All language subtitles for The.Green.Wave.2020.1080p.WEB.H264-BIGDOC-English

Summerville was definitely
not known for basketball.

This is sort of
like football country.

That's what we do.

We play football here.

Boys' basketball

had never seen success.

The mascot was a Green Wave.

But in the beginning,
there was no wave.

It was just flat.

Coach Louis always had
a motto about football players

who play basketball,
because we're tough.

And we always want to
bring that toughness

to the basketball court.

Pass to AJ Green.

Touchdown.

Louis was the underdog.

Like most firefighters, he
roots for the little man.

He roots for the person who
hadn't always had everything.

Mulkey saw something in us,
because we were a wild bunch,

you know.

I yell a lot and I cuss
a lot and I stay on you.

It's because I love you and I
want you to do right in life.

Coach, teacher, dad...
He filled all those for a lot

of guys, especially myself.

We're not going to quit on
defense, you understand that?

Yes, sir.

We're going to
keep boxing out.

And we're going to have
a lot of this tonight.

It ain't about me.

It's about us tonight.

- You got it?
- Yes, sir.

Let's go.
Win on 3.

- Come on, man.
- 1, 2, 3.

Win.

When he would make
speeches like that,

he would make anyone want to run
through a brick wall for him.

He had greatness on his mind.

He told our young
guys that they

had a chance to go on
and be the best team

around and win a state title.

I clearly remember
Coach Mulkey

once the practice was over, he
told us we would win the state

championship the next year.

A lot of us
looked around, like,

what was he talking about?

We thought he was crazy.

And then all of a sudden, we
started to win at the JV level

and win a lot.

As we actually started to see
how things actually could be

and how good we
actually could be,

it made us push even harder.

That
championship game, it

went back and forth pretty
much from the opening

tip-off all game long.

The gym was going crazy.

Everybody was cheering,

Louis Mulkey, Louis Mulkey.

Louis Mulkey!

Louis Mulkey!

In that moment,
it kind of really,

really, really became clear
that Mulkey had become the wave.

Like, he was the wave.

I remember looking at his seat
with the firefighter helmet,

and I felt something that
said "let's go" in my head.

We had a small
lead, a couple of seconds

left, we thought, man,
this thing is in the bag.

We were kind of looking around.

And then Bruce missed
the free throw.

Guy gets the rebound, takes
a step or two and throws it up.

All the air left my lungs.

It was just absolute disbelief.

A long 3 goes.

No
Way that shot went in.

We were all shattered.

There's no way.

There's no way
possible that this

is how this is going to end.

Boy, it's been a while
since we've been here.

Yeah, man.

Good memories, man.

All right.

Good memories.

Green and gold.

Yes, sir.

Yes, sir.

Look it here.

It still smells the same.

Yeah, man.

Green.

Look a little different.

Every time we ran in this gym,
whether it was practice, games,

he made sure to always have
us look up in these rafters,

knowing that there's
no banners up here.

And if we kept pushing...

You see these fans over here.

And you see the opposing
team warming up.

It just make you want
to go harder and just

give it all you got to the end.

No quit... as he say, no quit.

Give it all you got.

It's crazy he
predicted two years

beforehand that we
would actually go out

and win a state championship.

And he sat there and told
us, you know, stay out there.

Get on it.

I see this team winning
a state championship.

We would always
reiterate the fact

that we were going to be the
first ones to put one up there.

So it was constant motivation.

And it was constant focus.

And it never left our
brains that every time we

came in this gym,
he would always

tell us to look up at the
banners that we don't see.

And if we work hard,
when we look back up,

the banners will be there.

Not a lot of people see that,
or speak it into existence.

My first year here I
coached JV football here.

And it just happened
that one of the assistant

coaches out there with us
was a guy named Louis Mulkey.

He was an excellent
football coach.

I knew that he was
going to be a big...

A big plus in us
getting started.

We were basically starting
over here with basketball.

I knew he was a very fiery
coach and very emotional.

Oh yeah, it would get heated,
especially if you weren't doing

what you were supposed to do.

He'd
get in your face

with no problem, no hesitation.

Don't care if your
parents are watching.

Right there, all
up in your face.

Early on,
myself and the players,

we all had to adapt
to Louis and his ways.

It was hard at first.

It was very hard.

There were some people that
would try to walk away,

and he wouldn't let them.

Louis Mulkey is one of
the few people in life

I ever met that could
get under my skin

and crawl and live
there for a while.

He definitely knew which
buttons to push on me.

He always told me.

He was just like, I'm not
doing this to be bad at you.

But he was like, you
know, long term I

see something in you
that you might not

be able to see in yourself yet.

He would
see a lot of times an anger

that he felt like
he could challenge,

that he could channel.

I really don't
think when he looked

at them he was always thinking
about their athletic talent.

They knew that he
was their school dad,

but they knew that he wanted
what was best for them.

He just knew who had heart.

He wanted people
pretty much came

to give it... with a
fight, integrity, family,

he wanted us to have it.

I'd say there was plenty of
coaches around our high school

that didn't think we had
a chance, because he took

a lot of kids that
they passed over

because they were delinquents.

They didn't want
anything to do with them.

He brought them over
to the basketball team

and gave them a chance.

Some of these
boys on the team, especially

the early years, were some rough
boys, rough around the edges.

They came from very
difficult home lives.

Some didn't have
power all the time

but would still make
it here and practice

and be here for school.

And he knew their back stories.

He would meet them
where they were.

He always said, I understand
what you're going through.

But here's what we need to do
if you're going to make it.

Because you do want to
make it out of here.

He dated
Summerville high school.

The players and the kids,
you know, they were his kids.

His hours that he had
to spend firefighting,

that was his profession.

But any time he was
free to be here, that's

the time he enjoyed the most.

I don't
remember ever meeting him,

but I do remember this
crazy man in the hallways.

I thought, who is
this man bouncing

around and yelling at students
and joking with students?

And I had no idea
who he was at first.

I thought maybe we just
had found a substitute that

had this next-level energy.

And then I realized
he was a firefighter,

and it was even more confusing.

I know that firemen
work 24 on, 48 off.

But how is he here as often
as he is and full of life

and energy all the time?

He was very intense and very
excitable and he was so wild.

He came
from the fire department

where if you don't
follow policy,

if you don't follow regulations,
people can literally die.

He brought that same
mentality to basketball.

He was in school business,
checking on grades,

coming in classrooms.

I remember him busting in...

I did bad one time
on some schoolwork.

And he came in.

I'm sitting there
thinking, like,

how does he even know this?

Like, who's telling him?

If he found
out you did something in school

and he got wind of it,
before we got home,

when he was a
substitute teacher,

coach used to come
to your classroom.

Like, hey, can I have a word
with the student athlete?

First thing coach
going to do is...

Slap you in the
back of your head.

Like, man, what's wrong
with you, knucklehead?

You know you shouldn't
have been doing that.

He's going to let you know, man.

