-click to enlarge-My recollection of the players: The Saylors twins led the scoring and were the crowd draw. Billy Powell was a fast floor man and could scoot around with the ball and get others good lay-ups. The Coats brothers were good brute-force guards, and James "Pete" Dixon was an excellent forward. Although he doesn't look tall in the photo, he was and had a tremendously long reach.
Barron, Hill, and Childers were excellent shooters, and usually had a large point record after a game. Charles Brigman was a better shooter under pressure than anyone I have ever seen. When about to go across the outside line with guards crowding him, he had an excellent hook shot that usually connected with the net only, not the rim. I don't know how he could do it - he could barely see the net at times.
Wow, what some good players we had all over NE Mississippi in those days. Wheeler didn't have football, so their concentration was on round-ball almost the entire year, even in the summertime. Richard Arnold was coach that year, and for several more.
One more item; they were masters at stalling the ball, and at the last moment a toss to Dixon would cause him to do his long reach and put it near the net for an easy lay-up to any of the other players that managed to break into range. Sometimes and often, he would just turn around and toss it in himself.
At least one member of this team has passed away, M. C. Saylors.
