Remembering Georgia School for the Deaf basketball standout Willie Wooten
I was saddened to hear of the recent passing of Willie Wooten, a schoolboy basketball legend who played at Georgia School for the Deaf from 1973-1976. The name brought back fond memories of cold winter nights when every store in Cave Spring would close early for home games and townsfolk from the surrounding area would come to see the wonder boys of GSD play basketball.
Talmadge Gymnasium on the GSD campus was a small venue that would hold maybe 300, but for home games it was always standing room only, and the place would be packed to the rafters. They came to see the team that dominated Region 6B — the B Class was the smallest state classification at the time — and more often than not, they were entertained by a high-speed offense and stifling defense from a team led by Willie Wooten.
With his silky smooth moves and unflappable grace under pressure on the court, Wooten was the catalyst of an offense that averaged close to 70 points a game in an era when the 3-point shot did not exist. Wooten and Bernard Floyd were deadly accurate outside shooters, which opened up the inside for the big guys — Terry Turner, Antonio Cook and Calvin Jester.
Trying to double team Wooten didn’t work too well, as opponents quickly learned, because the others were fully capable of shooting lights out. The fast break was the Tigers’ bread and butter, and it was always a joy to watch. Turner, Cook and Jester were rebounding machines, while Floyd and Wooten would already be streaking upcourt as soon as one of them grabbed a rebound.
The Tigers played against and beat some higher classification schools in Class A and AA, like East Rome, Cedartown and West Rome. GSD Coach Zeke McDaniel had himself a team of overachievers, and he couldn’t be happier.
The GSD Tigers won the Mason-Dixon Tournament for the first time in school history in 1976, with Wooten leading the way. He was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player and was later named the National Deaf Prep Player of the Year by Deaf American magazine. The Tigers also won the Region 6B title for the first time and made it to the second round of the GHSA State Class B tournament.
An injured ankle slowed Wooten down a bit in the secondround game, but he still managed to put up 28 points in a two-point overtime loss. The GSD Tigers racked up 23 wins against only three losses for the year.
Wooten is the second player from the 1976 GSD team to pass away. Terry Turner passed away in 2011. The memories of those games, the cold winter nights and the cheers that were chanted long after the games were over will live on in those who were fortunate enough to be there. Thanks for the memories Willie Wooten, and may God grant you eternal rest.
Willie Harmon Woote, a native of Chickamauga, passed away on Aug. 29 at Park Ridge Medical Center in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The author, Ernest McDaniel, is a 1978 graduate of the Georgia School for the Deaf and a former classmate of Wooten.