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The man credited for founding Laker Pride in Camdenton died last month in Mt. Vernon.
Coach Jack Roberts will best be remembered by basketball fans from Glendale High School in Springfield, but anyone who dons the purple and gold of the Camdenton Lakers should know his story.
Jack Roberts grew up in Buffalo, Mo. and played basketball there. He went on to play for Drury College in Springfield. He served in the Army during World War II and earned several medals. After the Army, Roberts became the head basketball coach at Camdenton High School. He first coached the Camdenton Tigers in the 1948-49 season.
In eight seasons at Camdenton, Roberts' basketball teams compiled a 135-95 record.
According to former player Mac Green, the Camdenton Tigers grew tired of playing other nearby schools such as Waynesville, Stoutland and Versailles that also used the tiger as a mascot.
Roberts contacted the NBA's Minneapolis Lakers for permission to use their logo and name in order to give Camdenton teams a unique nickname. After a controversial vote by the student council, the Camdenton Lakers were born.
Roberts left Camdenton after the 1956 season. He returned to varsity basketball when Glendale High School established a basketball team. Roberts coached the Falcons in Springfield from 1963 to 1984.
Under Roberts, Glendale won five Ozark Conference championships, seven regional or district titles, three Blue and Gold Tournament championships, and made the state quarterfinals three times. Roberts is a member of the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame, the Missouri Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame, and the Drury University Hall of Fame.
"I have been a participant in a broad spectrum of southwest Missouri basketball history dating from 1948 to 1984 and have been privileged to send my teams against most of the best players and coaches of that era...I'll tell you it's been a good time and I've enjoyed it," Roberts told the Springfield News-Leader after his 1984 retirement. "In the course of my career as a coach, I've taken the good with the bad and gone my way...There has been far, far more good."
Camdenton connection
Roberts was a fixture on the Glendale sidelines for 21 years, except for the 1977-78 season.
A tumble and an injury to Roberts helped another coach with a connection to Camdenton take the first step on his Hall of Fame journey.
According to Springfield basketball historian Patrick Dailey, operator of glendalebasketball.com, Jack Roberts was injured in 1977 when he fell off of a ladder.
The man credited for founding Laker Pride in Camdenton died last month in Mt. Vernon.
Coach Jack Roberts will best be remembered by basketball fans from Glendale High School in Springfield, but anyone who dons the purple and gold of the Camdenton Lakers should know his story.
Jack Roberts grew up in Buffalo, Mo. and played basketball there. He went on to play for Drury College in Springfield. He served in the Army during World War II and earned several medals. After the Army, Roberts became the head basketball coach at Camdenton High School. He first coached the Camdenton Tigers in the 1948-49 season.
In eight seasons at Camdenton, Roberts' basketball teams compiled a 135-95 record.
According to former player Mac Green, the Camdenton Tigers grew tired of playing other nearby schools such as Waynesville, Stoutland and Versailles that also used the tiger as a mascot.
Roberts contacted the NBA's Minneapolis Lakers for permission to use their logo and name in order to give Camdenton teams a unique nickname. After a controversial vote by the student council, the Camdenton Lakers were born.
Roberts left Camdenton after the 1956 season. He returned to varsity basketball when Glendale High School established a basketball team. Roberts coached the Falcons in Springfield from 1963 to 1984.
Under Roberts, Glendale won five Ozark Conference championships, seven regional or district titles, three Blue and Gold Tournament championships, and made the state quarterfinals three times. Roberts is a member of the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame, the Missouri Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame, and the Drury University Hall of Fame.
"I have been a participant in a broad spectrum of southwest Missouri basketball history dating from 1948 to 1984 and have been privileged to send my teams against most of the best players and coaches of that era...I'll tell you it's been a good time and I've enjoyed it," Roberts told the Springfield News-Leader after his 1984 retirement. "In the course of my career as a coach, I've taken the good with the bad and gone my way...There has been far, far more good."
Camdenton connection
Roberts was a fixture on the Glendale sidelines for 21 years, except for the 1977-78 season.
A tumble and an injury to Roberts helped another coach with a connection to Camdenton take the first step on his Hall of Fame journey.
According to Springfield basketball historian Patrick Dailey, operator of glendalebasketball.com, Jack Roberts was injured in 1977 when he fell off of a ladder.
Roberts was hanging a 'welcome' banner for a holiday tournament at Glendale and broke his hip and his arm in the fall. He missed the rest of the season as he recovered from his injuries.
Assistant coach Roy Green became the acting head coach of the Falcons. Green played high school basketball for the Camdenton Lakers and led them to the 1961 state quarterfinals.
His older brother, Mac Green, played for Camdenton while Roberts was the head coach.
Mac Green is one of a handful of players that officially played for both the Camdenton Tigers and the Camdenton Lakers, as the name change took place in the middle of his high school career.
Coach Roy Green steered the Glendale Falcons to the state quarterfinals. The wins from that season counted toward Roberts' overall career record. Green had previously been a head coach at Miller and Willow Springs high schools before taking an assistant's job at Glendale.
He returned to a varsity head coaching job in 1983 when he became head coach at Springfield Kickapoo. In 29 total seasons, Green put together a 584-233 record and guided the Chiefs to two state titles.
He joined Roberts in the Missouri Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame.
The two coached against each other in a game in 1984, a game that Roberts' Falcons won going away.