Say you
was talking to a teacher.

Right then and there, say he
had just popped up and went,

did he turn in his
homework today?

Oh, he was short a couple.

So, Buster, you didn't do
what you were supposed to do?

Coach, I was just...

Give me 50 push-ups. Coach!

Give me 50 push-ups.

Coach Louis
could touch anybody.

I think BJ was probably
the biggest one for me,

because I seen BJ grow from a
hard head to having real anger

problems and wanting to fight
everybody into when Coach

Louis walked in that room
and BJ did something,

he'd know it was going to be on.

And he understood that.

But Coach Louis had a way to
get into him to like nobody...

Nobody could make him calm
down the way Coach Louis did.

Everybody would not have been
able to pull off his style.

You know, I would say at the
least it was unconventional.

If you weren't
doing anything in the classroom

the right way, he'd
definitely take that desk,

put it out in the
hallway, bell rings,

all the kids walking
by to see you.

Make you sit right
there and do your work

in front of everybody.

To him, grades were
very important.

And if you weren't
getting your grades

or getting your schoolwork
done, you wasn't practicing.

He was going to pull a
desk out of the classroom,

sit it in the gym,
and you were going

to sit there right at that
desk, do your schoolwork,

study, get everything
you needed,

while everybody...
Watch your teammates

practice on the court.

I think
six people practiced.

They were like, how are
we going to practice?

He didn't care.

That was his way of
showing you, like, you

don't just get to play sports.

He knew that
most of our players

would not be college
athletes, but that all of them

should be college students.

A lot of people expected
him just to be a coach.

You know, you're a fireman
who's volunteering to coach.

You should just be coming in
and showing up for the games

and taking care of
the locker room.

But that was never Coach Mulkey.

He was always more than that.

He was a fireman.

He was a coach.

He wore a lot of hats...
Coming off a shift

and coming straight
to school, no sleep.

It was something that he loved
to do, and he gave it his all.

I found that
Louis loved people.

And that's one reason he wanted
to be in emergency services.

He always told me that
if anything happened,

he decided he
wanted to be there.

And he wanted to make a
difference in someone's life.

Not all firemen
start out as little kids

wanting to be firefighters.

I think he'd always
wanted to be an educator.

You could
see in his eyes the fire

and the passion that
he had for firefighting

that he did for
coaching and teaching.

And I think growing up
with that and growing up

within sports really
helped formed Louis's, I

guess, ideas of how
things should be

and the way people should be.

He told us that he
wanted us to go out

and be successful
because he told us

that he never finished school.

Louis was a
mediocre student in school.

He wasn't an A student.

He did not graduate
from college.

Over time, when he was
working with these kids

and grooming them, he
realized the importance

of a college education.

And he stressed that to them.

You've got to get an education.

I think he had seen the
mistakes that he had made,

and he tried to impart that
information on these kids.

He had something to
finish, something to prove,

something left undone.

So he funneled
that into coaching.

He said an education is
something that nobody

can ever take away from you.

And I think that was really
what he was trying to instill

in the boys, aside from
bringing them up and making

them believe in themselves.

You know, they can become
whatever they wanted to become.

Hey!

Come in!

When I got to high school,
I was a bit of a troublemaker

somewhat, until
one day

sat me down in the office,
had a long talk with me.

It was tough to hear him and
Coach Newman tell me, you know,

if you don't change, we're
kicking you out, off the team.

You won't be no longer
a part of this team.

We won't have you around.

It definitely woke me up,
made me change myself around

and focus on the bigger task at
hand when I was playing ball.

So you're coaching now?

Yeah.

That's what I thought.

I know, right?

Coach
Mulkey would be proud.

I enjoy it.

I love it.

It's fun.

Do you all of a
sudden open your mouth

and you hear him coming out?

All the time.

All the time.

Probably every practice,
game days on Saturday.

I say stuff at
practice all the time.

I just gotta catch
myself, like, ah.

I sound exactly like him.

The first time in 10
years that a Summerville

basketball team will be 4
and 0 if you win tonight.

You understand that?

Yes, sir.

And you get after it.

You got it?

Yes, sir.

- Everybody, you got it?
- Yes, sir.

Let's go.

After having
those talks with him

and watching how
hard he coached us

and how much he cared
for us, it all...

It all turned out,
he was a good guy.

And when I met him,
I thought he was great,

because he was ready to
go to war to fight for me

so I could play...

So I could play
basketball and softball.

Well, I'm glad after that talk
that Coach Mulkey did believe

in you and got you
on the right track,

because we wouldn't have
been together for sure.

Worked out.

When he met Marlon,
Marlon was kind of tough.

He was hanging out with a group.

He was thinking
that he was tough.

He was
rough around the edges,

always fighting,
getting in trouble.

He was always hanging with
the wrong crowd, the bad kids

who just was always
in trouble, always

in the principal's office.

He
Reached a point

that he even crossed
Coach Mulkey a little bit

with not doing right.

And we finally got to the point
that we had to have a sit-down.

And it was back against
the wall time for him.

He was on his last strike.

It finally hit him.

Coach, man, I was
thinking about him lately.

He coached me hard.

He was there to teach
me stuff and guide me.

You know, as I got older,
now I'm looking back,

you know, he was preparing
me for life, to become a man,

young man.

And he definitely was the
perfect father figure.

I think he was
drawn to the kids

who needed him the most,
just like the kids were

drawn to him.

The ones who needed
him the most found him.

I'm from a region
of South Carolina,

a small country town, no
stoplights, no stores around.

Very humble beginning.

AJ was in
Gregg Middle School

when Coach Mulkey met him.

And they had, like,
a basketball game,

the students against the staff.

AJ Green.

I dunked on a teacher.

And it took off from there.

He was like, hey, you want to
come on and play basketball?

And
that's how it began.

He played both sports
during that time,

basketball and football.

He saw something special, and
he pushed AJ to the limit.

You know, you can do this.

You can be anything
you want to be.

I struggled a
lot in school with,

like, reading comprehension.

And when I met Coach Louis, he
saw something that was wrong.

So I got tested, and they
found out I was dyslexic.

I remember, you know, going to
different rival high schools.

They would say, AJ can't read.

He's a dummy.

You know, I made the
best of that, all right,

because Coach Louis
pushed me every day.

You know, you don't have to
be embarrassed about that.

They can't do what
you do on the field.

So that's why they're
chanting these things.

And then from there
on, he preached

to me, AJ, treat this schoolwork
just like you do on the field.

And that's when
everything... like,

the switch flipped for me.

And Coach Louis helped me
overcome all that growing up.

Louis went to
school and sat there

all week with him
in his class to make

sure he was doing his work.

If he
was going to make it,

he had to get the ship
righted in a hurry.

He'd sit right there with
him and make sure he's

getting the work done.

And I know that AJ
appreciated that.

You know, at
first it was embarrassing.

But he always
preached to me, AJ,

you have a God-given
talent, athletic-wise.

