THOMASVILLE — Ben Tillman always envisioned himself as a leader. He just didn’t realize it led to the basketball court.

The third-year head coach of the Thomasville Bulldogs and one-time firefighter has the Bulldogs playing for their first state basketball championship today in the Class AA final against Greater Atlanta Christian.

“I knew that if we came in and worked hard and we develop a couple of kids that we’d be able to make a good run at our goals,” said Tillman, who graduated from Thomasville in 1985. “I think it’s just paying off right now with the hard work the kids put in the last couple of years, especially with the hard work Charles (Hayes), Fred (Holton) and those (seniors) have done. Those kids are filling their roles quite well. They’ve done an excellent job of leading the team in the locker room. That’s what we’ve kind of built the program on is the hard work and blue collar-type atmosphere.”

Tillman’s also instilled an exciting atmosphere for his Bulldogs to play in. Before his team takes the court, Tillman is in the middle of the huddle, cheering and pumping his players up. During a game, Tillman will walk up and down the sideline leading the team and Thomasville fans in the Bulldogs’ “Death Clap.” a cheer that’s come to symbolize Thomasville’s success this season.

“(Thursday) night, the kids started the ‘Death Clap’ and we had a lot of fans here at the gym. It seemed like a home game,” Tillman said. “That means so much to these kids. They know that if you start the ‘Death Clap’ on a foreign place and you get response back from your own fans, that just pumps you up. I think we outscored (Jefferson) 24-8 in the third quarter because of it, because of the energy we fed off from the crowd.”

Tillman doesn’t reserve that energy and passion just for games.

“It’s not only in the gym before the game, it’s in the locker room, it’s during practice, it’s everywhere,” Carter said. “It’s just exciting to play for him.”

Tillman added, “That’s what me and coach (Richie) Marsh have really been trying to focus on is trying to get a lot of energy up in all our sports, not just in basketball and football, but for baseball, softball, all our sports. I think in the last couple of years, we’ve won the (Region 1-AA) All-Sports Award and that’s a complement to our whole sports program. I just want to continue that same type of atmosphere in the gym. I want people to come watch these kids work hard.”

The hype surrounding the Bulldogs basketball program started during the 2005-06 season, the last year Thomasville advanced to the state title game. The following a senior-laden Bulldogs team lost just two games but was ousted in the first round of the state tournament. It was former coach Tyrone Kellogg’s last year as he resigned shortly after the season. Tillman, then an assistant, was promoted to head coach and his teams have improved every year. His first season ended in the first round of the state playoff. Last year, the Bulldogs won 22 games and advanced to the second round of the state tournament. This year, the Bulldogs are 24-4 and have won six straight entering today’s clash.

Tillman has instilled confidence in the Bulldogs program.

“Success is something that I dream about every day. When I wake up every morning, I’m thinking I’m going to be a winner,” Tillman said. “I don’t know of anybody that wakes up in the morning and think they’re going to lose a ball game.

“That’s the way I view my life. When I wake up in the morning, I expect to win.”

It was a philosophy Tillman had when he took his fireman post in 1988. It wasn’t until 10 years ago that Kellogg persuaded Tillman to join the Bulldogs staff as an assistant.

“I saw myself as the fire chief. I had no idea I would end up coaching basketball at all,” Tillman said. “Coach Kellogg gave me the opportunity to come work with him for a few years.”

While continuing his duties as a fireman, Tillman was a volunteer assistant coach for seven years. Tillman learned a lot about the game and the hard work it takes for a team to be successful.

“The way Ben runs the program, we all respect the way it’s done and the way his kids play,” Marsh said.