Douglas Lipscomb
Wheeler High School
Impact Statement
Lipscomb has impacted his players and his community. After stepping away from coaching, he’s now trying to grow the sport with the aide of his podcast.
Biography
An All-State basketball player in high school and a 1984 graduate of Middle Tennessee State University, Lipscomb served seven seasons as an assistant coach at his alma mater, Gainesville (GA) High, before taking the reins at Wheeler, which finished 4-20 the season prior to his arrival.
He guided the Wildcats to a 15-12 record in his first season, then to the first of his five 5A state championships in 1994. Wheeler claimed four more state titles in the past decade – in 2002, 2003, 2005 and 2009 – and in 2005 became the first Georgia school in 54 years to claim three state titles in a four-year span.
That year, Lipscomb was named National Boys Coach of the Year by StudentSports.com and coached the Boys East squad in the McDonald’s All-American Game. He was named Pinholster Coach of the Year by the Atlanta Tipoff Club in 1995 and 2003 and 5A Coach of the Year by the Georgia Sports Writers Association in 2003, 2005 and 2009.
Lipscomb’s teams have a record of 493-111 and have won 12 region titles, made eight trips to the state’s Final Four and have been nationally ranked by USA Today six times. Over 30 of Lipscomb’s players have earned Division 1 scholarships, and three, Sharif Abdur Rahim (Memphis Grizzlies, Atlanta Hawks, Portland Trail Blazers, Los Angeles Kings), Jamario Davidson (Charlotte Bobcats, Golden State Warriors) and J.J. Hickson (Cleveland Cavaliers), have played in the NBA.
Lipscomb led Wheeler to another state title in 2015, his 6th championships overall, and holds over 600 career victories. After the 2016-2017 season, Lipscomb stepped away from coaching but he’s not that far away. Lipscomb now has a podcast where instead of coaching, he talks about basketball and other related topics on “Real Life Basketball”.
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