You know, everybody's
not blessed with you.

But you have to work
hard in the classroom.

If it wasn't for him, I
probably wouldn't make it.

In a lot of ways AJ saw
Coach Mulkey as a father

figure, a friend, a coach.

Like the big
brother he never had.

When I was younger
I lost my older

brother in a car accident.

They were on their
way to a carnival

at Beech Hill Elementary, and
somebody ran them off the road.

My aunt was driving, lost
control of the car, hit a tree.

You know, my brother got killed.

My aunt got paralyzed
from the waist down.

My two older cousins had
plates in their legs.

And I didn't have one scratch.

Having AJ losing his
brother at an early age,

it kept him humble and it
made him a better person

and try to always
do the right things.

When I met Coach
Louis, told him the story.

And he was like, you're blessed.

And you know, my parents told
me from day one, you're blessed.

You're here for a reason.

And Coach Louis
made me understand

that in the bigger picture.

I think losing his
brother at that young age

was really difficult for him.

And in a way it opened up a spot
for Coach Mulkey to step in.

Me and Coach Louis had an
unbelievable bond together.

He... if it wasn't for him, I
wouldn't be where I'm at today.

I never had a father
in my life and a guy,

like, as someone you could
talk to on a personal level,

somebody you can
call, you can talk to,

somebody you can
just sit on with,

like he really cared and
talked to you as a father.

So I mean, that guy put
a big impact on my life.

My
Mother, she worked two jobs

and wasn't able to
pick me up one night.

And he actually drove me home.

When he did that,
I was like, yeah,

he really cares about us...
Not just me, but us as kids.

You don't get a lot like him.

You don't get...

You don't get that.

You don't get people like him.

Sorry.

Just to have somebody
who gives that much god

damn care about you...

I lived in the projects.

He the only coach
who ever came to get

me from out the projects.

He would come to my house
and get me for practice.

He would do those things.

And none of them other
coaches did that stuff.

This the old infamous Haven
Oaks, where I grew up at.

They were no projects.

It ain't the same
as it used to be.

But that's my
building right there.

If I stayed on the other side...

Stay over there.

Oh, ain't none of this
was here when I grew up.

Ralphie and Courtland

were part of the team,
very talented players.

But man, it was a struggle
to keep them right.

And as a matter of
fact, there was times

we had to let both of them go.

And Louis was like, well,
let's give them another chance.

And I said, I don't know.

And Louis went to bat for them.

I'm on the stairs
of the project.

I'm in the projects.

I'm on the stairs,
chilling with..

And he gets out
and comes up there.

And the whole time you're
walking down, what's going on?

What's going on?

You're not going to come?

You're not going to come?

You're part of this
team still, man.

I know you can't
play stuff like this.

And I'm telling him,
Coach, man, you know,

I'm not with it right now.

Like, I don't get to play, man.

Like... and he sat down with
me on the project steps.

And all the boys
left or whatever.

And it's just me and Coach.

And it's like, man, listen.

Don't worry about none of that.

These boys love you.

They love that you
still come out here

even though you can't play.

You come out here every day.

You at practice every day.

You... whatever, you're here.

When he got done
talking to you.

That shit resonated with you.

And all that stuff,
man, like, you just feel...

It's like he just gave
you all his energy.

Ain't none of them come
out there in the projects

to come and get me.

That man did.

I know
they appreciate that.

Because both of those guys, you
know, just looking back at it

now, they were little
rascals in high school.

And they know that.

They were very
lovable as players,

and they were good players.

But there were some
nights and some practice

issues and things,
you just said, listen,

man, we're done with you.

And Louis wouldn't let them go.

He was going to continue to
punish them and give them

another chance but let
them know that, you know,

they were right at the
edge of not getting

to be a part of this anymore.

And right here this
boy get locked up.

I'm running down the street.

They bucking him.

Somebody would come
to the classroom.

Hey, man, Ralphie,
Ralphie getting locked up.

Ralphie what?

One of my worst things

just period, before
the game, man,

I was going to make a sale.

I was doing some things
I shouldn't have did.

And Coach already
warned me, man, like,

yo, you in hot water.

I've seen your name
on the narcotics list.

You need to chill out.

And me, I didn't
listen to nobody.

I still wanted to do
what I wanted to do.

Trying to make money.

I wanted to buy nice
clothes, a TV, a Playstation.

I didn't have that.

So that's what I wanted.

And before the game, I think it
was Hilton Head we was playing,

man, I went and was
handling my business,

and unfortunately
got pulled over.

Yeah, that's where that
shit happened at, man.

I remember when I pulled
out of Somerset that day,

right before that
game, man, I got

pulled over with all that
bud and money in my pocket.

This is
literally right before the bus

was about to load.

I seen the rest of
the team at the store

getting candy and drinks
and all to go for the ride.

And there I was in the car.

I saw Coach Newman
ride past, man.

Coach T Newman, man.

I seen him, oh, that's...

I'm like, oh, man.

I done messed up now.

Yeah, police came.

They pulled us over.

I had a half a pound
of stuff in my pants.

Pretty bad.

He shouldn't have been there.

If maybe we would
have been like,

hey, man, you don't
need to make that move.

Or hey, Ralph, man, you don't
think that's not a good idea?

Right before the game.

I don't know what I
was thinking, man.

Ralphie's arrest
was definitely

a tipping point for him.

And it took away the
positive thing that he had

and the positive influence that
Louis was on him every day.

That's Coach Mulkey.

You've got to learn from this.

But not only he...

He never bashed him one time.

Any other coach in
that situation...

He would have
gave up on you, man.

Any of that, that man
was kicked off the team.

He would have let you go, man.

I promise you.

He was trying to save
us, man, keep us on track.

Going crazy and stuff.

He saw that
potential in us, man.

That was an angel, boy.

We had an angel walking on
this earth like many others.

But that was our angel.

Like, that was our man.

Coach still fought for
me and gave me a chance.

Don't give up on this kid.

And I came back that
year, and they still...

I tried out again.

They still let me came back.

Louis was like his
own guidance counselor.

You know, not just
punishing people.

He knew how to talk
to kids the right way

to help them out with
issues they were having too.

He took kids that had
had terrible backgrounds

and were heading nowhere and had
already been into some trouble

in either middle school
or early high school

and still got them
turned around.

Summerville was
a diverse school.

But when Louis started coaching,
he never saw color in the kids.

Louis didn't care about skin
color or where you came from.

It was based off of your
character and your talent.

White
kids, Black kids... that

didn't make any difference.

He wanted everybody
to get along.

We would go to
basketball camp, and it

was time for room assignments.

And the kids would say, well,
I'm staying with so-and-so.

And Louis said, no, you're not.

And Louis would put the
Black kids and the white kids

in rooms together.

We would sit at tables.

And this is football season
or basketball season.

But we would sit at
tables for pregame meals.

He'd make the kids
mix it up and make

the Black kids get in right...

