P&G HOOP HISTORY

An undefeated basketball season ends a 35-year championship drought.

When CBHS beat Knoxville Catholic in March to win the Division 2-AA boys basketball state championship, it ended a 35-year drought since the Brothers’ first and only title. But this year’s team made history by a more profound measure. In finishing the season 28-0, CBHS became only the third team in Memphis high school basketball history to be crowned undefeated state champions. (Melrose achieved the feat in 1973-74, and Hamilton in 2005-06.) And it was a family affair. Head coach Bubba Luckett (Class of ‘79) got to celebrate his first state title — after four runner-up seasons in 32 years — with his son, Brad (Class of ‘08), at his side, an assistant coach since 2012.

“We had a real special team,” emphasizes the senior Luckett, who in 2020 became just the seventh coach in Shelby Metro history to win 600 games. “We had to have a lot of luck. We won some overtime games, came from behind in the fourth quarter. Anytime you go undefeated, you’ll have to have some luck, too. The ball seemed to bounce our way this year.”

Senior guard Chandler Jackson broke his head coach’s program record for career scoring on his way to Mr. Basketball honors, the first CBHS player to win the award. Jackson (who signed to play collegiately with Florida State) was among six seniors who played major roles in establishing a championship culture in the team’s new gym, the McNeill Family Fieldhouse. “Multiple players understood what we were looking for,” says Bubba. “There were times we didn’t have to say a whole lot, because they were coaching themselves. It was fun to watch guys communicate with the same philosophy we had as coaches. The chemistry — no jealousies — really stood out.”

Brad points out a distinctive quality to the 2021-22 team, one found among memorable champions at all levels of basketball. “In the playoffs, this team seemed to be a good kind of loose, and confident,” he says. “They never seemed tight or nervous.” Going back two seasons, through the pandemic, CBHS has posted a record of 49-1. Winning has become not so much a goal, but the standard.

As for his lengthy tenure in purple and gold (player from 1975-79, assistant coach for the 1986-87 state champs, head coach since 1990), Bubba notes the evolution of a program once considered an easy mark on opponents’ schedules. “We’ve had players from years past come back, watch us play, and say, ‘I started back in 1990, and I wouldn’t be able to make the team today.’ The skill level is far superior. We spend far more time on skill development than we did before. There are multiple ways to finish [score] around the basket, and our guys have to do that every day in practice. It pays off. And scouting today is much more advanced than it was [in my early days at CBHS].”

Brad has experienced the program’s growth both as a player and now for a decade, as an assistant coach. Always with his father in the room. “Playing for your dad is not as easy as some people make it sound,” he says. “We had a lot of arguments; he was tough on me. We work much better together as coaches. It’s a family affair, and I absolutely love it.” Brad does recognize a change or two in Coach Luckett from the time he played for him. “He’s mellowed out a little bit. He lets his assistants be involved. We’re not just yes men, mopping the floor. He lets us coach, which makes us work harder at it.”

“As a head coach,” says Bubba, “when you’re surrounded by guys who are intelligent and work hard, I don’t have to be the kind of personality I used to be. It’s easy to be laid back when you’re surrounded by people who you know care about it as much as you do.”

With significant history made in 2022, what’s next for CBHS basketball? “Others may not have high expectations for our program next year with most of this year’s starting lineup graduating,” says Bubba. “The players we have returning will surprise those people, and I’m excited about getting to work and seeing what we can do.”