By Cody Stark
It was a big week for Huntsville coach Jay Oliphant.
First, he, his wife Torri and son Jayden welcomed the newest addition to the Oliphant family in to the world. Jordan, a healthy boy, was born earlier in the week.
Then came the icing on the cake.
Huntsville athletic director Mitchell Coey announced Friday that Oliphant has been hired as the new Lady Hornets head basketball coach.
“I got a new son and now I’m a head coach. I’m truly blessed,” Oliphant said Friday. “Now all I need to do is win the lottery. This is a great opportunity for me to get some head coaching experience. I want to see what I can do.”
Oliphant was hired to replace Devin Gabbard, who took over the girls program at Rockwall Heath High School earlier this month.
Huntsville opened the job immediately after Gabbard’s departure and Coey said that 50 people applied. The applicants were sent to a committee which narrowed the list down to seven. Coey interviewed the final three and decided that Oliphant was the right man for the job.
Oliphant has been an assistant boys basketball coach at Huntsville High School under former head coach Doug Anderson and current head coach Larry Carlson for five years.
As Carlson’s top assistant last season, Oliphant helped the Hornets go undefeated through district play to win their third straight league championship. The Huntsville boys advanced to the Region III semifinals and finished the season 27-8.
“I think that Jay will do an excellent job,” Coey said Friday. “He brings a lot of experience as a former player and assistant coach. He got a chance to learn under Doug Anderson and Larry Carlson. He had a hand in the success of the boys program, so I believe he can continue the success of the girls program.
“He’s from Huntsville and knows the girls. He has earned his own stripes and it says a lot to have a quality coach in-house to keep that program moving forward.”
Oliphant was a two-time District 15-5A Most Valuable Player at Huntsville High School in 1998 and 1999. He played two seasons at Blinn College before transferring to Sam Houston State in 2001.
He was part of the 2002-03 Bearkat squad that won both the Southland Conference regular-season and tournament championships and made the school’s first trip to the NCAA Tournament under head coach Bob Marlin.
Oliphant is taking over a Lady Hornets team that has made the playoffs three straight years, one under Mia Cook and two under Gabbard. Huntsville advanced to the regional quarterfinals in 2007, made it to the semifinals in 2008 and fell in the bi-district round in 2009.
The Lady Hornets finished third in District 18-4A last season and return three all-district selections, including first-team honorees Ronisha Major and Shonecra James.
“We have some good players coming back,” Oliphant said. “They have playoff experience and they have an idea of what it takes to succeed. Coach Cook and coach Gabbard did a great job building the program. We are going to focus on defense. I think that if we improve in that area, we will have a good shot at getting back to regionals and then to Austin.”
