There were all the victories – 306 of them, to be exact – and the state
championships.
The Beecher community is justifiably proud of the on-court accomplishments of its boys’ basketball teams during
Mose Lacy’s 16-year coaching career.
Buctown became Buctown on Lacy’s watch.
But it’s what happened off the court that is Lacy’s lasting legacy.
Rather, what didn’t happen.
“He’s big on doing the right things,” said Beecher athletic director and football coach Courtney Hawkins, who played
basketball for four seasons under Lacy. “You never heard about any of us getting in trouble. You never heard of any of
us having issues at anybody’s gym. When we came into a gym, our shirts were tucked in, we had on a belt, our hats
were forward, we sat together. It was just about instilling discipline in us. Sometimes it was tough love. It was what we
needed. But he was also the first one to give you a big hug and tell you congratulations, you played hard.”
In a tough school district in which many young people lost their way, Lacy made sure his players stayed on the
straight and narrow. The consequences of running afoul of Lacy could strike more fear in the hearts of his players than
running afoul of the law.
“You notice, you don’t see any of the guys from Beecher out there who are a mess,” Lacy said. “You represent your
community, your parents and yourself, so you don’t go out there and do crazy things. Carry yourself in a manly way. Kids
that are coming up through Beecher look to what you do and they want to be part of it.”
Lacy was much more than a coach to the young men under his care.
“If you were hungry, he was the first one to reach into his pocket to get you money to get some Kentucky Fried
Chicken,” Hawkins said. “He made himself readily available if you needed to talk. There were so many layers of Mr. Lacy
that helped mold so many of us here in this community. I can tell you, without coach Lacy, there wouldn’t be a Courtney
Hawkins. I’m pretty sure there’s a number of guys who came from here who can make the same statement.”
Ernest Steward played on two state championship basketball teams coached by Lacy, then went on to play football
at Michigan State University.
