Coach Shelby Watts was a distinguished boys basketball championship coach at Raymond, Forest Hill, and Central Hinds Academy who was born in Brookhaven where he was the Captain of Brookhaven High’s 1956 State Big Eight hoops title team. He was a two-time All Big Eight basketball player, co-captain of winning south squad in 1956 Mississippi All-Star basketball game, and also a member of Brookhaven’s state championship track squad as pole vaulter. Coach Watts was an All State basketball player at Copiah-Lincoln Junior College and 1965 Mississippi College graduate. His 42-year coaching career began in 1965 at Raymond High. He led the Rangers until 1977 when he moved to Forest Hill until 1994. He completed his career at Central Hinds Academy from 1994 to 2007. Shelby guided Raymond to 6 Conference Championships (Magnolia & Capitol Athletic), 1 invitational title (Warren Central), and 3 Class B & BB state runner-up finishes. At Forest Hill, led the then-Rebels hoops team to 3 Classic crowns (Rebel & Pepsi), 2 district titles, 1 South State crown, 2 class AA runner-up finish, 1 class AA state title, and the overall state championship in 1981. He paced the Central Hinds Academy team to 3 Cougar Classic titles, and 4 district championships in Class A & AA of the MPSA (now MAIS). He coached in 1,244 games with his squads winning 806 games and losing only 438. His teams claimed 6 conference crowns, 7 invitational or classic titles, 5 runner-up finishes, 6 division titles, 1 South State title, 1 Class AA State championship and 1 Grand Slam overall title. Shelby was honored as a boys basketball coach of the year on numerous occasions by the following groups: the Magnolia Athletic Conference (1967, 1968, 1969), the Capitol Athletic Conference (1972, 1974, 1975), the MAC (1973, 1981), the Mississippi Economic Council (1971), the Raymond Jaycees (1973), the Mississippi Sportswriters Association (1981), the Metropolitan Sports Club (1983), the Jackson Clarion Ledger (1981— Metro & State Coach of the Year), the Vicksburg Evening Post (1996), and the MPSA (1996, 2002, 2004). He was selected as Teacher of the Year by the Raymond Chamber of Commerce in 2003 and served as All Star coach in the 1973 Mississippi High School All-Star game and in the 1992 Mississippi/Alabama All-Star Classic. He is a longtime MAC and MS Private School Association of Coaches member and a frequent clinic speaker on his famed “ stack offense”. He helped organize team camps at Hinds CC. He has been a member of First Baptist Church of Raymond since 1965 & Wash-o-Ha Swimming pool board member /manager since 1966. Coach Watts was inducted into the Copiah-Lincoln CC Sports Hall of Fame for basketball and track in 2006.