During the 20 years of its existence, Riverside High School was known for basketball.
Richard Fuqua and Anthony Roberts were the biggest of many stars for the school that occupied the former Chattanooga High School building that now serves as the home of Arts & Sciences. Some of the rest of the former Trojans standouts will be playing this evening against NAIA All-American Gerald Cunningham and other alumni of Howard, their top rival.
Riverside won three state championships, two under Dorsey Sims and the third in 1972 with former Trojans point guard Leroy Alexander Jr. as head coach in his first year after ending his playing career with a conference title at Alabama State. Alexander’s Trojans defeated coach Henry Bowles and Howard in the TSSAA final.
Those coaches will be squaring off again today in a game that will start about 5 p.m. in UTC’s Maclellan Gymnasium. The irony is that Alexander is in his sixth year working at Howard, having been pulled back into education by former principal Elaine Swafford.
“This is bragging rights for a year, and I’ve got to have that. I work over there,” said Alexander, who was a head coach at four colleges after leaving Riverside in 1976 and is in his third year directing the Chattanooga Magicians AAU boys’ team, now 12-under.