1Baltimore Foundation Sports Legends Series
BALTIMORE, MD — November 14, 2026 — I don’t know if I can effectively capture the moment, the afternoon, Saturday at Baltimore City Community College, in the gymnasium where former Community College of Baltimore (CCB) Red Devils basketball legends gathered. These were men who played for Coach Roger Dickens, and others whose basketball roots went back to Coach Jerry Phipps.
Many of these legends were assembled, and I had the distinct opportunity to talk with them, listen to them, and hear their stories. Stories about basketball, education, opportunity, friendship, and life.
All of this was happening in the midst of a home basketball game.
The former players were there in support of the new coach of the Baltimore City Community College basketball program, Kevin McClain, affectionately known in Baltimore basketball circles as Jim Black.
But there was so much love in the stands.
It was a reunion. It was a reunion of people who played together, who experienced life together, who experienced education together.
And it was simply harmonious.
It was brethren coming together, dwelling together, like the Good Book says.
You could see the friendships. You could see the camaraderie. You could see the family-like atmosphere. People were coming up to get selfies with Coach Roger Dickens.
It was a homecoming.
From the Red Devils to the Panthers
There was something especially meaningful about seeing these former Red Devils gathered inside the gymnasium of Baltimore City Community College.
The Community College of Baltimore once competed as the Red Devils. Today, Baltimore City Community College’s athletic teams are known as the Panthers.
The name has changed, but the legacy continues.
These former players were not simply returning to a familiar basketball environment. They were returning to a tradition that helped shape their lives.
And they were there to support the next generation.
That connection between yesterday and today is what made the afternoon so significant.
The Red Devils of yesterday were embracing the Panthers of today.
Roger Dickens: A Legend Among Legends
To understand the significance of this gathering, you have to understand Roger Dickens.
Before he became a coach who helped shape generations of young men, Dickens was an accomplished basketball player in his own right.
He played at the Community College of Baltimore under legendary coach George “Jerry” Phipps before continuing his basketball career at Towson University, where he became an NCAA Division II All-American.
His talent earned him selection in the fifth round of the NBA draft by the Washington Bullets. In 2025, he was inducted into the Towson University Athletics Hall of Fame.
But those accomplishments did not come without adversity.
Dickens knew what it meant to be overlooked. He knew what it meant to have his abilities questioned and his opportunities limited. Yet he continued pursuing the game.
He kept pushing.
And when his playing days ended, he helped create opportunities for others.
For approximately 25 years, Dickens coached at CCB and its successor institution, working alongside Tony Carter, another former Red Devil who played under Phipps.
Carter, a Coppin State alumnus, served as an assistant coach from 1982 to 2007 and was inducted into the BCCC Athletics Hall of Fame in 2012.
Together, Dickens and Carter helped carry forward a basketball tradition that extended well beyond victories and championships.
They were developing people.
Jerry Phipps: Where the Family Took Root
Long before Dickens became the coach so many former players returned to embrace, there was Jerry Phipps.
Phipps helped establish a culture in which basketball became a pathway to education, discipline, and opportunity.
In a Baltimore where racial divisions shaped so much of everyday life, the relationships built through the Red Devils program crossed barriers.
Phipps saw potential in young men who needed someone to believe in them.
Dickens was among those young men.
Reflecting on his mentor, Dickens told me:
“All I did was carry it on because he brought me up there.”
That statement speaks volumes.
Dickens understood that he had inherited something valuable, and he had a responsibility to pass it along.
“We were just doing what we were taught and passed on the love and the knowledge. And that’s what we created.”
Think about that.
They passed on the love and the knowledge.
And decades later, the evidence was sitting in the stands at Baltimore City Community College.
Eric King: “Saved My Life”
One of the most powerful moments came during my conversation with former Red Devil Eric King.
I asked him what Coach Jerry Phipps had done for him.
His response was immediate.
“Saved my life.”
Three words.
No elaborate explanation was necessary to understand their weight.
For King, the Community College of Baltimore represented something much greater than a place to play basketball.
“It was the training ground. It prepared me for life.”
He spoke about the importance of recreation centers, structured activities, and adults who guided young people.
Those institutions gave young people opportunities to discover their talents and imagine possibilities beyond their immediate surroundings.
The relationships endured.
King recalled Phipps making the journey from Florida to attend a reunion cookout. That kind of commitment tells you this was never simply a coach-player relationship.
It was family.
Looking back over his own journey, King offered another statement that stayed with me:
“I made peace with myself. I’m successful. I’m happy.”
There is something profound about a man being able to look back on his life and say those words.
Success is not always measured by a scoreboard, a salary, or a trophy.
Sometimes success is peace.
Marlon Quillens: From Point Guard to Educational Leader
Among the former players I interviewed was Marlon Quillens, who went from directing traffic on the basketball court to helping guide young people through the educational system.
Quillens, an assistant principal at Baltimore’s Academy for College and Career Exploration, described what it meant to be a point guard.
His responsibility was to “make everybody around you better, and then win the game at the end when it’s time to score.”
Now consider how that philosophy translates into education.
A point guard must recognize talent, understand individual strengths, communicate, and help everyone work toward a common objective.
Those are leadership skills.
Quillens did not originally envision a career in education. He began working as a substitute teacher and discovered that he loved teaching.
He recalled encouraging students to search for answers in their textbooks rather than simply handing them the information.
He wanted them to learn how to think.
