Gillam, Mitch
| Mitch Gillam – (1984) |
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Mitch Gillam
Always a hotbed for high school football the City of Lorain had experienced only a few bright spots in other athletics as the 1971 – 72 school year began. The scenario was about to change. “Merry Mitch” Gillam had come to town determined to give the burgeoning basketball program at Admiral King a boost.
Mitch is not always blessed with that superior talent. However, each year he seems capable of developing the talent and blending nine or ten players into an interchangeable cohesive unit. The aficionados agree that Mitch and Admiral King win due to:
**Discipline** – The players respect their coach. He brooks no disrespect on the court or the classroom. The team must be patient on offense and will make the passes to obtain the right shot selection.
**Dedication:** The team and the coaches devote all their attention to their season. They strive for top conditioning for the game may be on the line in the 4th quarter. Each player has a designated role on offense and defense. Mitch shepherds his players and counsels with parents, if necessary.
**Defense:** One of Mitch’s maxims — “Offensively you may have a bad nite, but the defense should always be good.” Featuring mostly man to man with constant pressure on the ball and a constant hand in the passing lane, the King defense is ever changing, but it is consistently good. Opponents have averaged only 46 points per game during the last four years.
**Devising:** Mitch with his assistants continually scruntinize the opponents strengths and weaknesses on offense and defense. Mitch devises the game pan — who they will attack on offense, who will be overguarded on defense. Then he adds the role that each King player will carry out. It all adds up to over 300 wins in 19 years of coaching. And now each year the AAA Basketball spotlight focuses on Lorain, Ohio.
**The Record And The Honors**
1980 State Runnerup
One Regional Championship
Two Regional Runnerup
Eight District Championships
Eleven Sectional Championships
Five Buckeye Conference Championships
81-82 19 Consecutive Wins
82-83 Ranked #1 in State 6 weeks
1980 Inducted into Ohio Coaches Hall of Fame
1982 Associated Press Ohio AAA Coach of the Year
1981 Head Coach in North-South Game
Five time Northeastern Coach of Year
Four times Buckeye Conference Coach of Year
Twice Lorain County Coach of Year
301 Career wins
Admiral King 233 Wins — 68 Losses