He did all that
stuff the right way.

I remember
a time he sat us down

to teach us love and respect,
because it was actually

Martin Luther King's birthday.

And text message was going
around school, kind of

like an African-American joke.

And he got wind of
it and absolutely

just went irate, because he
did not stand with that at all.

He kind of really wanted to
let us know, like, you know,

we're better than that.

He knew that with what was
going on and some of the things

that were being said, showing
the actual speech and sitting

in the room had to be a
lead-in to a way to alleviate

the problem that was being had.

And it's just another
one of those...

I mean, if there
was a book written,

it would be "100
Ways of How to Deal.

With Issues" by Louis Mulkey.

It was an
uphill battle for Coach, man.

A lot of people didn't
really care for him.

They didn't understand him.

I don't think they
understood why

he was doing what he was doing.

He was the
first coach that really fought

for putting a Black
quarterback on the field

because he saw
greatness in the kids.

He knew that, you know,
the Black athletes who

were talented enough and smart
enough to lead Summerville

in not only academics but also
in athletics, on the field

and on the court.

One in particular, he
knew that this guy could

be the great quarterback
that Summerville

needs to take this
to the next level

and win the state championship.

But he couldn't play
quarterback on varsity because

of the racial divide
of a Black kid

shouldn't be in that
position playing quarterback.

Back to the politics.

There's Summerville.

Summerville
is a very old school and

traditional town and school.

Some of the administration
and just some

of the teachers in general,
sometimes they would not

understand Louis's
ways, thought that Louis

was showing preferential
treatment to people

that didn't deserve it.

I won't say exile,
but sometimes he

was exiled from coaching
football because

of his personal beliefs that
the playing field was equal,

no matter what your race was.

So he got a lot of
pushback from that.

And I think that
drove him to do more.

Regardless of what
all they tell you,

they didn't like this
man, because that man

liked Black people.

There were a lot of things
that shouldn't have been going

on over there at that school.

And he knew it.

And he was determined
to turn it around.

Back in my days
at Summerville,

there was a lot of scholarship
offers or letters to intended

school for multiple sports,
various sports... soccer,

basketball, baseball, football,
just for being African-American

in Summerville.

You wasn't given
that opportunity.

And you were very lucky
if you had somebody

to go to bat for
you and go beyond

to find out what was going on.

Coach found letters
himself in the trashcan

of his student athletes.

And he's wondering what
the hell is going on.

He would take it upon himself
to take those letters to them

and make sure they got those
letters, make sure they took

their college visits, make
sure their parents knew

what was going on.

So that alone just identified
his character as a person.

Coach was a unique
individual, man.

He knew how to get on that
level with you and talk to you

and vibe with you and make
you feel like he's one of you.

You know what I'm saying?

He wasn't above you.

He didn't act like he
was high and mighty

because he's a captain
in the fire department.

He's going to talk to you,
and he's going to treat you

and give you what you give him.

He was rough and
rugged like that.

I love that man.

I respect that man to death.

I think
that Coach Mulkey approached

people for who they were.

You know, he saw their heart
and he saw their needs.

He didn't look at them
like, this is a Black kid,

this is a Hispanic kid,
this is a white kid,

this is an Asian kid.

And he responded to them
in that kind of way.

So they never felt
judged by him.

And he was able to
confront them in a way

that they would accept.

We got.

His thing was
about being tough...

Mentally tough,
physically tough,

listening to your coaches.

He coached the way
that he knew he was.

We had a lot
of rough kids, no dad.

And you get that Black
male to respect you,

you're doing something
right, because that's

not going to happen every day.

We believed that Coach was
preaching the right things.

A lot of good stories
on these buses, man.

He had a vision of what
he saw and how he saw it.

It was definitely something that
he talked about from day one,

is just being the men
that he wanted us to be.

And there was a
step-by-step program

that came along with it.

So definitely it was
something that he believed.

And before other people
can believe something,

you gotta believe it.

And he believed it first.

And we all bought
into the system.

He saw the bigger picture.

He understood.

You know, he saw it
before anybody else did.

Before we even saw it
ourselves, he knew.

So he would always try to
prepare us for the next level,

because he knew that we were
going to the next level.

He really cared about us as
kids, not just as basketball

players, which is a lot
different than most coaches

that you run into.

He knew that you had
to depend on each other.

It wasn't a one-man show.

Coach Mulkey's
expectations of them

sort of drove them in a
way, because they knew, they

did not want to disappoint him.

Sometimes I
wonder if they knew how hard it

must have been for him to manage
the full-time firefighting

job and all the demands of
that, and then to come in here

and be so energetic and
so ready to tackle them,

so focused on taking
care of his kids.

You know, Coach Louis was
taking me to the fire station

sometimes and, you know,
preached to me about being

a brotherhood and the
life-and-death situation that

he puts himself in
each and every week,

that he's relying on his
brother to protect him,

and then doing that vise versa.

The fire service
is a lot like sports.

And that's why Louis was drawn
towards the fire department.

And that's why he
loved sports also.

And that's why he
succeeded in both...

Because he knew both of
them were team building.

Plenty of
times when we got to practice,

he was coming in and he
was still in his fire gear,

still in his blue suit.

I still remember
him now just coming

in and getting ready to go get
changed to come to practice.

I know for me, it
made me want to care

more about what we were doing.

If these buses
could talk, the stuff

they could tell on us, man.

The stuff they could tell.

The bus ride was the way we
build, you know, you laugh,

you have some of
your good times.

It brought us together.

It showed us how on those
distances we really got close

and we really talked.

You got to learn people
as an individual.

You know, you had to
learn your family.

Nobody ever sat just with
the same person on bus rides.

It was always a switch-up.

But those bus rides were
times where, you know,

we got to know each
other even closer.

You could
feel it, that we were actually

a real family, a
real brotherhood,

and still to this day, I would
do anything for those guys.

We left it all on the bus.

We left it all on the bus.

Of course, do you remember
how many times we came

up here after practice, man?

Boy, too many times, bud.

Good old Tastee Freez.

Too many times, bud.

Yeah.

For Coach.

One more time for Coach.

One of our
favorite places to go

because of the school
being so close to it

was the Tastee Freez.

He'd
bring us lunch,

bring us food from Tastee
Freez across the street,

bring it to the
classroom, have a meet-up,

say everybody sit down,
and eat in the classroom.

But
while we were eating,

he was also forging
relationships.

It was a down time.

And, of course, I
always say that boys,

you feed them and love them.

They're very easy.

Beat about
what's going on with our lives,

how everyone is doing,
how are you doing.

It wouldn't be so much of what's
going on on the field, court,

classroom.

We'd sit down and just
have heart-to-hearts.

Man, you've been a
killer on the streets, man.

You know our parents was gone.

A long time.

We've been pretty
much raising ourselves.

So then he'll grab
us, grab hold of us.

Do this.

Yeah.

And like any other coach would
have gave up on you, man.

