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t all began in Cuba almost 57 years ago -- Cuba, New York. It was December 23, 1954, and Lyle and Josephine Reisman, would remember this date because their third child, a boy, would join the Reisman family.

The little boy’s name would be Lonn. Five children would eventually become members of the family. Lonn would later become the most successful basketball coach at Tarleton State University (TSU) in Stephenville. His basketball record as a head coach is impressive – 483 wins and only 210 losses (.697 percent) in a period of 23 years. These numbers include 24 wins and only 6 losses in the 2010-2011 season.

Let us turn the pages back to 1954 in Cuba, N.Y. Lonn’s father was employed as a manufacturing specialist at Acme Electric Corporation in the New York community. For the frst 15 years of his life, Lonn, his two brothers – Rusty and Todd and his two sisters, Judy and Cindy -- lived in Cuba, a community of about 2,000, located about 60 miles southeast of Buffalo.

In 1969 the family moved to Lumberton, N.C., where Lonn’s father continued working for the Acme Electric Corporation. Lumberton is located in the southeast corner of North Carolina, near the border with South Carolina. Today, his parents are in their 80s, and they continue to live in Lumberton. His father is retired.

It was in Lumberton High School that Lonn got his frst real test in basketball and other sports. His basketball coach was Bill Ivey. Reisman puts it this way, “Ivey had a great infuence on my life, and he has been special to me ever since my high school days at Lumberton.”