[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BlogPosting","@id":"https:\/\/www.faulkner.edu\/news\/teammates-on-the-court-friends-in-life\/#BlogPosting","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/www.faulkner.edu\/news\/teammates-on-the-court-friends-in-life\/","headline":"Teammates on the Court, Friends in Life\u00a0","name":"Teammates on the Court, Friends in Life\u00a0","description":"Remembering teammates Tim Lee and Dwight Madison\u00a0Jr., who passed away just days apart, takes us back to the days of Alabama Christian College basketball in Tine Davis Gym\u2014before the school was renamed Faulkner University.\u00a0 Teammate and lifelong friend\u00a0Lewis\u00a0\u201cTeddy\u201d Washington recalled,…","datePublished":"2026-01-09","dateModified":"2026-01-09","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.faulkner.edu\/author\/rbradford\/#Person","name":"Robin Bradford","url":"https:\/\/www.faulkner.edu\/author\/rbradford\/","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/fe4b46f646027e1b6cadf846db299f2d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/fe4b46f646027e1b6cadf846db299f2d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Faulkner University","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.faulkner.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/Official-Horizontal-480x128.png","url":"https:\/\/www.faulkner.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/Official-Horizontal-480x128.png","width":480,"height":128}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.faulkner.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/1982-ACC-Basketball-Team-Dwight-Madison-copy-edited-1x-scaled.jpg","url":"https:\/\/www.faulkner.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/1982-ACC-Basketball-Team-Dwight-Madison-copy-edited-1x-scaled.jpg","height":2167,"width":2560},"url":"https:\/\/www.faulkner.edu\/news\/teammates-on-the-court-friends-in-life\/","about":["Alumni","Athletics","Highlights","News"],"wordCount":887,"articleBody":"Remembering teammates Tim Lee and Dwight Madison\u00a0Jr., who passed away just days apart, takes us back to the days of Alabama Christian College basketball in Tine Davis Gym\u2014before the school was renamed Faulkner University.\u00a0Teammate and lifelong friend\u00a0Lewis\u00a0\u201cTeddy\u201d Washington recalled, \u201cTim and Dwight were part of the original transition basketball team that moved Alabama Christian College from a junior college program to a four-year institution. They were both part of the first\u00a0four-year\u00a0graduating class\u00a0in\u00a01983. They set the bar for the rest of us on the basketball team to prove that we could compete on the court and leave 5345 Atlanta Highway with a degree that would allow us to compete in the world. I thank the Lord for those two guys being a part of my life.\u201d\u00a0Washington shared that his friendship with Lee began long before college. \u201cI met Tim when I was in the 10th grade at an ACC basketball camp. We had no\u00a0idea\u00a0we would become teammates. Our bond really began in September of 1980, and for 45 years we\u00a0remained\u00a0the best of friends\u2014joking, praying, and sharing our thoughts about life and family,\u201d he said.\u00a0\u201cTim often credited me with setting him up with his wife, Sharon,\u201d Washington added with a smile. \u201cIt didn\u2019t hurt that she was from Wetumpka, and so was I. That helped the Ragin\u2019 Cajun break through that cultural divide between big-city Baton Rouge and small-town Wetumpka. Tim never met a stranger. He had enough love for everyone, and we all loved him back.\u201d Washington also reflected on his memories of Dwight Madison, saying, \u201cWhen Dwight joined the basketball team, not much was known about him, but he quickly earned his place on the team and in the hearts of fans. He was a sight to behold when he\u2019d grab the ball and hit one of his quick jumpers or surprise a defender with a dunk. His care for teammates, especially the underclassmen, was genuine. He was the consummate teammate who always put the team first.\u201d Washington said Madison also encouraged his teammates spiritually. \u201cHe pushed us to attend chapel and Bible study. In recent years, we reconnected, and\u00a0the laughter\u00a0and memories rejuvenated us both. I spoke to him four days before his death, and his greeting\u00a0with our nicknames\u00a0was still the same after 45 years: \u2018What\u2019s this, Blois?\u2019 My reply was the same: \u2018What\u2019s this, Buddy?\u2019\u201d\u00a0Ken Bush, team manager and Lee\u2019s college roommate, described Lee as \u201cMr. Hustle.\u201d \u201cTim was one of the hardest-working players on the team,\u201d Bush said. \u201cHe was always encouraging everyone. He was competitive, even off the court playing Spades in the dorms. He loved his vinyl record albums and often played \u2018Leaving Louisiana in the Broad Daylight\u2019 and \u2018Celebration\u2019 by Kool & The Gang after basketball and flag football games.\u201d Bush recalled that Madison lived next door in Baldwin Dorm. \u201cDwight\u2019s younger brother Delbert often came to games and spent the night in the dorms. We shared snacks and what he called \u2018Gate-ade,\u2019 which was really just Gatorade. Delbert idolized his brother, who was known for his rebounds,\u201d Bush said. Delbert Madison added, \u201cThe time I spent on campus was extraordinary. The way those guys on the basketball team treated me really made me feel special. Hanging out in the dorm and eating popcorn with them are memories that still stand out. Those Eagles quickly became family.\u201d Another team manager and roommate, Keith Cantrell, remembered Lee as a natural encourager. \u201cAs one of the team managers, I saw Tim as both a player and a friend. He gave everything he had on the court and led the student body in the famous \u2018step-slide drill\u2019 before every game,\u201d Cantrell said. \u201cHe truly lived out Matthew 22\u2014\u2018Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind, and love your neighbor as yourself.\u2019 That\u2019s why he made friends with everyone he met.\u201d Scott Brooks said Lee\u2019s influence shaped his life. \u201cI met Tim Lee in 1982 at church in Baton Rouge. From that first handshake, there was something steady and magnetic about him,\u201d Brooks said. \u201cHe\u2019s the reason I went to Alabama Christian College. His faith and encouragement nudged me toward a place that would define my adult years. Coach Naylor later offered me a scholarship and made me sports information director, traveling with the team and getting to know the players.\u201d Brooks remembered Madison as \u201csmooth on the court and in life\u2014quiet, calm, steady, and good.\u201d He said, \u201cHe was an exceptional player and a kind soul with a great smile.\u201d Off the court, Brooks and Lee were roommates and lifelong friends. \u201cMore than his friendship, it was Tim\u2019s love for Jesus that impacted me most,\u201d Brooks said. \u201cHis faith\u00a0wasn\u2019t\u00a0just words\u2014it\u00a0was in\u00a0how he treated people and how he helped me through my struggles.\u00a0Three\u00a0days before he passed, we talked about Heaven\u2014how real and beautiful it would be. Tim was everything\u00a0a true friend\u00a0should be.\u00a0I\u2019ve\u00a0lost my friend, but I\u00a0haven\u2019t\u00a0lost what he gave me: his faith, laughter, guidance, and example.\u201d\u00a0"},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"News","item":"https:\/\/www.faulkner.edu\/news\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Teammates on the Court, Friends in Life\u00a0","item":"https:\/\/www.faulkner.edu\/news\/teammates-on-the-court-friends-in-life\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]