Columbus High School is looking for a new boys basketball coach and a new boys soccer coach.
On Wednesday, a job posting for a boys basketball coach on the Columbus Municipal School District website signaled the end of the tenure of Sammy Smith.
Smith, who accepted the job at Columbus High on May 10, 1995, will move into a position as interim athletic supervisor of community relations. Smith also will work as interim assistant athletic director and assist Ben Moore, who will take over as interim athletic director, according to CMSD Superintendent superintendent Dr. Philip Hickman.
Moore will step down from his position as Columbus High boys soccer coach to replace athletic director Rusty Greene, who will step down from that role but continue to serve as an assistant principal at Columbus High.
Hickman said Moore and Smith, who led the Falcons to a 22-6 record this past season, will continue to teach at the school. The Columbus High boys basketball team lost to Horn Lake in the second round of the Mississippi High School Activities Association Class 6A State tournament.
The changes are pending the approval of the CMSD board of trustees.
Smith declined Thursday morning to comment about his situation. His career record at Columbus High wasn’t available at press time.
Smith coached at Lee High in Columbus from 1988-92 and went 79-39 before he left to become boys basketball coach at Quitman Consolidated High. At Quitman, Smith coached Antonio McDyess, who went on to be a standout at Alabama and to play 15 seasons in the NBA.
Smith’s first victory at Columbus High was a 43-21 win against New Hope on Nov. 1, 1995, in the Lowndes County Basketball Clash at New Hope High. Drew McBrayer, who is the boys basketball coach at New Hope High, was a junior point guard for the Trojans in 1995. McBrayer’s New Hope High teams have had memorable games against Smith’s Columbus High squads the past two seasons.
“They played good defense and were very disciplined offensively,” McBrayer said. “I thought he did a good job with what he had. It seemed like he always had a big man.”
McBrayer said he also was impressed with the work Smith put into making the annual Joe Horne Columbus Christmas Invitational a success. This past season, the tournament enjoyed its 18th edition.
Greg Carter, who has been boys basketball coach at Starkville High since 2002, echoed McBrayer’s thoughts. Carter’s Yellow Jackets played Smith’s Falcons more often through the years, first in Class 5A and the past several seasons in Class 6A.
This past season, Starkville went 2-1 against Columbus. It used a 62-49 victory against Columbus on Feb. 17 in the Region 3 tournament to start its run to a state title. Starkville defeated Madison Central 43-40 in overtime to win the Class 6A crown. Columbus finished third in Region 3.
“With coach Smith’s teams you always knew what you were going to get,” Carter said. “Without knowing much about their personnel, you knew they were going to play hard, they were going to be physical, they were going to be tough, they were going to defend, and they were going to rebound. Those were some characteristics you just knew his teams were going to have.”
Carter said the Falcons took on Smith’s personality in that they were disciplined and detail-oriented. He said Columbus also was fundamentally sound.
“Basketball, like most sports, comes down to the basics, and the teams that do their fundamentals well are going to have a chance to win every night,” Carter said. “That was something his teams always did well. They passed the ball well, they did not turn the ball over, they defended well, they rebounded well, they took charges, things like that. His teams always did them well. He did a great job over the years carrying that over from year to year.”
Smith replaced Arthur Sutton, who stepped down March 2, 1995, after 29 years as a coach. Sutton started his career as a coach at Hunt High in 1966. He spent 16 years as a B-team coach at Caldwell High before becoming the varsity boys basketball coach. He had a 104-58 record in six years at the school. He was 42-42 in four years as boys basketball coach at Columbus High.
The CMSD’s job posting for a new boys basketball coach lists a start date of July 1, 2015. It says the minimum qualifications for the job are a valid teaching license, head basketball coaching experience, a proven track record of winning and building student-athlete character. It lists CMSD Deputy Superintendent Craig Shannon and CMSD personnel director Gregory Hunley or Craig Shannon as contacts.
Dispatch news writer Andrew Hazzard contributed to this report.
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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