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Friday, Oct. 16, 2009

FVSU introduces new basketball coach

Wilson Gosier didn’t waste any time after the 2008-09 men’s basketball season concluded at Fort Valley State.

It was then that the FVSU athletics director said he told Emory Lightfoot Jr. that the Wildcats would not open the 2009-10 season with an interim head coach, a position Lightfoot held since September of 2007.

A search committee was formed, about three dozen applications were received, and John D. Douglas was hired in July from Lawson State (Ala.) Community College and introduced Thursday at a news conference.

Lightfoot, also the school’s head volleyball coach, moved up from assistant to interim head coach a few weeks after head coach Travis Williams resigned to take an assistant’s position at Mercer.

The Wildcats continued their momentum under Lightfoot.

They tied a school record with 10 consecutive wins en route to a 15-14 record in 2007-08, 13-9 in conference play, after a 3-12 start.

FVSU struggled to a 13-16 overall record in 2008-09, going 12-12 in the SIAC. But the Wildcats lost 11 games by single digits, including by 82-79 to LeMoyne-Owen in the conference tournament.

FVSU returns a solid nucleus, led by senior guard Martrez Scott of Putnam County as well as guards Randy Graham and Kenneth Simmons plus forward Darrell Aiken.

Douglas brings an impressive resume to FVSU.

He was an All-Big Eight newcomer of the year and all-conference player at Kansas and played in the CBA, NBA and in Europe.

His coaching career has been on the junior-college level at Calhoun (Ala.) Community College, Gulf Coast (Fla.) and Lawson State.

In 2000, he led Calhoun to a 32-4 mark and an appearance in the national junior college title game.

Douglas is a three-time coach of the year.