A junior college assistant coach with regional ties is taking over the Houston High School boys’ basketball program.
Matt Hardy, a 2005 West Plains graduate and current assistant coach at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College, was selected last week as the next leader of the Tigers. He replaces Robert James, who departs after one season to become assistant elementary principal in Willow Springs.
Hardy was one of two finalists for the position.
“Matt has a great basketball background. He’s been around the right people to learn the game,” said incoming HHS athletic director Brent Hall. “I think he’ll be something a little different than we’ve had.”
Hardy, 29, said he understands the challenges he faces in Houston. He is the ninth head coach in the past 12 years for a program that last won a conference title in 1989 and district championship in 1984.
The Tigers return one starter and just three players overall from a team that went 5-19 last season.
“I know they’ve had a lot of turnover. I’m hoping to stop that and bring some continuity to the program that hasn’t been there,” Hardy said. “I want to build a program –– one the community and school can gather around and be proud of. To do that, there can’t be turnover. I’m not looking to come to Houston and move onto another job the very next year. I want to build a legacy that I and the community can be proud of.”
Hall said longevity and commitment to the program were discussed at length during the interview process. Hardy said he will address the carousal of head coaches through the program when he first meets with the team at the end of the school year.
“They’re used to coaches coming in and leaving,” Hardy said. “The first thing I’ll tell them is, ‘Guys, I’m here and I’m going to be here.’ I want them to be a part of rebuilding this program.”
Hardy was a three-year letter winner at West Plains High School and member of the 2004 and ’05 district championship teams. After graduating, he served in active duty with the Air Force in Missouri, Guam, Korea, Italy and Mississippi through 2013.
Since joining the coaching staff at Mississippi Gulf Coast in June 2013, the team has a combined 52-25 record. Last year’s team rose as high as 17th in the national junior college standings.
Hardy described himself as a blue-collar coach who believes in hard work and being focused and intense. While his offensive approach may vary year to year with personnel –– although getting to the free-throw line is always a priority –– Hardy said defensively his teams will play an aggressive matchup zone.
Hardy said Mississippi Gulf Coast’s zone has at times limited teams to 11 or 12 baskets in a game during his time there.
“We’ll get back in our matchup zone, sit down on people and try to make them pitch it from the cheap seats,” Hardy said. “It’s very hard to figure out and gives other teams fits.”
Hardy, who plans to attend at least two team camps with his new HHS team this summer along with weekly open gyms, has a physical education degree and minor in secondary education from William Carey University in Mississippi. He and his wife, Jill, have been married nine years.
“Matt has a great basketball background, and the gym will be open all the time, which is a big bonus,” Hall said. “We feel like he has the energy we need to build the program.”