‘Let’s make Dunbar awesome again.’ All-time great player takes over Bulldogs boys basketball

On the hunt for its third boys basketball coach in three years, Paul Laurence Dunbar High School didn’t have to look far this time around.

Its hiring committee only had to look up.

Because the top candidate happened to be one of Dunbar’s most celebrated players whose jersey hangs in the S.T. Roach Sports Center’s rafters.

Heralded as George Baker “The Highlight Maker” during his days as an all-state player in the late 1990s, Dunbar’s new coach brings a passion for the school along with a commitment to get the Bulldogs program back on track.

“I was telling the boys, “I didn’t take this job to get my butt kicked at the same place my jersey was retired,’” Baker said during his introductory press conference Wednesday in Dunbar’s gym. “That was a joke. But I’m serious. I’ve seen something special in every one of these boys in the past week.”

Baker follows a one-year stint by John Morgerson, the former Richmond Model coach who went 11-20 with the Bulldogs and stepped down at the end of last season. Prior to Morgerson, Murray Garvin, who recently accepted the head coaching job at Frederick Douglass, coached Dunbar for two seasons in which the team went a combined 24-34.

“I’m not going to promise (wins), but I will promise these kids will play hard,” Baker said. “Do I want to win? Absolutely. But if I win 25 games next year, they’re not going to remember it 20 years from now. I want these boys to be good young men. That’s my win. But I’ll take a state championship if somebody’s going to give it to me.”

Among Baker’s supporters at his introduction Wednesday were the first five boys coaches dating from the school’s founding in 1990, including its first coach Frank Watson, who led the Bulldogs to three 11th Region championships and two Boys’ Sweet 16 runner-up finishes. Scott Chalk, who led Dunbar to the Boys’ Sweet 16 state championship in 2016, was also on hand.

“I’m so proud to see a Dunbar alumni return and coach … somebody who knows the program and knows exactly what’s asked of him,” Watson said. “There’s a spirit over here that people don’t understand. … and that’s (legendary old Dunbar coach) S.T. Roach. There’s a little bit more expected of a basketball coach at Dunbar because of his record and the banners he put on top of the gym.”

The late Roach coached at the original all-black Dunbar high school for 22 seasons until Fayette County Public Schools integrated and the old Dunbar was closed in 1967. When a new school named for the famed Ohio poet opened on Man O’ War Boulevard in 1990, its gym was named the S.T. Roach Sports Center. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, Roach led the Dunbar Bearcats to six 11th Region championships and two Sweet 16 runner-up finishes. Banners denoting those accomplishments hang in the Sports Center alongside those of the Bulldogs.

As a Dunbar player, Baker was a four-year starter at point guard who earned all-state recognition and averaged 22.4 points, 8.5 rebounds and eight assists his senior season. He helped lead Dunbar to a region title as a sophomore in 1997. He continued his playing career at Depaul and later Georgetown College.

Over the years since, Baker has been a youth, AAU and basketball skills coach in central Kentucky. He got his high school coaching start at Paris High School in 2020.

That also unfortunately coincided with the COVID-19 pandemic. The Greyhounds went 3-16 in a shortened 2021 season. In his second season, Paris struggled to a 7-21 mark. However, one of those wins came in the 40th District semifinals over a Montgomery County team that had beaten the Greyhounds twice in the regular season.

“I thought he did a great job at Paris,” said Ivan Rice, sportswriter of the Bourbon County Citizen. “He had to deal with a lot in his first season because of COVID, but he had the kids playing hard.”

Baker said he learned a lot from his time with the Greyhounds, “good and bad,” and acknowledged that growing a “thick skin” was among those lessons.

“Paris was a great stop for me,” Baker said. “And there’s still people there I care about.”

When word of Baker’s hire at Dunbar spread through social media last week, praise and congratulations filled Dunbar Athletics’ Facebook page. Dunbar athletic director Damon Kelley, himself a former head coach at West Jessamine, said Baker’s devotion to Dunbar helped make him the best choice for the job.

“We need stability. Everybody craves stability. And George loves this place,” said Kelley, who was an assistant at Lafayette during Baker’s playing days and knew firsthand how competitive Baker was. “He’s going to be in the gym all the time, and our No. 1 goal is we’ve got to keep our Dunbar kids here at Dunbar, because we’ve lost a lot of players in recent years that are going to other schools. … He’s already winning the kids over. His personality is contagious.”

Boys high school basketball saw an undeniable surge of enthusiasm in Lexington last season with sellout crowds turning out for games featuring crosstown rivals Bryan Station, Henry Clay and Frederick Douglass. As host of last season’s 11th Region Tournament, Dunbar’s gym was filled to capacity for a thrilling championship game between Lexington Catholic and Great Crossing.

Baker wants to see those kinds of crowds turn out for his team, too.

“This place needs to have the student body incorporated back into it … I’ve already hired a DJ,” Baker said. “Let’s just make it fun for everybody. Frederick Douglass does amazing. Bryan Station is awesome. Lexington Catholic is awesome.

“Let’s make Dunbar awesome again.”

Dunbar boys basketball coaches

1990-1999: Frank Watson — 186-94 in nine seasons; two 43rd District titles (1994,1997); three 11th Region titles (1993, 1994, 1997), two state runner-up finishes (1993, 1994).

1999-2005: Eddie Oakley — 97-74 in five seasons,

2005-2010: Carl “Redd” Hutchinson — 60-75 in five seasons,

2010-2012: Justin Yeary — 27-34 in two seasons.

2012-2021: Scott Chalk — 151-114 in nine seasons; Boys Sweet 16 state title (2016); 11th Region title (2016); three 43rd District titles. (2013, 2016, 2021)

2021-2023: Murray Garvin — 24-34 in two seasons.

2023-2024: John Morgerson — 11-20 in one season.