Robert Jentes Brickels

Robert “Bo” Jentes Brickels passed away on Friday, April 22, 2016 at his home in Davidson. Bo will be remembered as an inspirational teacher, coach, and mentor. He had a positive and upbeat sense of humor, and was sometimes quite an entertainer.  He connected with everyone he met, and was genuinely interested in the people around him. 

Born in 1938, Bo was the older child of John and Josephine Brickels; his sister, Becky predeceased him in 2008.  Although he was born in West Virginia, when he was ten his family moved to Oxford, Ohio, and he called Ohio home.  He was a star athlete at McGuffey High School, lettering in baseball, football and basketball and also playing on the golf and wrestling teams.  Despite his relatively short stature, as a basketball player he averaged 21 points a game during his senior year, earning him Butler County honors.  His record as quarterback of the football team earned him Little Southwestern League honors.  He was later inducted into the Talawanda School District Hall of Fame.

After high school, Bo attended Miami University (Ohio), and graduated in 1960.  He went on to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he earned his master’s degree and met his wife of fifty-three years, Lynn Higgins Brickels, whom he married in 1962. Between 1961 and 1967, Bo taught mathematics and coached basketball at Pleasant View High School in Columbus, Ohio.  He always considered himself a teacher first, and then a coach.  From 1967 to 1969, he was an assistant basketball coach at Rice University in Houston, Texas.

In 1969 Bo moved to Davidson, North Carolina, where he served as an assistant basketball coach until 1974.  When Terry Holland left Davidson to become the coach at the University of Virginia, Bo took over as head coach, remaining until 1976.  He found his true calling in 1986 when he returned to high school teaching and coaching as the head coach of the Concord Spiders in Concord, North Carolina.  During his tenure in Concord, he earned a reputation as a colorful coach who was a true teacher both in the classroom and on the basketball court.   Kevin Bryant, then athletic director at Central Cabarrus High School, said several years ago that “if you’ve never had an opportunity to stand in the gym and watch Coach Bo teach basketball, you’re missing out.  He doesn’t coach.  He teaches basketball like nobody I’ve ever seen.” Bo served as a mentor not only to his players, but to other students as well.  Scott Brewer, a former assistant and then head coach at Concord, referred to his impact on the students there: “I think most of the people who played for him remember what kind of person he was, rather than as a coach.  He meant a lot to everybody, not just players.  Kids walking around the school every day, kids on the verge of dropping out and not doing well, he would go up to them…Everybody else had to sugar-coat it, but he would tell them the truth.  And they would listen to him, even the toughest kids in school.”  His son, Rob, remembers that his father saw potential in people that they themselves didn’t recognize, that he saw the best in everyone.  It was important to him that students have an opportunity for a higher education, and he went the extra mile to try to make that happen. Although he only coached basketball at Concord for eight years, the basketball court was christened the “Coach Bo Court” in his honor.  Many of his former students considered him a father figure, and he remained in contact with them long after their playing days were over.  In addition to his own family, he had a huge basketball family, and a “basketball tree” of students and colleagues to whom he was an inspiration. 

Along with his success as a teacher and coach, Bo will be remembered as an honorable man, a quality much appreciated by his colleagues, students, and family.  His children remember that even with his busy schedule, he was always closely involved in their lives, monitoring their progress.  After his retirement, he enjoyed being with his beloved grandchildren, playing with them and watching them compete in various sports.  He also enjoyed playing golf, particularly with his golfing buddies at Cabarrus Country Club and his wife, Lynn.

Bo is survived by his wife, Lynn and four children: Robert J. “Rob” Brickels Jr. and his wife Mary of Wilmington, North Carolina; Shawn Brickels of Franklin, Tennessee; Stacy Brickels and her husband Michael Manley of Lexington, South Carolina; and Paige Brickels of Minneapolis, Minnesota.  He had six grandchildren, Sarah and Davis Brickels; Patrick, Anna and Quinn Manley; and Holden Mattoon.

There will be a celebration of Bo’s life at 2 p.m. on Thursday, April 28, at the Davidson College Presbyterian Church.  In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Concord High School Boys’ and Girls’ Basketball Program c/o Concord High School, 481 Burrage Rd. NE, Concord, NC 28025.