Facing the Snook Bluejays in the 1960s through the early 1980s was beyond intimidating.
Most opponents simply wilted under the pressure -- psychological in addition to the Bluejays considerable athletic skills.
It is a dynasty that looks like a story book, and in some ways it was.
Too good to be true? The record book proves otherwise.
A total of 10 state championships, including seven in a row.
A 52-0 season. A 90-game winning streak.
Numbers that look so good, they seem like a misprint.
But the record book bears the truth.
It was magical, and it was real.
Last Friday, dozens of former Snook players attending a gathering for all of the state champions, and they were recognized at the Snook-Somerville basketball game -- each team stepping to center court to wave at the crowd and remember one more time.
Snook’s former players enjoyed seeing their old teammates -- some they had not seen in more than 40 years.
For Wesley Jackson, a member of Donnie Victorick’s 1982, 1983 and 1984 champions, it was all about “the love for one another.”
“If you love someone, you don’t want to fail them. You want to treat them right. You do your best to get that championship,” Jackson said.
Hearing the laughter and conversation, Jackson said: “That is what you see in this room love.”
There were also memories of hard earned achievements.
The Bluejays of those eras worked doggedly.
Practice was serious business. You simply outworked your opponent.
Bobby Rosier of the 1969 champions of Coach Jimmy Horn said his biggest memory was the coaches.
Jimmy Horn presided over the first great era the 1965, 1966 and 1969 state champions.
It was his brother Don Horn who added to the legacy with a long run of state title appearances in the 1970s, culminating with his 1978 and 1979 state champions.
Then Victorick began his remarkable run of five straight state titles -- 1980-1984.
Even then, Rosier understood the Bluejay’s coaching was exceptional.
“Coach Jimmy Horn taught me not just basketball but life inself,” Rosier said. “How to handle myself when I went out on my own.”
But Horn clearly understood the nuances of winning -- the little things that added up to the big things.
Rosier said Horn taught his players how to jump higher, using the right body techniques.
Shrewd strategy but deceptively simple -- focusing always on fundamentals.
Snook of the dynasty era always played an aggressive man defense, often pressing their opponents into one too many turnovers and bad shots.
Offensively, their “triangle” formation that focused on patience, getting just the right shot.
Don Horn recalls one of his coaching rivals saying watching the Bluejays’s offense was like watching grass grow.
Maybe so, but Snook won -- just about always.
Leo Macik, from the first state champion team in 1965, recalls having the hot hand in a playoff game against Round Top-Carmine, a game they were supposed to lose.
It was clearly Leo’s night.
A teammate kept feeding him the ball.
“He knew I had the hot hand that night, and he got the ball in my hands,” Macik recalled.
It all led to the big moments at the old Gregory Gym at the University of Texas at Austin, defeating Deweyville 48-44 in overtime.
Hezekiah Carter Jr., would play on four consecutive state championships (1978-81), along with teammate Clint Thomas (1980-83), a feat unequaled to this day, according to the UIL.
“Our guys had a desire to do our best,” Carter recalled.
Everyone wanted to do their part, and no one wanted to break the cycle.
It was indeed a brotherhood, Carter recalled.
They visited each others homes, shared meals, spent times with each other’s families.
But practice was all business. Everyone knew that.
Carter recalled shooting free throws in practice. If you make one, you do one lap. If you miss one, you do two laps.
“It made you mentally focus on making it,” Carter recalled.
Carter said the reunion was special.
“I hadn’t seen some of these guys in over 40 years. We are starting to show our age, but some of these coaches look younger than I do,” he said.
Writer John Coussons is preparing a book on the Bluejay dynasty, due for release in November.
Coussons recalled the Bluejays from his dad’s coaching days.
“Snook was a diamond in the middle of off the crazy football stuff,” Coussons recalled. “Everyone knew about Snook.”
“The Horns were great, great coaches that did it right,” he said.
Coussons said he recalled Victorick telling him that he benefited as a Bluejay player by sitting on the bench -- absorbing all the knowledge from his coaches.
It later paid off as he too became a great Hall of Fame coach.
Victorick fought back raw emotion when he addressed the gathering on Friday, telling them “your achievements are not going to be paralleled again.”
“It won’t happen. Thank you for that. Thank you so much,” Victorick said.
Don Horn said the Bluejays success was based on a system, a program, good coaching and support from the school and fans.
And some very special kids.
“They were willing to put in the hard work to be successful. We needed to outwork our opponents, and they were willing to put in the time. They listened, and they had good discipline,” Horn recalled.
It also helped that Snook’ system was a unified approached carried on through several coaching regimes.
Their fundamental offense and defense was taught to Snook youngsters in the fifth grade.
By the time they were seniors, they could perform almost by rote.
Strategically, learning from the great Cotton Robinson in Buna, the Bluejays used their straight man-to-man defense “all day long.”
“We got off the bus with that pressure defense,” he recalled.
Offensively, the perfectly timed perfect shot was typically no more than 12 feet away with one defender on you.
If you were wide open, you could shoot outside.
Often, the defense was forced to double team someone who was hot that night. That just opened up someone else.
For one night, the players and coaches relived it all.
“Our thanks go to God, our players, their parents, the administration, school board and fans for granting us the opportunity to represent the entire Snook community,” the players and coaches said in a joint statement in the evening’s program.