by E. Jay Zarett

Jason Wilson played basketball for Bill Solomon at Jordan-Elbridge High School more than 25 years ago. He still refers to his old coach by his nickname, “King.”

“Everybody loved the King,” Wilson said. “King always had a joke for you (and) always made you smile.”

Now, the King has his own court.

Last Tuesday night, Jordan Elbridge High School officially dedicated its basketball court after Solomon, who served as the school’s head varsity coach for 25 years. Solomon also coached varsity golf, wrestling and JV and modified football over the course of his 32 years as a special education teacher in the district. Solomon passed away in June of 2016.

“I think [the court naming] is a great way to celebrate a past coach, a past employee who has done a lot of good work here with our kids,” said current J-E athletic director Mark Schermerhorn.

The discussion to name the court after Solomon began a few years ago, but hadn’t gained any traction, said former J-E athletic director Brad Hamer, who spearheaded the committee responsible for the court dedication. But after Solomon’s passing in June, the idea picked-up momentum.

In July, more than 100 people signed petitions supporting the idea and in October, the J-E board of education approved an official facility naming policy. On Jan. 18, the board green-lit the proposal to name the court after Solomon and opened the door for Tuesday’s ceremony.

Hamer said that Solomon’s contribution to the J-E community went beyond athletics.

“Bill impacted many lives,” Hamer said. “He helped them (his students and players) outside the classroom, outside of school, getting them jobs after they graduated, pairing them with a student mentor. He just had an effect on people.”

Prior to J-E’s game against Westhill, Solomon’s family, including his son Tim, was honored at center court. Tim Solomon graduated from J-E and played for his father during the 1990-91 season.

“I think, for the most part, he influenced every kid he coached,” Solomon said about his father. “I was thrilled. My brothers and I, my mother, we were all happy (about the court naming)  just because he dedicated so much of his life to that. He’s 100 percent why I’m doing what I’m doing.

What Tim Solomon is doing is working as the head varsity basketball coach at Baldwinsville. Tim said that his father would attend every one of his games after retiring from his J-E position.

“He’d be right behind the bench with a card taking notes,” Solomon said. “This year, especially early, the first few games, getting used to him not being behind the bench was difficult.”

Bill Solomon guided J-E to unprecedented success while at the helm of the basketball program. The Eagles won the Section III Class C championships in both 1982 and 1985, and was the runner up in 1986, heights that the school has not reached since.

Rusty Cooper played on Solomon’s ’82 championship team before continuing his career at Cornell and he is now a collegiate basketball referee. Cooper said that Solomon always instilled confidence in his teams.

“(He) affected the team and how we played,” Cooper said. “We never played scared. We never played a game that we didn’t think we were going to win. I just think that was the attitude he showed us.”

Solomon was known for his sense of humor. Cooper remembers that his former coach had a running joke with local referees where he would put an eye chart in the officials’ locker room prior to games.

Off the court, Solomon would play a joke on new school employees every Thanksgiving, Hamer said. He used to write a letter to the school’s new hires and tell them that the district office would have a Thanksgiving turkey available for them prior to break. When the employees would go to the office, they’d quickly learn they’d fallen for Solomon’s prank.

“He would joke around with anyone,” Hamer said. “He loved to play jokes on people.”

Wilson has been the public address announcer at J-E games for the last eight years and moderated the court-dedication ceremony on Tuesday night. He said that the court’s new name will remind the community about the school’s past basketball success.

“I think it’s great that we honor his (Solomon’s) memory and remember that even though we are a small school, we can compete and win championships,” Wilson said. “I think it’s important to remember the history.”