Dublin community continues to honor late principal Jaroy Stuckey

At Fighting Irish basketball games this winter, you'll see something new on the floor.

It's a name: Stuckey.

But the name is only the beginning of remembering a special man who meant more than anything else to the community during his life in Dublin -- a life cut far too short.

In March, Dublin lost one of its own. Dublin High School Principal Jaroy Stuckey and his family passed away in a tragic car wreck on Interstate 16.

The news shook the entire town to its core.

"We got on a call with superintendent and I remember just getting on the phone, and before I could say anything, just heard crying and yelling," Dublin Basketball Head Coach Ben Smith said, "So I hung up."

Stuckey mattered most because his day never ended when school did in the afternoon.

"We didn't have to ask him to show up for no competition," Dublin competitive cheerleader Sanai Mitchell said. "He was there because it was a school sport. I'm not going to say he was supposed to be there, but he made sure he was there."

But those days as a leader in the community began far before his days as a principal. Stuckey grew up in Dublin, attended DHS, and served a critical role on the 2006 boys' basketball team that went on to win the state title. 

His entire life was dedicated to the Fighting Irish spirit in every sense.

Ben Smith was the star point guard on that 2006 team, and remembers just as well how special it was.

"Every day was fun, practice was fun," Smith said. "It was the last time where I played on any team that I knew, every game, we were gonna win."

As he did his whole life, Stuckey led by example in 2006 -- through his play on the floor. 

"He knew when he gave him that look, it was time to get serious," former Dublin Head Coach Clinton Thomas said. "I miss him and the whole community misses him. That's a shame, that a fine young man like that has to be gone."

In 2006, the Irish lost just twice. They played their games at Dublin's old gymnasium, which still stands on the campus, and within it lies a spirit, still very much alive.

"I can almost hear the crowd getting up, getting excited, almost like the Holy Spirit's in here the whole time," Thomas said. "He was a part of that leadership and that spirit that we had."

Whether you knew him as Dr. Stuckey or Jaroy, the 2006 state champ, Dublin is still moving past the loss of the man that made the school go each and every day, but people in Dublin know that wherever he is now, he's still rooting for the Irish, and still keeping everybody in line.

"The good Lord's got him in charge of a lot of good things," Thomas said. "I'm sure it's got something to do with basketball. Hopefully, when my day comes, he'll be right there leading the way. I'm sure he will be."

But in the meantime, it'll be about encouraging others to do the same -- to live like Stuckey would.

"Sometimes, God takes the best people to make others step forward," Smith said. "I think for some of us, it was just, 'Well, we need to do more to honor him.' I know I personally feel like that."

Dublin High School is still far from done, with more plans in the works to honor the man that changed more lives than one could count.