26 straight district titles are part of basketball coach Freddie Roland's LBJ legacy
LBJ coach Freddie Roland's office is decorated with a mural of photographs of former players and a wall shelf filled with basketball trophies.
It would be easy to say the trophies represent the unparalleled success Roland has enjoyed since he took over the LBJ basketball team in 1996. Yet he considers the relationships with players and coaches he's built along the way an even greater prize.
It's time, though, to give credit for the work he has done on the court. All told, the Jaguars have won or shared the district basketball championship 26 years in a row.
It's a streak that will end this season. LBJ is 8-18 overall, 5-4 in District 24-5A heading into Friday night's game against Navarro. Perhaps the Jaguars will regroup for a playoff run.
One bad year hasn't dampened the spirit of the 76-year-old coach who aspires to return for at least one more season. Roland's work ethic has never been questioned. Not only is he busy with basketball, but he also owns about 30 head of cattle and two tractors at his ranch in Bastrop County.
During an hour-long chat in his cramped office Tuesday, Roland spoke about the players who have crossed his path for nearly three decades. No player in his program has failed to graduate. Many have played college basketball or earned success in other walks of life.
"I don't brag," he said. "I just do what I do."
Dressed for success, on and off the court
Roland, who wears a suit to every game, has often said that he dresses well because he wants his players to see that Black men should strive for the same success he has earned. He added that he admires Texas women's basketball coach Vic Schaefer for the way he dresses for Longhorns games.
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Roland tells a story about why he has always taken a businesslike approach to basketball.
"Back in the day, the great (Temple University) basketball coach John Chaney made all his players get a briefcase for game day," Roland recalled. "It got everyone's attention. He told them we're all going to work."
Roland's team's have been hard at work during this 26-year period of winning district titles. He has created a culture of winning, winning with class, winning with whatever group of players wear Jaguar purple and white.
Former LBJ assistant coach Antoine Thompson, now the head coach at Stony Point, said Roland's "ability to relate, adapt and mold the inner-city community of black and brown children" is one of his best success stories.
"The (LBJ) culture speaks towards winning, towards family, towards camaraderie, and the nature of being the best," Thompson added.
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Goal to go: that elusive state title
Roland said he continues to coach because he still aspires to win state, an accomplishment that has eluded him all these years. His teams have reached state three times. He still moans about some untimely missed free throws in the 2004 state finals, a game the Jags lost 64-62 to Dallas Lincoln.
Roland said he has little doubt LBJ will be in the playoffs next year as district champs. The Jaguars have a not-so-secret weapon, a 6-foot-7 post named Cauande Neves. He moved with his family from Brazil to Texas a few years ago to "look for a better life" and has been playing competitive basketball only two years.
"I call him Big C," Roland said. "He's going to be something special."
Roland said he remembers the first time he saw Neves in the school hallway.
"Dude, how tall are you? Where did you come from?" Roland recalls saying to the tall newcomer. It didn't take long for the coach to convince Neves to give basketball a shot.
A special visitor turned out for basketball practice on Tuesday and everyone in the building seemed to know his name. It was Ray Jackson, considered to be the best player in LBJ history. He's best known as a member of the culture phenomenon known as the Fab Five, the 1991 Michigan recruiting class that all started as freshmen.
"I'm looking forward to reclaiming our (district) title next season," Jackson said.
Win or lose, Roland said he has "been blessed" to be the leader of the Jaguars for 28 years. Former players often return to campus to thank him for the influence he had on their lives. That means a lot to him, but there is still something he wants to accomplish before he retires for good.
"I'm still trying to get us a championship in Austin, Texas," he said.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: LBJ has been to UIL state tournament three times under Freddie Roland
