HCHS names new basketball coach

Hardin County High School named Brian Brown as the new boys’ basketball coach at the school last week. Brown has been a mainstay in the coaching ranks in West Tennessee over the last twenty years.

The new Tiger head coach has been a head coach at the varsity level for 20 years. Brown was the head boys’ basketball coach at McNairy Central for 12 years from 1987 through 1999. He left McNairy Central to take the head coaching position at Dyersburg. Brown remained at Dyersburg for eight seasons. His last season at Dyersburg was in 2007. Brown has been out of coaching for the last four years.

“I’ve had a good break from it, but I’m ready to get back in. I’ve been out of coaching for the last four years, and this situation sounded like a good opportunity,” said Brown in a phone interview over the weekend.

The Tiger basketball program has suffered through some tough seasons over the last two years with only one win during that time span. Brown is well aware of the past and is hopeful to be a part of getting the boys’ basketball program back on track.

“I know it’s going to take some time. We want to get to a point where we are competitive each and every night.” When asked what he wanted his team to be known for, Brown said that he wanted to build the basketball program on commitment and hard work. “I want our kids to have a passion for basketball. I believe that if they’re passionate, they’ll have a greater likelihood of being committed to what we’re trying to do,” added Brown.

Brown has had quite a bit of success in the coaching ranks in his previous two stops at the high school level. He has an overall record of 414-185 in his twenty years of coaching. While at McNairy Central, he posted an overall record of 270-91 in 12 seasons. His teams won the regular season district title nine times, won seven district tournaments, and advanced to the state tournament in both 1991 and 1996. Brown continued to post winning seasons while at Dyersburg. He had a record of 144-94 in those eight seasons and advanced to the sub-state game twice.