J.D. Brecheisen, right, of Lawrence, and Barbara Brecheisen watch the Lawrence Lions play Wichita Southeast on Saturday during the Class 6A State Tournament in Emporia. J.D. is Lawrence High School junior Dorian Green's grandfather. He played in the state tournament for Baldwin 52 years ago.

Emporia ? J.D. Brecheisen sat high above in the White Auditorium rafters this weekend, keeping a watchful eye over the events unfolding on the basketball court down below.

As Lawrence High School’s boys and girls basketball teams made their runs to the Class 6A state championship, he couldn’t help but share his own memories of days gone by.

Brecheisen, 69, has been coming to state tournaments every March for the past 30 years.

But this one was different for a couple of reasons. This one had extra meaning.

You see, 52 years ago, it was Brecheisen who threw on a jersey and laced up his sneakers in the very same Emporia gymnasium, taking center stage as a senior in the state tournament for Baldwin High School.

“We were rated No. 1, and we had to come out here and play at 3 in the afternoon,” Brecheisen recalled. “We came into this gym with the glass backboards in the middle of the day, and we looked terrible.”

His team lost at that state tournament, but his recollections of the place are fond.

He said the quaint arena, which seats 5,000 people, hadn’t changed a bit since he played there.

Now, more than a half-century later, he still comes back.

And this year’s tournament was of particular interest to him. His grandson just happens to be LHS point guard Dorian Green, who guided the underdog Lions on a magical run through the playoffs.

It wasn’t until Green’s Lions qualified for state that Brecheisen told him about his own experiences playing in the 1956 Class B tournament in Emporia.

“He couldn’t believe it,” Brecheisen said.

It likely will take Green – and the rest of Lawrence’s boys and girls basketball players – some time to realize what it means to have the opportunity to play in the state tournament, Brecheisen said. “It’s quite special. You never forget it. You just don’t ever forget it.”