Andrew Howell is the new boys basketball coach at Oak Hill Academy.
“It was just everything he did, his whole mannerism, his personality seemed like he would push and he would motivate our kids and had high expectations for their behavior on and off the court, as well as expectations academically and athletically,” Oak Academy headmaster Cathy Davis said.
Howell previously served as associate head coach at Presbyterian Christian School and taught AP World History. He was also the Bobcats’ junior varsity head coach.
“He’s passionate about the sport,” Oak Hill athletic director Phil Ferguson said. “We looked long and hard for the best fit for Oak Hill, and I think we hit a home run with coach Howell.”
Howell, a 2016 University of Southern Mississippi graduate, previously worked as a student assistant at Mississippi College and spent time as the head manager at Mississippi State in 2012 under Rick Ray. He was a manager at USM as well.
“Really the biggest thing for me, the takeaway, is you get to see so many different philosophies of coaches,” Howell said of working in the college game. “And you get to meet different coaches and you see how they work and then you kind of build your own philosophy and you see how they run a program.”
As a high school athlete, Howell was an All-State baseball and basketball player at Madison Ridgeland Academy. MRA won three basketball state championships during Howell’s time there.
Davis mentioned his work with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and participation in basketball missions to Guatemala as an impressive credential.
Howell’s first official day will be June 1.
Ben Portnoy reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @bportnoy15.
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