January 19, 2018
By: Dwayne Page
Family members of the late Rosa Stokes attended a number retirement ceremony at DCHS Friday night for Rosa who wore #55 during her years as a Lady Tiger Basketball player from 1979-83. Rosa passed away in 2003 from a heart condition.
The ceremony was held between the boys and girls DCHS basketball games against Watertown.
As the family entered the gymnasium to begin the ceremony carrying the banner with Rosa’s name and number, they were greeted by cheers, applause and a standing ovation from the crowd in the stands including members of the DCHS Class of 1983 and Rosa’s former DCHS teammates.
Members of Rosa’s family participating in the tribute Friday night were Margaret Johnson (aunt), John Johnson, Thomas Stokes, and Robert Stokes (uncles), Kim Johnson (cousin), and Cheryl Whitfield, Sonya White, Estella Clark, Margaret Donnell, Amber Donnell, Latisha Donnell, Renita Robinson, and Marquis Donnell.
Raised in Alexandria, Rosa began playing basketball at DeKalb West School for the Lady Bulldogs under Coach Danny Parkerson in elementary school during the mid to late 1970s.
Her star shone even brighter at DCHS under Coach Mickey Bilyeu from 1979-83 where she scored over 1,500 points as a Lady Tiger (known as Tigerette at the time) and was named All District, All Upper Cumberland, All Mid-State and Honorable Mention All State.
VIEW VIDEO OF CEREMONY
After her playing days at DCHS, Rosa continued her basketball career as a member of the Cumberland University Lady Bulldogs in Lebanon where she made an indelible impact on the program becoming a prolific scorer and rebounder. As a Lady Bulldog, Rosa scored over 1,000 points and grabbed more than 1,000 rebounds. In 2009 she was posthumously inducted into the Cumberland University Hall of Fame.Cumberland plays a tournament in her name each December.
Stokes entered the coaching ranks after her collegiate career with assistant coaching stints at the University of Louisville, Murray State University, Tennessee Tech University, UT-Chattanooga, and Long Beach State University, where she served as associate head coach. In the summer of 2001, she was named head women’s coach at Georgia Southwestern University in Americus, Georgia and served in this capacity until 2003. Rosa passed away on August 7, 2003 from a heart related condition.
Although he could not attend the ceremony Friday night, Rosa’s high school coach Mickey Bilyeu issued a statement which was read during the program. “In my 24 years as a head basketball coach I had many players who were exceptional and Rosa was one of those you would call “special”. She didn’t always have the support system, extra motivators or advantages that many players of today have, but she was one of the most focused, coachable and extremely intense players that a coach could ever want. Her personality carried her a long way in life and she will never be forgotten. She always had that big smile”.
The banner bearing Rosa’s number 55 will be permanently hung in the DCHS gymnasium as a tribute to one of DeKalb County’s greatest athletes.