones -- The 5-foot, 4-1/2 inch "Mighty Mouse" was the littlest Bee with perhaps the biggest role as team captain. The Port Arthur resident is an operator at Temple Inland paper mill in Orange.

Tim McKyer -- A junior in 1981, he achieved his biggest fame on a football field, earning three Super Bowl rings with San Francisco and Denver. He recently completed his college degree and works as a TV sports analyst in Charlotte, N.C.

R.C. Mullin -- Already 6-6 and 230 pounds by his sophomore season in 1981, he was drafted by the Los Angeles Rams as an offensive tackle and played six years of pro football. He's a substitute teacher in PAISD and a corrections officer at Mark Stiles Prison who lives in Mauriceville.

Frank Neal -- A 6-1 super sub known to teammates as "Java Man," he now owns Top Dog Screen Printing in Port Arthur and is a major Memorial High athletic booster.

Nolan Nurse -- "Bird" went into the Marine Corps and spent 20 years traveling for Uncle Sam. He played on a pro basketball team in Germany and served in Iraq during Operation Desert Storm. Retired from the service, he's working as a correctional officer in Austin and working on a management degree.

Barron Prevost -- Nicknamed "Little Tall" because his older brother (6-foot-8) Rueben had been "Too Tall" to Gamble, 6-foot-6 Barron and his family were uprooted from Port Arthur by Hurricane Rita and now live in Oklahoma.

Tracy Smith -- A 5-9 guard known as "Ice," Smith spent nine years in the Air Force after graduation. He and his wife, a teacher, operate a family business in Mansura, La., that caters to at-risk children, and he is currently working as a corrections officer at the Larry Gist State Jail in Beaumont.

Darrell Thomas -- A two-year starter at guard for the Bees, "Wax" worked for PAISD until he was disabled by kidney failure a few years ago. Hurricane Rita forced him to move to Houston, where he is on the waiting list for a kidney transplant.

Warren Trahan -- The 6-foot-3 Trahan played football at TCU before returning to Port Arthur, where he runs a trucking business. His son Isiah Trahan was a senior cornerback for Memorial last fall and is on the Titans' baseball team.

Whereabouts of team members Patrick Barnes, Terry Ceburn and Greg Joubert could not be determined.

James Gamble -- A coach at Lincoln from 1962-88, the effects of a 1987 stroke caused Gamble to retire after his fourth championship run. But he has returned several times to help PAISD, including in 1999, when he took over the basketball team and led it to a state runnerup finish.

James Knowles -- He left Lincoln to become head coach at Thomas Jefferson and in 2000, his Yellow Jackets beat Lincoln for a spot in the state tournament. He moved to Beaumont Kelly in 2003 and has coached three straight TAPPS state championship teams there.

Melvin Getwood -- A one-time player for Gamble, Getwood left coaching to become Lincoln High School principal. He is currently director of special projects and external funding for PAISD.

HOW IMPORTANT WAS IT?

The significance of Lincoln's run of basketball championships wasn't lost on civic leaders. Here's what a few of them think of the tradition of excellence begun by the 1981 Bumblebees team.

Oscar Ortiz, Port Arthur mayor

"If Port Arthur was recognized for anything else back in the 80s, it was for the championship basketball that Lincoln brought. Economically, that was a bad time for Port Arthur. We had big layoffs at the Texaco and Chevron plants. Lincoln basketball took the minds of people off the depressing things they were going through at work. It lifted people's spirits up."

Verlie Mitchell, Lincoln principal 1978-85

"Of course, coach Gamble was an outstanding coach. That 1981 year, we happened to have some very very capable players who worked together under his leadership. I happened to go to Austin for that game and naturally I was on Cloud 9 about it. It was just really a wonderful occurrence.

"For such a long time, football had been the sport that the town pretty much looked toward. but I think that kind of turned the tide toward basketball. It was pretty much mixed for Lincoln thereafter."

Charles Breithaupt, UIL athletic director

"It was significant because coach Gamble got his first one in 5A. He'd been in 5A (the UIL's top classification) for so long. It was important for him to crown all those years that he didn't make it, and he did it in style.

"No one did it with such class as Coach Gamble. He's been a good role model for all these other coaches with his class and dignity."

Willie "Bae" Lewis, city councilman

"It showed the kids that if you work hard and you are disciplined, you can be a winner.

"And economically, we had gains in Port Arthur. Lincoln basketball had a great impact because people turned out. They packed they gym. After the games, they packed restaurants. It had a great impact on my restaurant."

Ronnie Thompson, PAISD athletic director

"Coach Gamble really did a great job with the coaches and players he had. They came in and flat got after it. They repeated and repeated their success. I don't know if they knew anything but winning.

"Winning's good, especially in high school. Kids get a little smarter. Girls look prettier. Everybody's happier."

[BADSANTA]

Great article!