STARKVILLE — Starkville High School has a new boys basketball head coach.
The district announced the appointment of Anthony Carlyle on Friday, ending a search that began after the divisive decision last month to move on from Qu’Varius “Woodie” Howard.
The decision to bring in Carlyle fits the ambitions of a program like Starkville that hopes to be a perennial contender, but more than that, Carlyle’s track record fits the desire from both the district and community for a coach who specializes in developing young men.
“You have to teach them how to be disciplined on and off the court,” Carlyle said in an interview with The Dispatch. “That’s a big part of success in general and continuing to move forward in the game. Your work ethic, what you do in the classroom and how you act, everything plays a part. I try to teach them how to navigate through making mistakes and prepare them for life as well as basketball.”
Carlyle’s approach to coaching focuses on winning at life as well as basketball. He has the experience to show for it as a coach and educator, but also as someone who grew up seeing it in action through his father, Mississippi Sports Hall of Famer Archie Carlyle.
“Being able to see him as I was growing up, being a teacher and a coach, seeing the impact he was able to make on a lot of young people and maybe keeping some off of destructive paths through the game of basketball,” Carlyle said. “It was one of the things he instilled in me.”
Establishing strong relationships with players isn’t just a first step for Carlyle, it’s the most important part of a successful program. In Starkville, the expectations are high to deliver wins on the court, and meeting those expectations starts with earning trust.
“Any success that we have is always from the kids, so teaching them how to work hard and be disciplined,” Carlyle said. “My job is to put them in the best position to be successful, and I know there’s always some talented guys in Starkville.”
Carlyle has already built three title-winning programs in his career, amassing a 303-111 record over 12 seasons as a head coach with Velma Jackson, Columbus and Yazoo City. He’s had over 30 athletes earn scholarships to play college basketball, including the Weatherspoon brothers and Robert Woodard at Mississippi State.
Carlyle keeps his focus on the players, regardless of what they want to do after high school, and uses the game to teach about harnessing skills that translate to building a successful life.
“I think it’s about getting to know every kid, and that isn’t something you can do in a day or a week.” Carlyle said. “It’s something that takes time, throughout a season or multiple seasons to develop an understanding and prove to them you have their best interest at heart. Everything is to try and benefit them getting better as a player, helping guys with aspirations to get to the next level but also guys that want to pursue other things, helping them navigate that as well. It’s a journey and it takes time.”
Carlyle’s arrival isn’t about bringing anything new to Starkville, it’s about building on an already storied program history. It’s a demanding job, but he doesn’t doubt the talent he’s inheriting. His job is simply to help them reach their potential and start hanging banners again.
“Starkville has a rich tradition and the basketball program has been very successful for many years,” he said. “It’s not like I’m coming in to do something that hasn’t been done before, it’s just coming in and trying to build on the success they’ve had and keep pushing it forward.”
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