By Noah McKay
Seven times Bobby McWilliams has watched his wife, Dana McWilliams, walk out of the Murphy Center’s tunnel on a Saturday ahead of a state championship game.
But this Saturday, Dana will watch Bobby take that walk for the first time.
Saturday’s Class 3A state championship game between Upperman and Tullahoma is a culmination of over three decades of work for Baxter’s head boys coach.
“Honestly, I’m just gald to see it’s my dad’s turn,” said UHS girls’ assistant, and Dana and Bobby’s son, Tyler McWilliams. “He’s a fantastic coach and he’s got fantastic kids on his team. It’s good to see him get what he deserves.”
The McWilliams name is synonymous with Upperman basketball. The UHS 55-47 semifinal win over Greeneville was Bobby’s 629th career victory while Dana has won over 800 games as head coach of the Lady Bees. Dana has led the Lady Bees to three state championships and four runner-up finishes, while Bobby has led the Bees to six state tournaments.
Beyond the head coaches, McWilliams line the benches as assistants. Tyler is an assistant for the girls, while Austyn McWilliams serves on the boys’ staff. Along the front row of most games in Baxter are other sons Jace and Koby.
“We are very blessed to be at home with nearly 1500 wins, it just so happens to be our parents,” said Austyn.
Along with playing for their parents, Austyn spent time as a coach in Wilson County while Tyler spent a season as head coach at Cumberland County. Those years of playing and coaching experience lead to constant strategizing as a family, says Dana.
“Growing up with all four boys, they all played for Bobby,” she said. “Growing up we tried to keep it mom and dad at home, not coaches. But now talking basketball strategy, we do that all the time. We have a lot of trust in each other. Our boy’s basketball knowledge is really high. For us, there’s no ego, we’re out for who can help each other and how we can help each other win.”
While everyone’s opinions are valued in those strategy talks, ultimately the buck stops with the head coaches.
“I’ve coached with both my mom and dad and can confirm that happens,” said Austyn on the head coaches saying no to an idea. “But they are always really willing to listen and open to ideas. You can’t take anything personal, it could be a bad idea. When it does happen, it doesn’t bother me.”
What makes these discussions so effective? Respect, honesty and directness.
“If we don’t like an idea, we just say no and we don’t get our feelings hurt over those things,” said Dana. “Ultimately, I have to make the decision for the girls and Bobby has to make the decision for the boys. But we take their input and really look through it.”
Even between the head coaches there is disagreement at times.
“There’s things I suggested to Bobby and he’s not done it but we really don’t usually try to tell each other how to coach. He has his way of coaching and I have mine. I think he does a fantastic job.”
Sometimes, that directness leads to hard truths.
“In 2017, the first championship we won, 3 of my boys were watching film with Bobby,” said Dana. “I came in and said ‘okay guys, how can I guard them?’ and Austyn said ‘you can’t’. And Bobby goes ‘you can’t’…. I came back later and Jace said ‘mom, you can’t guard them.’ They weren’t exactly wrong; it was a tough game (a 66-62 win over Pearl Cohn).”
While the state championship game appearance has eluded him until 2025, Bobby still racked up the accolades including the 2024 UC Coach of the Year, numerous district and region championships and college signees.
For those who know him best, advancing to the state championship game doesn’t validate anything in regards to Bobby’s coaching acumen, but was special for other reasons.
“Tonight when the horn blew, all three of my boys who were here had tears in their eyes,” said Dana. “It was pretty special. We know what Bobby knows. We know the success that he’s had at Upperman. For us, getting into the championship game doesn’t validate anything. We already know how special of a coach he is. But it’s still pretty cool for him to get to experience that. We’ve been waiting for a very long time. It’s really special for our family.”
Beyond the McWilliams family, longtime assistants Brian Johnson and Alan Asberry both are on the UHS bench. While Dana has former players Emily Hughes and Amanda Asberry as assistants. Johnson’s son Colton Johnson and Asberry’s step-son Cobb are both key members of the boys team.
“Coach Johnson’s been with Bobby for a long time, 20 plus years,” said Dana. “Abilgail (Johnson’s daughter) grew up on the bench. Colton and Ty have played a million one-on-one games since they were little. For Alan, he played for Bobby and he’s just a member of our famil. It’s really special to get to see that.”
Now, led by Class 3A Mr. Basketball Ty Cobb, Mr. Football semifinalist Bronzden Chaffin and a host of other weapons, the Bees have their best season in program history. They are looking to finish it off with a Gold Ball to add to the trophy case in the most dominant UC athletic program of the past decade.
“We all put in a lot of time,” said Tyler. “My parents could go coach anywhere anytime they want to, but they love this town and community. They love this program. They love our school. You don’t see that anymore with coaches staying in one spot and they both have.”