Tommy Ricks

Class of 2020

Tommy Ricks | 1926 – 1965 | Dunbar High School | Boy's Basketball

You can’t win without great coaching and you certainly can’t win big without great players. Dunbar had both in 1965 and Tommy Ricks was one of the best to play for the Panthers. Tommy, like all the players on that 1965 team, probably had no idea of how fortunate he was to be on that team. This was a special group of young men that had come together at this point in time. They would accomplish something really special. They were coached by a former Dunbar player, Curtis Gipson, who played on the first State Championship Team at Dunbar. Coach Gipson’s 1953 team was inducted into the Lubbock ISD Athletic Hall of Honor in the Class of 2012 and Coach Gipson was inducted the following year in 2013. Tommy and his teammates had a special bond. They all wanted to win and were willing to pay the price to do whatever it took to get that accomplished. Coach Gipson gave a lot of the credit for the type of young men he had on that team to the full support of the players’ parents. He said he never had a problem with any of his players on the team. Tommy Ricks was one of those players that pushed the others to be their best. Because of his leadership he was voted to be a Team Captain by his teammates. All of the players on the team could score, but Tommy Ricks led the 1965 team in scoring at 15 points per game. After his fantastic season, Tommy was selected to the All-District, All-Zone, and All-State Teams in the Prairie View Interscholastic League. Ricks went on to play basketball at Prairie View A&M with his Dunbar teammate, Quincy White. That 1965 team had a special chemistry that took them to the State Title. Tommy Ricks was a big reason that it all came together that year for the Panthers.
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