Edsel Ford High School will dedicate its gymnasium in honor of Ibrahim “Juice” Baydoun, the longtime counselor and boys basketball coach who died in February 2025 at age 60.

The dedication ceremony is set for the evening of Friday, Dec. 4, before the Thunderbirds’ varsity boys basketball game against rival Fordson, according to The First Bell, a Dearborn Public Schools publication.

Baydoun’s name will go along the side of the court. A plaque and a quote from Baydoun will be installed in the hallway outside the counseling office where he worked for 34 years.

“He was the counselor/coach you leaned on, the one that didn’t wait until the next day to meet with you, and he made sure you knew that you mattered,” Edsel Ford Principal Rima Hassan said in the district announcement. “Mr. Baydoun was dedicated to his students and approached each with care and compassion.”

Deputy Superintendent Lamis Srour assisted the committee that planned the tribute. She called Baydoun “a wonderful individual who spent his life dedicated to the district’s students,” adding that the many stories people share about him reflect his impact.

Srour said the school hopes the community will turn out for the ceremony.

A Dearborn basketball life

Baydoun graduated from Fordson in 1983. He helped the basketball team win a district championship in 1982 and a league title in 1983, according to the Fordson Varsity Alumni Club. His 38 football receptions in 1982 set a school record at the time.

At the University of Michigan-Dearborn, he earned NAIA All-American honors and set the school’s career scoring record at the time, the alumni club said. The district announcement also confirms his induction into the university’s Athletics Hall of Fame.

Baydoun then spent his professional career at Edsel Ford, serving as counselor and head coach of the boys basketball program for most of that time. As of 2020, The Arab American News reported he had won 295 games. He also provided $1,000 scholarships to all seniors on his basketball team who carried a cumulative 3.0 GPA or higher.

He suffered a heart attack two weeks before his death, according to The First Bell.

Mural planned

The committee also heard about other notable figures in Thunderbirds athletics history. A mural featuring athletes and coaches will be installed inside the gym, according to The First Bell. The district expects to add more honorees over time.

The Edsel Ford varsity boys basketball game against Fordson follows the ceremony.