Science Hill High School

Dennis Greenwell

Dennis Greenwell

Dennis Greenwell assisted Elvin Little-led teams to the state tournament, then succeeded him by taking a trip there as well.

Greenwell's 1982 Hilltoppers, led by Herbie Bullock and Albert Sams, went 31-5. They were so close to 32-4 they could taste it. After reaching the state tournament, the 'Toppers led Memphis Central by 10 at times and were tied late before losing 50-44 in the state quarterfinals.

Little and Greenwell had such a good chemistry they were referred to as Fred and Barney by some.

"Dennis and Coach Little were such a good team," said former assistant and AD Charlie Bailey. "They complemented each other so well."

Bailey said Greenwell showed him the ropes when he was coming into coaching, and did so with class.

"I looked toward Dennis for leadership. I learned a lot about the game of basketball and the game of life from him. He was one of my mentors."

Dobyns-Bennett coach Charlie Morgan, who was an assistant on Coach Greenwell's state tournament team, echoed those sentiments.

"The thing I remember is how Coach Greenwell took me under his wings," Morgan said. "He was a mentor. He'd been in it a while, and he helped me learn the value of patience."

Greenwell kept things in proper perspective. "I had a tremendous amount of respect for Coach Greenwell," Morgan said.

"You can lose track of time in coaching, but he never let us forget how important it was to keep your family at the top of your list." And he did it while being a successful coach.

"I knew Dennis was going to be good basketball coach when we were playing together at Milligan College," former Auburn coach Sonny Smith said.

"Shoot, most coaches can win a lot of games in Johnson City. But I know Dennis had a great record up there Cloudland. And trust me, it's hard to have good records at Cloudland."