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Texas Southern announces men's basketball coachApril 12, 2001Houston, TX - Ronnie Courtney, who led Sugarland Willowridge to two consecutive 5-A state championships and built the program into a national contender while averaging 25 victories per season during his tenure there, has been named head men's basketball coach at Texas Southern University. Coach Courtney was introduced to media and fans at a 3 p.m. press conference, Thursday, April 12 at the Jesse H. Jones School of Business Room 127. Coach Courtney was named USA Today/National Coach of the Year earlier this week. He has coached for 20 years, including eight years as a head coach at Davis (Houston) and the last four at Willowridge. Under his direction, Willowridge High School has emerged as one of the elite programs in the country. "We're extremely pleased to introduce Ronnie Courtney as our new head men's basketball coach," said Alois Blackwell, TSU director of athletics. "This falls into our athletics department's vision in making inroads in the Greater Houston area and national scene. Coach Courtney is a tremendous find for our athletic department, and we look for exciting times from him both on and off the court. Not only is he an outstanding leader with a proven record of winning, he is a terrific person. We welcome him and his wife, Michelle, and their family to TSU." During his high school coaching career, Courtney was named the District Coach of the Year four times. Three times he has been chosen Greater Houston Area Coach of the Year. In four seasons at Willowridge, Courtney compiled an impressive 100-44 record. He has coached three players who have earned All-America honors, including guards Daniel Ewing and T.J. Ford and forward Ivan McFarland. Including his tenure at Jefferson Davis, Courtney's career coaching record is an impressive 237-120 (a 66.4 winning percentage). Courtney, a native of Houston, began his athletic career as a quarterback and point guard at Ross Sterling High School. Upon his graduation from Sterling in 1976, Courtney took his talents and love of athletics to McMurry University in Abilene, Texas. In 1981, he received his Bachelor of Science in Physical Education and Health with a minor in English. While at McMurry, Courtney played football for one season and was a captain on the basketball team during his junior and senior year. He also earned All-Conference honors as a senior at point guard. Courtney was the Tournament Most Valuable Player his junior and senior year. Following his graduation from McMurry, Courtney began his coaching career as an assistant coach at Houston Furr High School. He served in the position for eight years before taking the head coaching position at Jefferson Davis High School. Ronnie Courtney: Career Totals
Ronnie Courtney File Coach I most admire: John Chaney of Temple. "Any coach who can recruit student-athletes that are willing to practice at 5:30 a.m. is pretty special. I'm a throwback coach, and John Chaney is definitely old school. I grew up in the 1970s, and my coaches were hard on me at the time but I didn't understand." Family: Wife, Michelle (4 years). Children, Kevin, 21, Isiah, 11, and Travis, 7. Describe yourself: "Determined to do the right things for my kids so they can be successful in college. I'm determined for them to succeed academically and in society. I believe it rubbed off on this group of seniors, who realized that success didn't happen overnight."
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