Mike Crumpler to lead Sterlington Lady Panthers

Sterlington ended its one week search for a new girls basketball coach Monday with the hiring of Ouachita assistant coach Mike Crumpler.

The school will host a meet and greet session with the new coach Monday, July 6 at 6 p.m. inside the school gymnasium.

Crumpler spent 10 years as a coach at St. Frederick and then the past seven at Ouachita.

Crumpler has been a long time protégé of retired Ouachita Lady Lions coach John Merritt. Crumpler coached under Merritt at St. Frederick from 1998-2003 and was head coach from 2003-2008 for the Lady Warriors.

Crumpler helped lead St. Frederick to a state championship in 2002 as assistant coach.

Crumpler had interest in the Sterlington opening last year when Darlene Eubanks retired before Jill Sutton was hired. Sutton stepped down last week and Crumpler got another chance.

“It just seems like, through the years, my name always popped up at Sterlington,” Crumpler said. “I thought last year might be the year, but then this came open unexpectedly to me. I felt it was pretty much meant to be. It was destiny.”

Athletic director Jason Thompson said the school was looking to someone who would be in it for the long haul to build up the Lady Panthers program.

“We were looking for someone who wanted to build a program,” Thompson said. “Obviously, it takes time to do that, and Mike is committed to staying for the long haul and taking the necessary steps to accomplishing that.”

Crumpler said the small school atmosphere was appealing to him, Ouachita is 5A and Sterlington 2A.

Being strong defensively and fundamentally sound is something that will be a staple of a Crumpler-coached team.

“I am a big believer in the fundamentals and pushing the ball,” Crumpler said. “I think you play man-to-man defense if you are capable of doing it the right way.”

Ouachita has been one of the top teams in the state consistently in recent years with Crumpler being a part of that success.

Ouachita was the top seed in the 5A playoffs in 2014 and was the No. 3-seed in 2013 when the team advanced to the quarterfinals.

“Mike is very well respected in the basketball circles and comes to us highly recommended,” Thompson said. “We look forward to watching him lead our girls basketball program toward the ultimate goal of competing for championships.”

Connect with Cody on Twitter @cfutrellTNS or via e-mail cfutrell@thenewsstar.com