Published: January 24, 2008 10:22 pm         

Convention center court to be named in Barksdale’s honor

For Dave Barksdale, the Raleigh County Armory/Beckley-Raleigh County Convention Center has really been the “friendly confines.”

Not to mention a family affair.

Barksdale’s late father Frank was a member of the first Raleigh County Armory board and was instrumental in the building of the facility.

And Barksdale himself played in the first game ever contested in the building when No. 1 Woodrow Wilson hosted South Charleston on Feb. 2, 1962.

So it’s only fitting that the Barksdale name will grace the court where he won a state high school championship as a player and coached Beckley teams to five more during the 1990s.

The court will officially be named Dave Barksdale Court on Feb. 8 when Woodrow Wilson meets Parkersburg South at the convention center.

There will be a reception prior to the game at 5:30 p.m. Tickets will be available at the armory for $10, which includes the reception and the game. Tickets are being limited to the first 400 people.

“While it means a great deal to me to have the name Barksdale on the floor, I also have to think it’s a tribute to my father,” Barksdale said Thursday night prior to MSU, where the legendary prep coach is an assistant coach, playing Southern Virginia in the Mountain State Coal Classic college division.

“He was a member of the first board here. After he passed away in the late ’70s, I remember someone at the wake mentioning something about naming something after him. It never happened then, but I’d like to think that it’s named not only for me, but for him as well.”

“I was at the state tournament last year and I read something about Beckley pride and what Dave Barksdale meant to Beckley basketball,” said convention center board member Richard Jarrell, who is spearheading the event.

“It just kept burning in my mind that we need to honor someone who has done so much for basketball and kids in this area. Pride burns in coach and we need to recognize that.”

Those who have worked with him at the armory over the years would agree.

“First of all, he is the most competitive coach I’ve come across in 40 years of announcing games,” public address announcer Carlos Garten said. “While he was a competitor, he would also do anything for any kid out there. Didn’t matter if they went to Independence, Liberty, wherever, if they asked coach for help, he’d give it. How many coaches out there are willing to help kids from other schools? That’s Dave Barksdale.”

“In my opinion, Beckley is privileged to have a man like coach Barksdale,” longtime clock operator Bobby Smith said. “You couldn’t ask for a better man, on or off the court. Make no mistake, he wanted to win. And he takes the game very seriously.”

“His work ethic is incredible,” official scorekeeper Rita Burleson said. “What he tried to do was pull everything he could out of every kid on his team. And his record shows that he was able to do that.”

During one streak, Woodrow Wilson was unbeatable at home.

From late in the 1990 season to the 1995 season, Woodrow Wilson didn’t lose a game at the armory, rolling up an impressive 53 wins in a row. During that period, Woodrow Wilson won three straight state titles (1990, ’92 and ’93). The Eagles would again go back-to-back in 1997-98.

“What we want to do is bring back the spirit of ‘Dave’s Dome,’ even if it’s for one night,” Jarrell said. “And we want to showcase the team we have now. We have a good team and we think they’re going to compete (for the state title).”

Jarrell said “Dave Barksdale Court” will be placed on each side of the court, facing the stands.

Barksdale has too many memories to count in the facility, but he does remember that first game.

“We were No. 1 and South Charleston was No. 2,” he said. “The place was sold out. It was the biggest crowd any of us had seen. And we beat them. And now, to think all these years later, I was able to watch Woodrow as a fan first, then as a player and then coach. It was always like a big family for us. Like we say, ‘Once a Flying Eagle, always a Flying Eagle.’”

Same for Dave Barksdale Court from here out.

— E-mail: demorrison@register-herald.com