MILLEDGEVILLE, Ga. — So often, it's said we should give the people we admire their flowers while they're still here. Too often, it's only after they're gone that we recognize their greatness. Not so in Baldwin County, where the Baldwin High gym was named after legendary coach, James Lunsford, on Sunday.
Lunsford can be described in so many ways. Words like life changer, father figure, community leader and motivator were thrown around at his ceremony.
"Words cannot express what he means to me and this community," said former player Clarence Hall. "He has touched so many of our lives. You heard the stories, it's just a great thing."
The dedication was a year in the making. Spearheaded by players like Hall, who had to form a committee and by superintendent Norris Price, who had to write a new policy to allow the change.
"[The committee] has worked hard and I'm so proud of what today turned out to be, which is a great celebration," Price said.
Among family, friends and former players, the gym was named after Lunsford largely for his efforts on the basketball floor. Among his accomplishments are over 800 wins, six final four appearances, Baldwin High's only boy's state championship. He also was selected as a Georgia State Hall of Fame finalist and has received the Lifetime Achievement Award and the Coach of the Year Award by the Georgia Athletic Coaches Association and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. However, ask anyone in the building and they will have a story about something he did off the floor.
"A lot of people just wanted to win games, I didn't just want to win games, I wanted to win people," Lunsford said. "I wanted guys to leave being better. Maybe they weren't better players, but they were better people and better students."
Baldwin High Gym named after legendary coach
Lunsford sent over 400 players to college, many who said they wouldn't have been able to do so without him. He became a father figure to even more and his impact goes far beyond Sunday's dedication crowd.
"They tell at a person's funeral, you can tell what kind of person they is," Lunsford said. "You can look at all sections of the community. That's what I'm about, all sections of the community."
Among onlookers were current players of Lunsford at Georgia Military College Prepatory School. Price said no one could set a better example for young men.
"To have students here, about Coach Lunsford and learn about such a great role model, says a lot about what we value," Price said.
Those values will forever be memorialized with the gym dedication. More recognition is on the way. Efforts to have the court itself named after Lunsford are in the works as well.