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Book Review: Coach Throws Accusations Of Racism Back Into NCAA's Court

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By KEVIN WALKER

The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 2, 2008

"Slam Dunked," by Ron Gomez with Beryl Shipley (Wordclay, $19.95)

Outside of south Louisiana - technically part of the Union, but in many ways a world unto itself - it's perhaps hard to understand the stature of Beryl Shipley. A respected member of the town of Lafayette, Shipley is best known for taking an obscure basketball program and turning it into a national powerhouse.

Shipley's record as coach of the University of South Louisiana Bulldogs - now the University of Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns - is remarkable by any standard. His lifetime record was 293-126. He had only one losing season. In 1971, in the program's first year playing in the NCAA's Division 1-A. the team went an incredible 25-4.

A Shipley team meant a disciplined team that played both ends of the court with intensity and skill.

That's why, even today, it's still shocking that the basketball program was given the NCAA's infamous "death penalty" in 1973, suspending basketball for two years at the USL because of recruiting violations.

Those who know Shipley have always known there was another side to the story, and he's finally put it into print. The subtitle of the book gives you the first clue: "The NCAA's Shameful Reaction to Athletic Integration in the Deep South."

As fiery as Shipley was on the court, he matches that intensity here, laying out his history with insightful anecdotes and facts that put the suspension in a very different light.

The most successful player on Shipley's team was Dwight "Bo" Lamar, who led the nation in scoring in 1972. He was one of a handful of black players recruited by Shipley, an act that he claims led to retaliation by racists, the Louisiana university system and, ultimately, the NCAA.

Shipley and Ron Gomez, a former state legislator, offer a point-by-point refutation of the NCAA accusations. That makes up the bulk of the book. It makes for fascinating reading and provides an inside look into how the NCAA conducted its investigation.

One of the most shocking aspects: Shipley never even saw all the accusations until 2006. "Beryl," Gomez writes, "was flying blind."

Shipley's argument - backed up here with documents and interviews - is that many of the allegations were trumped-up charges aimed at retaliating against Shipley's recruitment of black players. He also claims university leaders capitulated to the power wielded by the state Board of Education, which did not approve of Shipley's program.

What is most chilling is the book's depiction of the hate and ridicule aimed at the black players, everything from angry crowds greeting them as they entered arenas to Louisiana College's band playing "Dixie" and chanting "gator bait" as Shipley's team (including three black players) took the court. For one game in Ruston, the team had to be escorted into town by police and guarded by officers as they entered the arena.

Shipley's book provides not only a vigorous defense for a man who claims to have been wronged by the system, but also a window into a past that the Deep South has been fighting to put behind it ever since.

Kevin Walker is a reporter for The Tampa Tribune.

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