Over the past few years Anthony Carlyle had built a dynasty while the head coach at 3A Velma Jackson High School. After winning his 4th championship last season, Carlyle decided that the time was right to test himself on the highest level Mississippi basketball had to offer: Class 6A.
So Carlyle left the Falcons in Camden, MS and headed north to take over another group of highly-touted and talented Falcons at Columbus High School. While Carlyle inherited an experienced squad, led by arguably the State’s best player in Robert Woodard, winning another chip was not a foregone conclusion. There were still challenges facing Carlyle. How would the players (especially Woodard) adjust to a new coach? Would Carlyle be able to make the transition from 3A to 6A?
All the questions were answered when the season came to an end last week and the results were the same for Carlyle. With a 47-37 victory over the Meridian Wildcats, Carlyle led Columbus to the gold ball, the fifth of his career.
“Each one is special because you always have different kids. This one was a challenge for me in taking over a senior-laden team and being able to see if I would be able to teach them the fundamentals and be able to build them into a championship caliber team in nine months,” said Carlyle. “Moving to a new city and leaving 3A to coach 6A was out of my comfort zone but I was glad that my players listened and bought into what we were trying to accomplish.”
After receiving a bye in the opening round, the Falcons defeated Clinton 40-20 in round two, Terry 41-38 in the quarterfinals and Starkville 44-34 in the semifinals.
The win brings Carlyle to within two of his legendary father Archie, who has seven championships to his credit and is slated to be inducted into the Mississippi Hall of Fame later this summer.
When asked about catching his dad Carlyle says, “I will never be able to catch him in my eyes. My dad has seven and I have five. I credit my five to him to add to his seven because without him giving me a solid foundation on how to coach basketball then I wouldn’t be able to enjoy the success I’ve experienced thus far. He’s the greatest basketball mind I’ve been around so I’ve soaked up a lot of knowledge from him.”
