Coaching carousel: Greene back to work, at Tattnall; spinning at Northside, Houston County, Dooly County, GMC, JMA
By Michael A. Lough
The Sports Report
centralgasports@gmail.com
Life, as we learned from Ferris Bueller, moves fast.
So do some coaching moves.
One Friday, Kurt Greene interviewed for the open Tattnall girls basketball job.
A day later, he was told he got the job. Two days later, he signed the contract, and was announced a day later by Tattnall.
Then he met the team, and a day later – all in a week – attended a staff meeting at his new employer.
"I'm looking forward to it, I really am," Greene said. "I think there's some potential."
He may have to deal with some exasperation and some trust issues, since he's the fourth head coach in four years. Todd Whetsel left to become the head of the Georgia Association of Private and Parochial Schools after the 2018-19 season. Casey Jones took over for 2019-20, getting the job over Greene, and then Jeremy Mayweather moved from the Trojans' boys program to the girls for 20-21.
Mayweather left to take over the girls program at John Milledge, a GISA school in Milledgeville.
He just can't stay away from the court.
His career started at as a boys assistant at Mary Persons. His alma mater, Jonesco Academy, hired him to coach boys. He coached boys to start out in his first stint at Gatewood, and then started coaching girls, coaching both.
He has coached girls ever since, and except for his one season at Northside, reached at least one Final Four at each pre-retirement stop, which included Windsor, Jones County, and Mary Persons.
After retirement, he spent one season back at Gatewood, then coached JV boys at Mary Persons, and then girls at Jasper County/Monticello. He has taken the 2020-21 year off from coaching.
Greene went 606-319 as a girls head coach when he "retired" from Mary Persons in the spring of 2017, having taken Jones County and Mary Persons to Final Fours. Upon retirement, he was head coach at Gatewood and returned to Mary Persons as an assistant before taking over at Jasper County/Monticello in 2019-20.
Tattnall, while having struggled in recent years, offers more stability and potential, attracting Greene despite the turnover.
"I shot Joey (Hiller) a text," Greene said of athletics director Joey Hiller. "'You know who I am, you know what I do, I've talked to you twice. I'm just letting you know I'd be interested if that's the direction y'all want to go.'"
Now, some catching up with a collection of changes that are tied together in some form or fashion.
More hoops carouseling
Northside is in the market for a new head girls basketball coach.
Ashleigh Fox followed a three-year stint as an assistant at Jones County with five at Northside is taking over at Discovery, a Class 7A school in Lawrenceville.
Fox played at Parkview, where she battled No. 1 WNBA pick and recent inductee to the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame Maya Moore. Fox played at Georgia College, and earned her Bachelor’s and Master’s there.
At Northside, she also coached track and soccer. ...
Houston County kept the boys basketball move close to home.
The school hired alum David "Buddy" Bivins as head boys basketball coach when Don Hudson left for Northside and a football assistant job.
David "Buddy" Bivins moves across the county, job-wise, from the Warner Robins staff as an assistant to take over at his alma mater, replacing Hudson, Houston County going from a couple decades of experience to a few years.
Bivins graduated from Houston County and earned three varsity letters at Middle Georgia State as the program transitioned into the NAIA as a four-year school. He has spent the past few seasons on the boys staff at Warner Robins.
Towandi King was cut loose at Dooly County in his job as athletics director and as head boys basketball coach in April, after a 186-114 record, four Sweet 16s, and three Eight Eights.
He was hired in May as a teacher and head boys coach at Crisp County. ...
GMC Prep has announced Bo Kilby as the new boys basketball head coach.
GMC head football coach Lee Coleman took over for 2020-21 as a stopgap for a season after longtime coach James Lunsford retired.
Kilby spent nearly a decade as an assistant at John Milledge, and is making his head coaching debut. The JMA grad played at Columbus State and Georgia Southwestern, Peach Belt Conference rivals of Georgia College.