A gesture of love for Lincon Prep basketball

GRAMBLING — Lincoln Prep, already proven to be one of the top basketball schools in Class 1A, has received an upgrade that may just get the Panthers over their playoff hump.

Thanks to a gift from the Tatum family, longtime Grambling natives, and spearheaded by former Lincoln Prep substitute teacher and board member Don Tatum, the boys and girls basketball programs will now have a state-of-theart shooting machine to use in practice to improve their shot making abilities.

And it’s the hope of the Tatums and Lincoln Prep coaches that the machine unlocks the final piece for both programs to bring postseason glory back to Grambling.

“If you got that shooting machine, there is only way to shoot – either the right way or the wrong way,” Tatum said. “And I asked him (Antonio Hudson) who was his shooting coach, and he said I don’t teach them to shoot. I teach them how to defend. But they have to learn how to shoot. So, every time I went down and watched them at state, it seemed like every other team had that one extra guy who could shoot the ball. You see the teams that get down there every year, one of the things they have in common is a shooting machine. And you always have an opportunity when you can shoot.”

Hudson, Prep head basketball coach, has led his team to the state tournament three years in a row, each trip ending heartbreak in the semifinals or state championship game. The Lady Panthers tripled their win total from a season ago and won their first playoff game in three years as well — all without the tools other teams have had.

Now, with a machine that nearly every school standing in Prep’s way over the last half decade has used, Hudson believes the generosity of the Tatums will propel Lincoln Prep to a new level of winning.

“This is a family that’s always been supportive of me, and they always have been supportive of the community.

"It’s intertwined where when I asked, they supported me, but they also did it for the community. It speaks volumes of them and of the family,” Hudson said. “ In today’s game, you gotta be able to shoot the three. Everybody knows our struggle. This is the second year we’ve been in this gym. We’re actually behind the eight-ball. Most schools have had this machine for years. And they made that happen for us. I can never say thank you enough.”

The Tatum family purchased the machine in honor of their late son Michael Tatum, a former lieutenant colonel in the Air Force who was killed in 2013 by two drunk drivers.

According to Don, Michael’s motto in life boiled down to three principles: Do what you’re told, stay focused, and have fun. Those very words are now written on the machine for players to be reminded of Michael’s legacy.

“Basketball was my first love, and it was my kids’ first love too,” Tatum said. “They played a lot of sports, but they loved basketball — the strategy, the speed.”

Hudson gave thank you remarks and presented the family with a commemorative plaque and basketball season passes in front of both teams before unveiling the machine Wednesday evening. And not to be ignored, Hudson reminded his team the power on display in the fact a Black family in Grambling purchased a $15,000 shooting machine to better them. He knows the Panthers won’t take that lightly.

“At the state tournament, they got people shooting at a high clip. I feel like if we’d be able to shoot the ball, with the way we defend and the toughness we bring to the table, I think that will take the program over the top,” Hudson said. “Being able to shoot the ball 1 through 5 means something. In years past, we’ve only had one person, maybe two, that is a threat from outside. It brings a whole new element to the program. That’s why I can’t thank them enough for this.

“When we become a team that’s able to have multiple shooters, I think that this machine can actually get us over the hump.”