Would have kicked
us off the team,

would have did this and that.

He gave me countless
chances, boy.

I know that.

I've been talking to them boys.

Were you telling me
you're coaching now?

Everybody is coaching now.

That man done made
thousands of coaches,

and he don't even know.

Man, I got pictures
of them boys, man.

Word.

Original.

Original number 10.

Original number 14.

That's classic
Mulkey right there.

I've never

met a man like him, never.

There is no one that I
could compare to him.

Like, I get chills
when I talk about him.

Big ups to Coach, man.

One time for one time.

One time for the big guy.

A lot of things we did was
off the basketball court,

and I think that's what
helped us grow so much,

was just the fact that we did
things away from basketball.

Man, check this out, man.

This damn... old shoes.

This boy got them?

They dusted off.

He got them.

The old Summerville Nike...

Blood, sweat,
and tears in these.

Blood, sweat, and tears
in these right here.

We went and put
our names on them.

We went.

Coach got tired of us
trying to be different, man.

Everybody wearing different...

Everybody wearing
different Nikes and Reeboks.

I can't believe I
still got these, man.

Man, you got to clean them up
and put them on one time, man.

Yeah.

Green Wave.

Green Wave, baby.

Green and yellow.

A lot of times
with teachers and coaches,

they try so hard to gain the
affection of the young people

they're teaching or coaching
that a lot of times they

lose their respect.

But Louis had their respect
but also their affection

because they knew what
he would do for them.

They knew he would
go the extra mile,

and he would do whatever
they needed from him.

He would provide that
if he was able to.

He
Was something special.

He had... you know, to be able
to do everything he was doing

and make everybody feel special.

A lot
of people definitely

didn't realize how great
of a person Mulkey was

and how much he touched
the souls of not just

the athletes but the community.

He
Believed in us more

than we believed in ourselves.

Like, he knew we
had what it takes

to win state championship.

We still didn't even believe it.

People was not thinking about
basketball here in Summerville.

The hallway, the infamous
hallway before we went

out them doors right there.

This is the infamous
hallway right here.

This hallway... we get to look
at the opponent over there,

walk out that way, and then
that's when we war ready

when we get out there, man.

This locker room, oh.

Somebody gets a
game ball..

Everything
he said actually moved people.

And a lot of coaches, when
they they'll talk to you

or have a speech to a team,
you can't really feel it.

But he'd make you
want to go out there.

And I remember at times we
would dive for a basketball

and hit the brick wall
and somebody would

have a knot on their head.

They'll get up and get
right back to it because he

made us so tough
and want to succeed

and made you realize that
there's four other people

on the court depending on you.

Man, I remember, our
JV tournament, man.

We lost the night before.

Man, we played so hard.

But he didn't come
down hard on us.

He just let us know, we've
got to come back tomorrow,

you know what I'm saying.

Bring it even more, you
know what I'm saying?

Don't be too hard on yourself,
but tomorrow bring it.

He said that there's something
special about you guys.

And I do believe that you
will win state championship.

My guys.

There's that camera.

Hey, ain't no smiling
going on today.

We got bills to take care of.

- You understand that?
- Yes, sir.

Let's go.

Two weeks
before Louis died,

he said, Mom, I never
want to leave Summerville.

He said, I want to eat,
sleep, and die here.

And that was very strange to me.

It gives me chills every
time I think about it, almost

like a premonition.

In fact, one of the guys
that worked with him

on the basketball
team said, I just

had that feeling that
Louis had that premonition.

And that was Tillman
Millhouse who said that.

He said, I'm going
to be a fireman.

I'm going to be
the best fireman.

He said, but Mr.
Millhouse, when I go out,

I'm going out with a bang.

Dispatch
at Engine 11.

About
6:30 that night,

I asked him if he was
coming home in the morning

or going straight to the
school from the fire station.

He said, no, I'm coming home.

I'll see you in the morning.

And that was his last words to
me, because shortly after they

went over to the fire.

Engine 12.

- I.
- Arrived on the scene.

I was the
on the scene.

During the fire, I saw
the firemen going in,

which confused me.

The dispatch came
back over and said

they had a call that someone
was trapped in the building.

When I got the call
that Louis was missing,

I immediately got in my car
and raced to the incident.

I saw a column of smoke in the
sky, and I knew this was bad.

And this is where the fire, I
think, starts to make the jump.

Is everybody
out where you are?

No, sir.

We still have guys in there.

I did get a call.

And he said, we want you to know
that Louis, Louis is in there.

And it's hard seeing the flames
and knowing what was going on.

Once
we got to the scene,

they said it was very chaotic.

By that time, it
was just an inferno.

I've covered
hundreds of fires.

But I began to feel
something different.

There was something
different about this fire.

As soon as I
saw how serious the fire was

and how big of a deal it
was, I knew in my heart

that Louis was
going to be there.

Any time something
like that happened,

I was always a
little bit nervous

because he was like that.

But he always came out
on the other side of it.

I could chance.

Anybody from 15?

We went in that building not
knowing how outgunned we were.

The day before the fire,
we had basketball camp.

I think we won three
or four games that night.

We came back.

Everybody was in a good mood.

We're flying high.

Everybody is at 100 right now.

Everything had seemed
like a big fairy tale.

Good evening.

We have some breaking
news to tell you.

That fire is burning
at the Sofa Super Store

on Savannah Highway.

Massive fire, West
Ashley, at a furniture

store with intense heat
threatening a neighborhood.

You can only imagine
when it's the real deal

and the amount of smoke
and heat and just the maze.

This is telling all the
firemen inside to get out.

I thought I was going
to die in the building.

And I ran out of there.

And you know, for me,
it became a sense of,

I'm just going to
fight until the end.

And I was lucky enough
to fall on a fireman,

and he helped get me out.

Tragedy in Charleston.

Right now, emergency workers
are searching the rubble

for firefighters who were last
seen fighting a monstrous blaze

at a West Ashley business.

I was sitting here
all night watching the fire

and listening.

And I saw Louis.

He was standing looking at
the fire, in his T-shirt,

and he's holding on to his coat.

People were calling.

And I said, he's fine.

I've seen him.

He's OK.

He's OK.

But they knew that
he was not OK.

I clearly
remember the day of the fire.

A co-worker and I were
standing on the hallway.

I was getting ready
to lock up the school.

I clearly heard Louis'
voice down in the gym

just yelling and yelling.

And I said, why is Louis
yelling at those kids like that?

So I proceeded to come down the
hallway to look into the gym,

and no one was in there.

And my coworker, she
told me, she said,

Ms. Lewis, Louis is not here.

So all of a sudden when
we left out the gym,

I happened to look up.

And I saw two white shadows go
out the side door of the gym.

When I saw the news, I knew
that Louis was in that fire.

Get everybody
out of the building.

We still can't find
the Captain of 15.