Growing up around Monroe and Fayette Streets in West Baltimore, Quillens witnessed the consequences of the drug trade and understood that he wanted a different direction for his life.
In college, he read The Autobiography of Malcolm X, a book he couldn’t put down.
The story of transformation and discovering a higher purpose resonated with him.
Years later, Quillens is helping young people discover their own possibilities.
For him, seeing his former teammates again was an awesome feeling, an opportunity to reconnect, exchange stories, and look toward the future.
The point guard still makes the people around him better.
Only now, the court is a school.
Letitia Mackie: The Legacy Continues
The Red Devils tradition was not limited to the men’s program.
Former CCB women’s basketball standout Letitia Mackie represents another dimension of that legacy.
Mackie once scored 44 points in a game.
Forty-four.
But what impressed me most was not her scoring ability. It was her understanding of what young people need beyond basketball.
Today, she mentors young girls in grades two through eight, helping them develop athletic abilities alongside social skills, discipline, and life skills.
“I try to be the example for them as well to let them know that it’s a life beyond basketball. They have to develop other skills, social skills, life skills, to get them prepared. So if basketball fails, they’ve got something to fall back on.”
There it is again.
The lessons passed from one generation to the next.
Mackie understands that basketball can open doors, but education and personal development help young people navigate what lies beyond those doors.
Her story also reminds us that Baltimore basketball history includes women whose accomplishments and contributions deserve recognition.
Joe Johnson: The Courage to Try
Another former Red Devil I spoke with was Joe Johnson, who reflected on the hard work and demanding coaching that helped shape his experience.
A former power forward, Johnson remembered a program where effort mattered and where coaches expected players to give their best.
His educational journey also took him to Bowie State University, a historically Black institution where learning Black history was an important part of his experience.
He spoke appreciatively about the value of attending an HBCU and understanding the history that helped shape him.
Not every adult in his early life encouraged him to aim high. Yet his journey took him beyond what he once imagined possible.
When I asked what message he would offer young people, Johnson gave a simple answer:
“Nothing beats a failure but a try. Always try.”
That is a lesson worth passing along.
A young person cannot discover the full extent of their abilities without being willing to attempt something difficult.
Sometimes the difference between staying where you are and discovering a new possibility is simply having the courage to try.
More Than Basketball
As I listened to these former players, a pattern emerged.
Some became educators. Others pursued careers in public service, coaching, business, and other professions.
Their paths were different, but their foundation was remarkably similar.
Basketball brought them together.
Education expanded their opportunities.
Mentorship gave them direction.
Discipline helped them persevere.
And brotherhood kept them connected.
Roger Dickens explained the bond in a way that captured the entire afternoon.
“If you went to CCB and played for the Red Devils, any period of time and you met somebody else from the Red Devils, you automatically are all right with them. Because we came out of the same camp.”
The same camp.
Different generations. Different careers. Different life experiences.
But the same foundation.
What I witnessed was not merely nostalgia for basketball games played decades ago.
I witnessed the lasting results of an institution that helped young people develop confidence, character, and relationships.
These were lives transformed through basketball, education, mentorship, opportunity, and brotherhood.
Honoring Our Legends While They Are Here
This gathering also reinforced the importance of the work the 1Baltimore Foundation is doing and its commitment to recognizing Baltimore’s sports legends.
Timmy Greene and others involved in preserving this history understand something essential: We should not wait until people are gone to acknowledge their contributions.
Dickens shared a story that illustrated the importance of recognizing people while they can still appreciate the love.
He remembered honoring Baltimore basketball legend JoJo Parker during halftime at a CCB Youth Day event.
The recognition moved Parker to tears.
Later, Parker told him:
“Roger, man, I didn’t know people loved me like that.”
Dickens reassured him.
“JoJo, man, we love you.”
That exchange says as much about the significance of these gatherings as any championship banner ever could.
How many people have devoted their lives to helping others without knowing how deeply they are appreciated?
How many coaches, teachers, mentors, and community leaders have passed through our lives without receiving their flowers?
And how many of those people are still among us, waiting to hear that their work mattered?
The Red Devils reunion offered an answer.
Tell them now.
Show them now.
Love them now.
Love in Its Purest Form
Perhaps the most revealing thing about Roger Dickens is that he did not want this gathering to be about him.
The former players had come together to support Kevin McClain, known as Jim Black, and the next chapter of Baltimore City Community College basketball.
“It wasn’t really about me,” Dickens explained.
Even with former players approaching him for photographs, embracing him, and sharing memories, his attention remained on the larger basketball family.
He spoke about treating people the way you want to be treated.
And that philosophy was evident throughout the gymnasium.
The men who once competed together were now older, carrying decades of experiences, responsibilities, victories, setbacks, and memories.
Yet when they saw one another, something remarkable happened.
The years seemed to disappear.
They were teammates again.
They were young men again.
They were Red Devils again.
And there was Roger Dickens, the former All-American, NBA draft selection, Hall of Famer, and longtime coach, smiling among the people whose lives had become intertwined with his own.
Not standing above them.
Standing among them.
Near the end of our conversation, I told him:
“Nah, we’re just getting started, Mr. Roger. We’re just getting started.”
Because there are more stories to tell.
More legends to recognize.
More history to preserve.
And more young people who need to understand what these men and women built.
I walked into that gymnasium expecting to cover a reunion of Baltimore basketball legends.
I walked away having witnessed something much greater.
There was so much love in the stands.
Love in its purest form.
