Press clippings highlight some of the grandest triumphs in the storied traditions of Newland and Avery High Basketball— all of these came during the Coach Roger Banks era. He is talking strategy with his players in the team huddle in the center picture. On opposite page, Tommy Burleson in action.
Tommy’s play and recruiting helped put Avery County on the map nationally, as much as any occurrences in the county’s history. I’m thankful to have coached here and been part of so many wonderful happenings.”
Coaching Success Continues On Collegiate Level As Recruiting Reputation Flourishes
Roger had enjoyed so much success on the prep level and was regarded as being so far ahead of the game, having been through the national recruiting process with Burleson that he seemed destined to become a collegiate coach and recruiter. His first such post was as an assistant coach and head recruiter at Gardner-Webb College (now university), working there for legendary coach, Eddie Holbrook. During his five seasons there (1970-71 through ’74-’75), Roger established himself as one of the nation’s finest recruiters, signing several All-Americans who eventually became some of the NBA’s top draft choices—John Drew, Dave Bormann and Alvin Jones—all with the Atlanta Hawks; Jimmy Blanks (Houston Rockets); and George Adams (Milwaukee Bucks). Gardner-Webb’s Bulldogs were ranked among the nation’s Top 5 National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) teams every season Roger coached there, earned three trips to the NAIA playoffs and were National Runners-Up twice. Roger then accepted a post as an assistant coach and head recruiter at Austin Peay University for the 1975-’76 season. There he signed prep all-star Sammy Drummer-- perhaps the best player in that school’s history. And during Roger’s tenure, the Governors compiled a stellar 21-3 record enroute to winning the Ohio Valley Conference Championship. Roger then served two seasons (1976-’77 and ’77-78) in the same roles at the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech). He helped the Yellow Jackets to Top Twenty national rankings and he signed some of the school’s top all-time players, including Tico Brown, who became the Metro Conference’s leading scorer. Drummer transferred from Austin Peay and also became a standout for the Yellow Jackets. Georgia Tech finished 19-7 and 17-9, respectively, while Roger was on its staff. Roger then accepted an offer from another legendary coach, Hugh Durham, at the University of Georgia and began a threeyear stint as an assistant coach and the Bulldogs chief recruiter with the 1978-79 season. Before Durham and his staff came to the University of Georgia, the Bulldogs had never been to either the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) or National Invitation (NIT) Tournament, had never won a Southeastern Conference (SEC) regular season or tournament championship and had losing records in 23 of the previous 27 seasons. 66
High Country Magazine
April / May 2013
But they immediately embarked on a remarkable transformation project with Durham’s Dunkyard Dawgs that produced the most prolific era of Georgia basketball. Although Roger was only at Georgia for the first three years of the Hugh Durham era, he made an indelible and lasting mark on its program. Durham literally coached his first Georgia team by himself during games as he sent his three assistants on the road recruiting. The assistants were only on the Bulldogs bench for a total of ten games between them of the 28 the Bulldogs played. But the recruiting paid off to the zenith as behind Roger’s direction, Georgia landed the nation’s top-rated recruiting class, which included two MacDonald’s High School All-Americans in forward Dominique Wilkins and center James Banks. Roger signed both to letters-of-intent. He also signed three other MacDonald’s Prep All-Americans to play for Georgia—point guard Vern Fleming, forward James Banks and center Wilmore Fowler. Few coaches in history can boast of such a phenomenal recruiting feat. And he added other standout players such as forward Lamar Heard, center Terry Fair and guard Mike Morris. Recruiting and signing those players were among the most important inaugural steps in propelling Georgia to quick success and eventually as a consistent college basketball power that included a Southeastern Conference championship and then an NCAA Eastern Regional crown in 1983 with victories over two teams that had been ranked atop the national polls during the regular season-- St. Johns (70-67) and defending national champion North Carolina in an epic 82-77 upset. Wilkins was the centerpiece of that first recruiting class, while Roger directed Georgia’s recruiting efforts. Nicknamed The Human Highlight Film for his acrobatic athletic ability and highlight reel dunks, Wilkins, a Washington, NC native, played three seasons for the Bulldogs and was the 1980-’81 season Southeastern Conference (SEC) Player of The Year. He went on to be one of the eight leading scorers in NBA history while playing for several teams, primarily the Atlanta Hawks, of which he is currently a vice president and part owner. The on-the-floor highlight of Roger’s tenure at Georgia was the Bulldogs finishing 19-12 in his last season (1980-’81) and earning their first ever post-regular season—the NIT—where they reached the second round. The Bulldogs also finished as runners-