While I was
watching the news, I

got a call from
one of our coaches

that they were
unfortunately very,

very certain that Louis
is one of the guys missing

at the fire.

I remember getting out of
class and pulling it out,

and I had missed phone calls and
text messages from everybody.

I opened up one from
one of my friends.

And he was like, bro, you've
got to come over to the house.

Like, just come over.

Like, what's going on?

Like, what's up?

He's like, yo, Smokey.

They can't find him.

I'm like, what are you
talking about, can't find him?

Reports first came
that Louis was missing.

He was the first one over time.

Other voices started
coming over the radio.

In
Jesus' name, amen.

This is what you're

seeing... the fire
tornado, I call it, where

it's really whirling around.

It's nothing but
flames and smoke.

And everything is so intense.

Everything is on fire.

Which way out?

I need some help out!

Mayday.

Everybody out.

Everybody out of the building.

We still can't find
the Captain of 15.

I'm inside.

Can you help, please?

You're inside?

Whereabouts?

At the back.

Oh, at the back?

And this
was the actual last two

firemen that actually made
it out of the structure.

The
chief and the coroner

came in and said, write
your dentist, his name,

and the dentist's name down.

And the chief was
saying, well, they've

been transported to
different hospitals,

making us think that
maybe there were alive.

And that's the way you took it,
the way he put it out there.

And then my husband just
yelled, for God's sake,

tell us if they're
alive or gone.

And it came back

to me that Mr.
Millhouse, when I go out,

I'm going out with a bang.

And when I heard the tape, I
could hear Louie's voice say...

I think he said, mayday, mayday.

Mayday!

Car 1.

Tell my wife I said...

Go ahead.

I love you.

Well, nine of
America's bravest

losing their lives
on a single night

in Charleston, South Carolina.

An inferno at a
furniture warehouse

described by one witness
as a tornado of flames.

Carrying him
outside from the building,

it was painful.

It was a sense of,
this is unreal.

I couldn't believe
this has happened.

I ask myself every
day, how did I make it out when

Louis was a better firefighter?

He was stronger,
probably smarter,

and he had so much to live for.

Like, what

do you mean Coach Mulkey gone?

I'm like... I'm hysterical
now, because we

knew something was going on.

And, like, I'm shaking.

It's like... it's crazy.

So we just kind
of all sat there.

We're just, like, waiting...
Like, waiting for his name

to pop up across the screen.

Like, yeah, they found him.

I could not console him.

He just kept screaming
and saying no, no.

Louis can't be gone.

But you know, I told him.

If Louis had been in that fire,
I said, you know that was him.

He was going to be
first in, last out.

And all we could do was just
sit on the phone and just pray

and cry and just think
about why did it happen

and how did it happen.

I just hung up the phone, and
I immediately called his phone.

And he didn't answer.

He always answered for me,
no matter what he was doing.

And I remember calling
his phone again and just

listening to his voicemail.

I was... I was shocked.

I feel like a person
like Coach Mulkey,

with people like
that in this world,

they don't come around often.

Losing a person like that, it
just shook up the atmosphere.

I was crushed.

I had just seen this man.

I had just seen him
at my graduation.

I had just seen his big smile.

I just hugged this man.

I just... and just like that.

- I.
- Lost a piece of me.

I bawled my eyes out.

The last thing I
was thinking about

was playing
basketball or sports.

It was... it was devastating.

I could
just remember just going...

Going to my bed, putting
my head on my pillow,

and just kind of letting out
for a while, you know, crying.

I just didn't have any words.

It just... it was too
real for me, the fact

that he wasn't going
to be there anymore.

And it was probably one of my
most emotional days of my life,

I could say.

They were just devastated.

They were in tears.

They could not function.

They were just devastated.

It was like every one of them
seemed to feel like they had

lost, like, a piece of them.

The largest loss
of firefighters since 9/11.

So it impacted not only
the local community,

but across the US, all
the fire departments,

even internationally.

We were getting calls
and messages from fire

departments across the world.

I think that was the point
where he became my hero.

Listening to the radio calls
and talking to the firefighters

afterwards and the
stories from the guys

that were there with him
and knowing what he did.

He was always
trying to think ahead.

And I think that was probably
went in the directions

and think, once you
guys got inside.

You know, he was managing.

He was coaching.

He was he was trying to flank to
the left and cut the fire off.

You realize how special
that person was, even

if you didn't see it before.

The funeral
was on a Sunday.

It was the hottest
day we'd ever had.

And it was amazing
to ride down the road

and see people standing
alongside the road and flags

when we got to the cemetery.

People couldn't
believe the number

of people that were there.

Whenever
Louis' body was brought,

that was the closest I
came to breaking down,

that realization that I
would never see him again,

I would never pick on
him again, you know,

that we would never have
those friendly rivalries.

It's like losing nine
of your best friends.

And we
all met, and we all walked

in holding hands together.

And it was a powerful time.

Just hearing multiple
different people just giving

their stories about how Mulkey
touched their life, for me,

it just kind of made
me sit back and really

think about how much this one
person really meant to my life.

For a long time,
just not really

believing it, questioning, you
know, faith and life and why.

I think
any time, no matter

how strong your faith
is, I think sometimes

you can be tested a little bit.

He was so young, and he
was doing so much good

for our young men and for our
community and extreme grieving

period of a solid week we
didn't go to basketball camp.

We stayed away from
basketball for a week.

When he was gone, there
was some fear for them

that they might not
be able to create

his intensity, his energy
without him being there.

That person you knew
who always had your back

and looked out for you
is not here no more.

So what do you do?

These first couple
of days, it's like, we were

pretty much bodies in the gym.

We were here, but we
weren't physically...

I mean, we weren't
mentally here.

Physically we were
here doing it.

But we could tell the
way the atmosphere

was, everyone missed him.

Without having Mulkey
was almost like not

having part of your heartbeat.

I remember the first day
we got back on and practiced,

it was bad.

Because, like, we were
missing something.

We were missing our spark.

We lost some games,
and everyone were

not sure how to
continue the season

and how to finish strong.

And it was tough.

You had mixed emotions.

We were having basketball
practice a couple of months

after he passed.

And we weren't
playing good at all.

And I remember
Coach Newman yelling

at us, my dad yelling at us.

And it's just a bad day.

Out of nowhere, the
fire alarm comes on,

and a basketball comes
from the back hallway.

That's weird.

And then the ball comes.

And you're like, man.

Everybody just looked up and
like... this is Coach Louis.

Right then we knew

that it was Coach Mulkey
telling us, like, hey,

you guys need to
get it together.

And he held onto that ball.

He didn't put it
back on the rack.

And we kept the ball
throughout the whole season.

It was
a lot of emotion.

And the fire department,
they saw the emotion in us.

They saw the emotion in the
guys and how they were out there

knowing that when you
looked at that bench,

he was no longer sitting there.

Then they brought out
the helmet, the helmet

with his number, the helmet
that symbolized him to bring

to our games so we
could put on that bench

and not just knowing that,
oh, he's no longer here

but his spirit is here with us.

