Most remember Lee Gilbert as the longtime coach of the powerhouse Muskegon Heights basketball teams, but he was also one of the best players to ever come out of the Heights basketball factory.

An all-state guard for the Tigers in 1970, Gilbert went on to play two years at Robert Morris Junior College in Illinois, followed by two years at the University of Oklahoma. A starter in both his junior and senior years for the Sooners, he led the team in assists both seasons and served as the team’s captain his senior year.
Following graduation, he returned to the Heights as a special education teacher and took over as basketball coach in the fall of 1977. Inheriting a talented squad, he immediately led the Tigers to back-to-back Class B state championships in 1978 and 1979. His 1993 squad finished as Class B runner-up. Gilbert’s Heights teams won an amazing 15 district championships and eight regional titles between 1978 and 2001.

In 2003, Gilbert was named head coach at Grand Rapids Ottawa Hills. He remained at the helm for five seasons, where his teams won two more district titles, then was tabbed the men’s head coach at Muskegon Community College. He retired two years later following the 2009 campaign with a total of over 500 basketball victories spanning his entire coaching career.