up in the SEC Tournament. Roger moved from Georgia to fellow-SEC member and rival Auburn University, where he concluded his coaching career. There he served as an assistant coach and recruiting director to head coach Sonny Smith, a Roan Mountain, TN (just across the mountains from the North Carolina High Country) native. As almost a blueprint of his tenure at Georgia, Roger’s recruiting success propelled Auburn to milestone success while he was on its staff and then its best-ever season shortly after he left the school. During his three seasons at Auburn (1981-’82, 1982-’83 and 1983-’84), Roger helped improve the Tigers fortunes, climaxing in a 20-11 over-all record, Top Twenty national rankings, an SEC Tournament runner-up and the school’s first NCAA Tournament berth his latter campaign. He signed Charles Barkley and Chuck Person to play for the Tigers. Like Wilkins at Georgia, Barley was an SEC Player of The Year and went on to become one of the top players in NBA history at power forward for the Philadelphia 76’ers, Phoenix Suns and Houston Rockets. He is currently an analyst for the Inside The NBA television show. Person was a full-time starter at forward and teamed with Barkley to form a potent inside-outside combination. Person was known for his superb outside shooting skills (unusual for a big man), which aptly complemented Barkley’s strong inside play. Person led the Tigers to win its first-ever SEC Tournament championship the next season and an NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen appearance, followed by reaching the NCAA’s Elite Eight the next season. Person was named the NBA’s Rookie of The Year in 1986-’87 while playing for the Indiana Pacers. He played for three more pro teams, and is currently an assistant coach for the Los Angeles Lakers. Besides being a recruiting ace, Roger’s reputation as an astute on-the-floor coach was boosted in a Sports Illustrated article in which Barkley—nicknamed The Round Mound of Rebound for his physique and exceptional rebounding ability—credited Roger with teaching him the proper way to rebound. “I enjoyed working for every school I coached and I’m proud that I helped make their programs and their players better,” Roger said. “Each was a different experience and a good experience. I’m thankful and honored to have been involved with those programs.”
Recruiting Philosophy
A college basketball recruiter faces long days of hard travel and intense pressure—but he drives on in pursuit of signing the next all-star player. Despite the pressure, many prep players seem to base their decisions on sound reasoning—such as which school can best further their basketball-playing career or which schools are best academically. The fact that few players transfer each year provides evidence that a vast majority make choices they don’t regret. Still, it isn’t surprising that a recruiter would try to break rules to sign a player that might mean the difference in his getting a pay increase for signing all-star players or maybe lose his job if he doesn’t sign enough of them. Despite all the pressure in signing star players and sometimes questionable maneuvering, relatively few schools are put on probation for recruiting violations by the governing body for major college sports—the NCAA. No coach can win consistently without talented players. And that’s what a recruiter is hired to do—go get the players needed to win, and then win consistently. Though he is an assistant coach with various job responsibilities, a recruiter’s most important task is procuring talented players. He is always working on next season’s team. Her might see more than four or five dozen high school games in a season, but only a handful of those of the college or university where he coaches. As a recruiter, Roger acted as a liaison between various personalities. He worked with the recruits. He watched practices, games and films of high school stars. He then sold the head coach he worked for at the time, and his school on the athlete. He also worked with the head coach about determining what the program needs and prioritizing how immediate those needs are. “When it came to who we signed and didn’t sign. I had strong input. If I told the head coach, we needed to take this player, we took him,” Roger said, succinctly. “I helped evaluate what we were doing in our program—what were our strengths and weaknesses—and I recruited to build on those strengths and improve those weaknesses. My job as a recruiter was to be the third party working for the first and second parties.” To sign the best players, a recruiter must be sincere, and the master of convincing the recruit why he should attend and play for his school. April / May 2013
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