A basketball tournament in the 1960s is where I first saw Tim Dominey. I was in the bleachers rooting for Unadilla High School when Vienna’s phenomenal hoopster broke our hearts. Early in the game he took two steps over the centerline and swished the net. I thought he was lucky but learned he was good.      

David Speight, leader of a talented Unadilla Blue Devils squad, still remembers the game. “We’d take a step back to guard him and he’d shoot,” he recalled with a grin.

The fall of 1970 was the second time I saw Tim. Valdosta State College didn’t have a football team, so basketball fever reigned supreme. The old gym was packed with spirited fans every game. T.D. was a headliner there too, hitting three-point shots for two-point rewards and playing relentless defense.  

When we met I confessed my attitude had changed from jeering to cheering. After he’d sink those long tosses I’d tell anyone who would listen we were both from Dooly County.

We had a short visit in late July. He stopped by on his way to Valdosta for a roundball reunion. Tim’s brother, James, coached there for 29 years, further elevating a young but strong program. James stays in touch with his former charges and calls an occasional huddle. Great coaches never quit caring.

The University of Florida is where Tim’s collegiate career began but quickly got sidetracked. An elbow to the mouth rearranged his teeth. Then came two knee surgeries. “I spent more time in the hospital than the classroom,” he said jestfully. He doesn’t dwell on what might have been. 

ABAC was his next stop. It was a junior college then, a program where he’d have ample opportunities to regain his finesse. He left Tifton after one season for Valdosta. During three years there he set multiple records and helped his coaching brother solidify a winning tradition.

After V.S.C. came a brief stint with the Atlanta Hawks. From the time he was drafted until the day he reported, James would play Tim one-on-one in demanding early-morning workouts. He prepared diligently for Atlanta but so did many others. 

Fortunate is the word Tim used to describe his journey. He’s a man of deep faith so blessed works equally well. Rather than taking credit for his many accomplishments, he points to those who helped him excel.

That process began on a family farm when he was a kid. He scrimmaged on dirt against three older brothers, Melvin, Jr., Tommy, and James, all who would later play college hoops. Tim recounted the first time he bounced a basketball on a wooden floor, probably in the sixth grade. “It came back up!” he laughed. “I was used to slamming the ball and dodging mud puddles.”

Glenn Cassell, one of Georgia’s winningest high school coaches, was a superb mentor to Tim and countless others. “Coach let me play,” he said appreciatively. Coach Cassell told him in junior high to shoot more, apparently recognizing unusual potential. Later on Coach Dominey guided his talented sibling with a similar approach.

Tim cites his teammates as another reason for any personal success. “I could not have had a better group of teammates in high school or college,” he said. The other starters at Vienna High and Valdosta State, plus a strong bench, allowed him to perform at his best.

Mike Chason, longtime radio announcer for Valdosta State basketball, said the 1973 squad probably had the best starting five in the school’s history. Four are in Valdosta State’s Hall of Fame. Tim is hoping the fifth will be inducted.

“I was fortunate in so many ways,” he said again as he was leaving. “I was fortunate to have three brothers who taught me what they knew, teammates who were amazing, and coaches who let me play.”

There’s no way to cover all his accomplishments in a column, so I’ll close with some juvenile poetry he might enjoy: “At first he had seemed like a foe, but that was a long time ago. When I met him again, we soon became friends, so I don’t always know what I know.”

I thought he was lucky but learned he was good, real good. For those of us who cheered from the bleachers, or ran the floor with him, or coached him along the way, I hope Tim realizes we consider ourselves very fortunate. If you want to say blessed, that works equally well.