Seeing the helmet in his
seat that he always sat in,

it was always a sense
of confidence boosting.

When times got tough
sometimes on the court,

you know you could always look
up and glance at that helmet

and just know... you
could see him there,

and you can hear
him what he would

be telling you in your head.

As
They began to play,

as they tried to
pick up and create

a new normal for themselves,
the family came back together.

We never weren't a family.

We were always a
family, but so much

stronger now because we'd been
through this tragedy together.

We all felt that
each and every day

we stepped on that
court that he was there.

He was right there with
us every step of the way.

The
team remembered

that there was a mission
involved from Coach Mulkey.

And that mission was you
were going to win the state

championship your senior years.

Leading up to the
playoff run, I mean,

we would have team
meetings, you know,

film study trying to prepare
us for each and every week.

We were still the underdogs.

And we were still
not picked to win.

And then, you know, we started
hitting our strides each

and every week.

It ain't about me.

It's about us now.

Fight.

I clearly remember
the game against Sumter.

It was at the Citadel,
and it was one game

before the championship game.

That semi-final
game was definitely a dogfight.

It went back and forth
pretty much from the opening

tip-off all game long.

The gym was going crazy.

Buckets after
buckets after buckets.

You know, he calls a timeout.

And like, you know,
guys, we need some stops.

And everybody looked
at the helmet.

The whole arena was decked
out with Louis Mulkey hats.

And they just started chanting
his name, Louis Mulkey.

And I remember talking in
the middle of a sentence...

You know, what we're
doing, offense,

defense, whatever it was.

And I just stopped.

And they stopped.

And we just listened to it.

I didn't say anything else.

That still gives me chills.

That moment,
it kind of really, really,

really became clear that
Mulkey had become the Wave.

Like, he was the Wave.

We
Went from an atmosphere

where we weren't a
basketball school

to really the whole school.

Because he impacted
so many students,

the whole school bought in.

And we had gone from "there's
no way they can do it"

to "look at us, we're winning."

Momentum
was building,

and we were having
success again.

And a wave of excitement
throughout our community

was building.

And it showed up when there were
butts in the seats with people

there to watch our games.

And the gym was packed
night in and night out.

Leading up
to the state championship,

it was hectic, man.

Entering South Carolina
Gamecock Stadium, it was unreal.

Like, we're here again.

The class
4A boys match-up

has Spartanburg squaring
off against Summerville.

And Coach Newman
just wanted to remind

us what we was doing it for.

We had one goal,
and that was to win.

Win it for Coach Mulkey.

The Summerville
Green Wave..

It's
definitely an energy I've never

felt before playing basketball.

There was a magical feeling.

It felt like, wow, we
were here, this moment.

When you're in
the state championship game,

everything is magnified.

The lights are on you.

It's bright, shining bright.

Kind of looking at
you in the face, like

it's... what you going to do?

I remember before that
game, there was no speech.

We all cried like babies, and
we all touched his helmet.

It was on after that.

Number 22,
senior forward, AJ Green.

And the remainder
of the Green Wave.

The energy the people
brought was amazing.

And I'm getting numb and
chills just thinking about it.

The atmosphere was crazy.

Every possession counted.

Turnover, fouls,
everything counted.

- I.
- Remember one play,

Branden passed a
bounce pass to me.

And I caught it on the
baseline, went up and laid

it up to put us up, I think.

As soon as I hit the
basket, the crowd

erupted, just because we
needed anything to kind of pull

us away at that
point in time to give

us a little bit of cushion.

- I.
- Turned over the ball twice.

I made two bad passes, and I
never really did that before.

And I got down on myself.

I remember looking
over at his seat

with the firefighter helmet.

And I felt something that
said "let's go" in my head.

But we couldn't put them away.

We were going
buckets for buckets,

and we did start to
panic a little bit.

It was like, you know, this
game is a super-close game.

Anybody can take it.

Oh, nice
move by Robinson.

Now gets it inside.

Perfect pass.

It's off the mark.

Second follow by
goes, though.

And Spartanburg takes
the one-point lead.

And then it
got really tight at the end.

The pressure was
overwhelming at times.

Quick
pass up the floor.

Shot.

We had to come back.

We had to take the lead.

And it came down
to, we're up one.

Number
18, passing outside.

Quentin Miller passes up the 3.

A 2 now.

It's off the mark.

No good.

Had a small lead, a
couple of seconds left.

We thought, man, this
thing is in the bag.

We're kind of looking around.

But now with
a chance of scoring

the final points for the
Green Wave here tonight.

And then Bruce
missed the free throw.

0.7 seconds left.

Vikings, desperation 3.

And it goes in.

Can you believe it?

No way he just made that
shot, right at the buzzer.

And I just fell to my knees...

We didn't finish.

We didn't finish like Coach
Louis wanted us to finish.

- I.
- Thought we had this.

I thought we won the game.

And then this happened.

I felt a
tremendous amount of guilt,

not only to lose it that way...

I feel like we let
some people down.

We let the kids down.

We let Louis down.

We
Already lost Coach Mulkey.

How can I possibly console them?

All kinds
of crowd control

problems here, as everyone
is running onto the floor.

People crying, just tears...
Like, no way we didn't just

lose to a buzzer beater.

You know,
coming so far and then

something so important
to us, you know,

fall out your fingertips,
you know, it hurts.

I have my hands
on my head just saying no.

Like, there's no way.

There's no way
possible that this

is how this is going to end.

They
didn't know what to think

at first, completely let down.

They thought that
they didn't do enough.

I'm standing like, man,
this ain't real, man.

Like, they can't lose like that.

I did not notice
the referees at all.

There is no mistaking
the fact a long 3 goes.

The question is, was it in time?

I want to say that I
blacked out in that moment.

- I.
- Was trying to get

as close to them as I could.

Because even though the other
team was jumping around,

there was still the
situation at hand...

For the kid to catch the
rebound, take a dribble or two,

and then launch the
ball, it was going

to be darn near impossible
that it was going to be good.

It just... the
emotion of the moment

made it seem like
it wasn't good.

But I also had a pretty
strong feeling that it

was after the light went off.

The
officials talking.

Huge crowd.

It does not go.

It does not count.

Summerville wins
the 4A state title.

And there is
disappointment all around.

And our crowd
went from crying to cheering,

and their crowd went
from cheering to crying.

It's just a flip-flop.

It was just like the whole game.

You couldn't have
scripted it any better.

Then
the celebration began.

You know, the goal
was accomplished.

It was like... that
was like, golly.

Like, the writing
was on the wall.

Like, some things is destiny.

Like, you can't
compete with that.

I was playing for
Coach Mulkey and God.

That wasn't going in.

But it did.

Coach Mulkey came through.

And I wasn't good.

And I just looked to the sky.

Like, thank you.

Thank you, Coach Louis.

And we all knew that was him.

