The Tigers gained a huge asset to their basketball team this year with the addition of, a new assistant coach, Willie Larry. He came to Central from Sylvan Hills.

Larry has a lot of playing and coaching experience. He was a three-time All-State selection at Hall High School where he was the Sophomore of the Year in the state of Arkansas and later went to play college basketball at Evansville College in Indiana. His coaching career has included stints as assistant coach at Hall High School and Sylvan Hills High School, and time as a graduate assistant at Evansville for two years. Larry helps coach one of the premier travel teams in the country, The Arkansas Hawks in the summer as well.

With his playing and coaching experience, players can easily relate to him, making him very valuable to the basketball team.

Upon his arrival, he implemented an off-season program, which consisted of strength and conditioning training. Larry focuses on player development with the team, giving each player their own binder which includes plays, practice schedules, and even progress reports.

Larry is a fierce competitor, which is one of the main reasons why he got into coaching in the first place.

“I love the competition and being able to see kids grow from the beginning of their careers until the end of them,” Larry said.

He loves being around young kids and enjoys seeing them develop into becoming young men.

“Achieving goals as a team and seeing the players grow as brothers is the main thing to me,” Larry said.

Not only is Larry a basketball coach, he also is a Physical Science and Chemistry teacher. He pushes kids to exceed on the basketball court and in the classroom, putting a mandatory study hall in place for the players.

“Coach is very passionate and has helped all of us get better individually and as a team,” senior Henry Dudley said.