By Jordan Burton (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
A new era will begin this winter at Central and it was arguably one of the biggest coaching changes in the Ozarks with the hiring of Brandon Kimbrough.
A former SPS standout at Glendale – where he’s seventh on the all-time scoring list (1,230 points) – Kimbrough then followed that up with a career at Drury that saw him named to the all-conference team three times. He again scored more than 1,000 points but also finished top 10 all-time with 434 assists.
As a coach at Drury, Kimbrough helped the program to 177 wins in eight years, including a 2013 national championship, two Elite Eight appearances and five NCAA Tournament appearances.
Kimbrough will now bring that wealth of knowledge to Central, where his track record of winning will look to change the culture of a program with 10 consecutive sub .500 seasons and a 48-game losing streak.
“I was fortunate to spend eight years at Drury as a part of Coach Hesser’s staff,” said Kimbrough. “I was able to grow a tremendous amount as a coach during those years. The head coaching position at Central opened up and I thought it would be a great opportunity to continue to grow as a coach and make an impact on the program.
“My coaching staff and I have to teach the players who come to our program to learn to fall in love with the process. We cannot be focused on the wins and losses but rather what we do each day and effort in which we give.”
The cupboard isn’t bare for Central.
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The Bulldogs return experience on paper, with three starters and seven letterwinners from last year’s group returning.
Seniors Quinton Beezley and Gavin Almy, as well as sophomore Andy Su played major minutes in the backcourt and will be back in the mix this season. He also sees Derek Melton and Lyric Herrin bringing athleticism to the guard spots.
“We expect Quinton as well as Andy to give us two guards who have varsity experience that we should be able to lean on as we enter the season,” said Kimbrough. “Andy saw a lot of playing time as freshman. That experience should help him as he comes into his sophomore season.”
Central will have some size on this year’s roster in senior Artie Mercado and sophomore Kane Cooper, both stand at 6-foot-5. Mercado will be adjusting to a new varsity role, but Cooper is a move-in from Lockwood where he averaged 11 points and 11 rebounds with nine double-doubles.
“Kane and Artie are two guys we think can have a big impact for us this season,” said Kimbrough. “They give us two players that can score in the paint and give two players who can really control the boards for us. Kane comes to us with great size, athleticism and skill. He has the ability to score at different levels which will be key for us. He has proven that he can score at the varsity level and we think he has the tools to do that for us.”
Kimbrough understands the challenge ahead of him and is excited to take them.
While playing in one of the toughest conferences in Missouri will add another layer, Central fans can expect to see a roster that continues to improve with the goal of challenging for conference and district championships moving forward.
“We have learn how to practice and the level at which you have to practice,” said Kimbrough. “Hopefully once we learn those things it will give us a chance to be playing our best basketball at the end of the season. If that allows us to compete for conference and district championships that would amazing for our program. There are good players and good coaches in OC. There are no off nights. We have to make sure we are focusing on us and doing the things in practice that hopefully give us a chance to compete each night.
Central will open the Kimbrough Era and 2019-20 season on Nov. 26 at Willard. The home opener is set for Dec. 13 against Branson.
