By Randy Kindred and Lily Goodfellow
Tom White won more than 400 games in 26 seasons as Chicago De La Salle Institute’s boys head basketball coach. There were a lot of highs in a career that earned him induction into the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame.
Yet, White will tell you there were some “hard years” in which “people are transferring on you and there are things you don’t see.”
White coaches the game in a different environment these days, and it’s given him something new, special. His De La Salle/Southside team fell a bit short in its quest for a fourth straight IHSA Unified State Basketball Division 2 championship, but that was OK. White and his players had a third-place trophy Saturday and, more importantly, each other.
“In some of my years as a boys varsity coach … I don’t know if I was told too much that they loved me,” White said. “In this, they tell you they love you. They want to hug you. I think it’s a human need a little bit. It’s good to be appreciated like that instead of criticized.”
The weekend also featured the Special Olympics Illinois State Basketball Tournament in Bloomington-Normal. Among those at Illinois State’s Horton Field House was Mitzi Vasconcelles, a retired Springfield police officer who has volunteered at Special Olympics Illinois events for decades.
On the Court With Southside Unified
Southside defeated East St. Louis, 67-46, in the third-place game at the University of Illinois’ Activities and Recreation Center (ARC) in Champaign. That came after a 49-40 semifinal loss to Bradley Bourbonnais the previous day. Bradley Bourbonnais took second place Saturday behind champion Chicago Vaughn Occupational High School & St. Patrick High School.
This was White’s fourth year coaching Southside Unified, and while another state title was not to be, “It’s pretty darn good to be here,” he said.
“You get your school, the non-special needs kids, and every year you get different kids,” White said. “This year, our soccer team was state champs. Most of these kids who are De La Salle students (on Southside Unified) are soccer players. It makes a difference.
“It (Unified) is a cool thing. I think it’s something that high school kids need in order to appreciate who they are, what they are.”
Brandon Dorsey was part of Southside’s three-year championship run. An athlete with Special Olympics Illinois, he was a player for two years and a student assistant coach for one.
Dorsey and White were featured in an inspirational video at last year’s Special Olympics Illinois Champions Ball. Dorsey now attends Richard Daley Community College in Chicago and has a job at Jewel-Osco, but his impact on the team is still being felt, White said.
“He was just the nicest kid, played hard,” said White, who is in his 31st year as De La Salle’s athletic director. “He’s like my kid a little bit. He would be the glue behind the team. He just said the right things. His disabilities were not anything of what his heart was and his head was. He saw things and understood things.
“Awesome kid, and he still has remnants in this program. He would say NWG .. Now We Go! Then everybody would start dancing and stuff.”
Dorsey said he joined a teammate to create “hype” for Southside through music.
“My teammate is a rapper and I am a music producer, so we’d create a rap song to get the team hyped up before our game started,” he said.
Dorsey believes he is still reaping the benefits of being with Southside Unified.
“Now that I’m in college, I feel like I carry that with me,” he said. “It’s for like, ‘work as a team, do your part.’ I deal with that with work and with school, so whatever I’m doing that does not involve basketball, I feel like I’m still in it because you’re working as a group.”
Learn more and view results from the 2026 IHSA Unified State Basketball Tournament.
The Heart Behind the Medals
Vasconcelles is a Region H volunteer who got involved in Special Olympics Illinois long before she retired from the Springfield Police Department in 2002.
Her first event was the Spring Games in Springfield and she was one of only five volunteers, something she said “is unheard of today.”
Vasconcelles was among those handing out awards and medals at the State Basketball Tournament. At the Summer Games tournament, she works on the track.
She said she enjoys both roles, as well as regional and local events. Earlier this month, she volunteered at the Springfield area’s Polar Plunge, which raised more than $130,000 for Special Olympics Illinois. Asked if she participates in the Polar Plunge, she said, “I do not. As I tell people, I am the last sane person they see before they go in the water.”
Among her favorite aspects of volunteering is seeing the joy of the athletes when they receive their medals.
“Oh, they’re so exuberant. They’re so proud of themselves,” Vasconcelles said. “It’s been a long weekend for some, you know. And this is the culmination of all their hard work. That’s what’s special. And what’s really fun is no matter how they place, they’re excited.
“I mean, I like to say it’s true athletic competition. Everybody is pulling for everybody. And if you watch the games, if somebody falls down, somebody’s there to help them up. I mean, it’s wonderful.”
Vasconcelles said she has come to know numerous coaches and families as a Special Olympics Illinois volunteer, including many from Chatham. She has a treasure trove of fond memories as a volunteer, too many to choose a favorite, she said.
Asked for a word to describe herself, she replied, “Humble, I guess. Humble to be around all these wonderful athletes.”
Learn more and view results from the 2026 State Basketball Tournament.