J.V. Sikes is a coaching legend in the annals of East Texas State Lion history. A northeast Texas native from Leonard, Sikes was a 3 sport letterman at Texas A&M University before he got into coaching. In 1929, Sikes left Southeast Texas and came north to coach the freshman at East Texas State Teachers College in 1930. In 1931 he replaced Will Hill Acker as the Basketball Coach and that is when he started his journey as one of the greatest coaches in Lion history.

The Lion Basketball team had never won a conference championship as a member of the TIAA, the conference that they had joined in 1927. However after the creation of the Lone Star Conference in 1931, it gave the Lions a chance to join a broader national presence and also join the NAIB (National Association of Intercollegiate Basketball) in order to play for national championships. The genesis of college basketball and how it would continue to evolve over the next 90 years was just starting.

Having played 2 seasons in the LSC, the Lions first two seasons were not impressive, and Sikes was also trying to figure out how to build a program from the floor up, but if there was nothing else JV Sikes could do, it was create a winning culture.

The 33-34 campaign started 0-4 and low offensive output, but as the Lions started to buy into Sikes’ ball control offense, his players started to find ways to win. After that 0-4 start, ET would then finish 11-3 the rest of the season. The Lions defeated Stephen F. Austin and Sam Houston State earlier in the season, but then dropped back to back games before the end of the season. That let sole possession of first place slip away, but by finishing the season with 4 straight wins, they were able to clinch a share of the Lone Star Conference title with an 11-7 record overall, and an 8-2 LSC record. The of many championships to come in Lion Basketball history.

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Lion Men’s Basketball

1934 Conference Championships