The Green
Wave win the 4A

boys' title in a.

Greatest
state championships ever.

The trophy was huge, of course.

You know, that solidified
us winning the championship.

But just as important to us
was being able to raise up

the actual fire helmet and
just to say, you know, Mulkey,

we did it.

It was surreal in even all
the way down to how it ended.

It was like a fairy tale ending.

Basically a miracle.

Here was my son Louis
predicting that this

is not your year this year.

But next year is
going to be your year.

And it was their year.

It was just amazing to
know that he knew that.

In his heart, he knew that.

And he told them.

That wave became a tidal wave.

I'd say that coach
Mulkey's legacy

and what he left
behind definitely

taught us many
things through life.

And the fact that no
matter what's going on,

there's always good
that comes out of it.

When we got back to
Summerville, instead of going

right to the school, we took
a detour to the grave site

where Louis was buried.

Everyone got there,

gathered around in silence.

Since we sat our medals onto
the grave and let him know,

hey, we won this
championship for you.

We got the job done.

He saw this in us.

We didn't see this in ourselves.

He made us a believer, and
that's all because of him.

And
it was just a very

powerful moment to see young
men handling their emotions

so well.

2016
I got a call one

afternoon from Miss Campbell.

And she says, can you
come to the school?

And I said, yeah.

What's wrong?

She said, nothing.

Can you come over now?

And I said, sure.

That's awesome.

And she took me in the gym.

The minute that she walked
in, she just covered her mouth.

And I saw this
beautiful picture of Louis

all over the wall.

And I just... it touched me.

It really made warm my heart.

They called the
gym the Firehouse.

That's awesome.

Oh, my god.

When you get a
gym named after you,

you've got to have some
kind of major impact.

And that's major.

That is major.

This is the house he
built...

The firehouse
couldn't be a better name

for a guy that... you
know, Louis was a captain

in the fire department.

I mean, that was a
big part of his life.

And he spent a lot
of hours in this gym.

In that gym,
we did the right thing.

You know, we might not be
perfect men once we leave

there, but we understood
that once we hit that gym,

we are a brotherhood.

And we're going
to put everything

on the line for each other.

I know he knew
the boys loved him.

But I don't think he understood
the power, yeah, of it.

Perfect ending, yes.

And I was just so proud of it.

And I'm sure he
would be so proud.

He would be.

So many kids are
watching and learning.

For sure.

And looking up to him.

For sure.

I just... oh, god.

So many memories.

Good, bad, and indifferent.

No matter what people are
going to remember how jovial he

was and cutting
up with, you know,

his friends and his students.

But I really hope that they will
eventually understand what he

was trying to achieve in
getting the students to believe

that they can go on
and go to college

and get the education that
they want to get and get

the jobs they want to get.

He was one
of those people that helped

the kids be able to have the
right GPA and pass, you know,

the SAT test or ACT to be
eligible to get into college.

So that's where his influence
was greater than just being

on the basketball court
or the football field,

was the academic side of it.

An education is something that
they can never take from you.

But sometimes you've
got to push to get it.

And hopefully the students
will always remember that

and continue to strive
to try to achieve

those things for themselves.

I go occasionally
just to talk to him,

let him know, you know, I'm
still thinking about him.

I still think
about all the times

that we had, still think
about all the joy, really.

That's mainly... when I do
go is what I talk to him

about all the good times.

I go to
his grave site a lot.

I just sit there and
have conversations

with him about him helping
me, the great things he did

and getting me out of the life...

The route I was headed.

I feel like
he's still watching me.

People don't understand
what he meant to me.

But to have him saw what he
saw in me at that early age...

And it just kills me because
I'm here because of him,

and he's not here to
share this with me.

Every time I
come home, first thing I would

do is go by his grave
site, just to see how he

was and actually bring flowers.

And I'd spend time
just talking to him,

letting him know
what's going on.

We
Decided that every four

years, that'd be a good time
to check in with everybody.

So we remember,
you know, the good times.

It's a good remembrance to
come every leap year that we

get together and just kind
of get to sit back and talk,

you know, about the past, about
what everybody's doing now.

Really
enjoyed watching

them grow into young men.

Seeing a lot of my peers
that he's touched actually

get into coaching.

And I see their coaching
style is similar to his.

And how they raise their
kids is similar to the way

that he was hard on them.

And every time I see
the green and gold

and his football
number, that number 4,

it always brings back memories.

Because of
his character and his morals

and what he instilled in
us, he still lives on.

He lives on every day.

A lot of his characteristics are
in many of us... the work ethic,

the determination, the wisdom,
the strength physically,

mentally, pride, the humility.

There's thousands of people
who live on through him,

and especially me.

He
Inspired me to do...

I would just look...

I would look to him and
say, what would he do?

How would he get
through this situation?

You know, just look
to him for advice,

see if I could get answers.

He would push me.

I'm doing great.

I'm doing wonderful now.

Yeah, I got three kids.

A value I take from Coach,
you instill in them,

do anything, do
everything you can.

You're going to be
the best you can.

Give your effort, put your
values out, have heart, fight,

and you're going
to come out on top.

It's destiny.

That's just what it is.

What I took from him was
giving it your passion,

being passionate
about something,

you know what I'm saying?

Just really being
me, because I was

somebody who needed discipline.

And I tried to really instill
that as a father to my kid.

Louis,
his legacy is definitely

living on in our community.

And it's showing up.

For me still, to spend
time with the players

that played for him, they'll
say things and do things.

And it's the same
words that Louis

used when he would talk to
them and send them messages

and had a big
impact on all of us.

It still does.

Everybody that
came from our program

is still passing on the Green
Wave torch, creating waves.

I feel like I'm a part of the
legacy because of Coach Louis.

I am the man who I am today.

He taught me to the dedication,
the hard work, the sacrifices

that I had to make
just to get where I am.

I remember we used to
have these conversations...

Like, AJ, one day
when you make it,

all I want, we just want to
ride in the sports car together.

AJ Green is definitely
a part of his legacy.

And the higher he goes, the
more Mulkey's name follows.

He's the first person I think
of when I score a touchdown.

That's the first person.

I'm like, what'd Coach do?

The
ripple effect is real.

And Louis was making
waves back then.

And the ripples
of those waves are

still seen today in a big way.

- I.
- Think that pertains just

to all of us moving forward.

Like I said, us as adults
now, just keep hitting

them with different waves.

His legacy
people still talk about.

So it's not something that when
we lost Louis and those guys

graduated and went on their
way that people stopped

talking about Louis Mulkey.

That never happened.

His legacy goes

on to families and
generations and generations.

Right now in Charlotte, LA...

I know people
everywhere he touched.

If he could only
see what his impact

was, I know he'd be happy, man.

I know he's smiling right now.

He got to be.

I definitely
think that he still watches us.

He's still proud of what we do.

And I still think he
gets his laughs out now.

He's still a big kid up there.

His name will be
in infamy around here forever.