James Cole is excited about his new opportunity.
Cole, 26, was recently named the new boys' head basketball coach at Greenwood High School. He replaces Kelvin Young, who left GHS at the end of the school year after two years running the Bulldog program to take the same position at J.Z. George in North Carrollton.
Cole has four years' coaching experience. He spent the last three years at St. Joe's in Madison, where he served as the head girls' coach last season and was an assistant the first two years.
The 2004 Southern Mississippi graduate served as a student assistant coach at Lanier High School in Jackson.
"This is a great opportunity for me. I look forward to
building on the success the team had last year," said Cole, a Magee native. "I am not promising a 20-win season, but I can guarantee you we will play hard.
"I don't have a set style like running and gunning. All of that will be determined later. My biggest thing is playing together as a team. If everybody is on the same page and knows what's expected of them, you've got a good chance to win."
Last year, the Bulldogs went 24-8 and made it into the North 4A playoffs. They lost two key players, William Pugh and Lavoris Weathers, to graduation, but Cole is excited about the potential for the upcoming season.
Falando Jones, a 6-foot-4 guard, will be Cole's go-to guy. As a junior, he averaged 14 points, seven rebounds and five assists per game.
"I've heard good things about Falando, but I've seen some other guys on the team who impress me as well," said Cole, who had his first meeting with his new players last week. "It seems like a very athletic team. The guys seem to be dedicated to getting better."
At George, longtime coach Claude Elam has retired. Track coach Heath Dudley has taken over Elam's duties as head girls' basketball coach.
Former Greenwood High football coach Sheldon Hodge has joined the George staff as an assistant football coach.
