After the Simpson County Academy Cougars celebrated their first ever State Overall Basketball Championship in the spring, a ring ceremony was hosted at Coach James Crain’s home for the players and their families.
Crain was able to win his first Overall Championship during his last season as the Cougars’ varsity head basketball coach.
Crain coached the Cougars to a 37-6 overall record and pulled off the “quadfecta.” He said, “When we started I told the guys that we had a goal to go for a trifecta, which is to win the District Championship, South Championship, and State Championship.” Crain smiled and said, “But the guys told me we should go for the quadfecta and add the State Overall Championship to that. I don’t even know if that’s a word.”
Crain said this past season was his fourth opportunity to compete in the overall championship. He was elated that the Cougars were able to finally bring home the overall championship. He said, “I’ve had chances and I’m glad we were finally able to get it done. It’s a great accomplishment.” It’s a feather in the cap of an already Hall of Fame worthy career.
Crain has coached basketball for 39 years, netting several championships. Last year he captured his 1,000th career win. Crain said he will be taking a step back next season but will still be involved with Cougar Basketball. He plans to coach the 7th grade team and assist with scouting. His son Carey Crain will take over as head coach of the varsity team.
Carey Crain, who is entering his sixth year as a coach at Simpson Academy, said, “I was so happy for him to finally win it. We’re going to try and keep the train rolling, and we have the majority of the team coming back.” Carey said the Cougars are looking forward to repeating the quadfecta. Carey was proud of his father and said, “Just working with him and being his assistant I’ve learned a lot and I’ll try to keep his system and traditions going.”
The 37-6 Cougars made school history. Senior forward Todd Larkin said, “Our team chemistry was better than any other team in the state.” Larkin said bonding off the court played a big part in the team’s success on the court. Crain pushed the team hard to be their best and every player responded to the challenge.
Senior center Josh Flynt took on the role of team captain. He said, “We all respected each other and trusted each other to do our job. There was never really a lack of people willing to put in the work to get better.”
The Cougars’ ability to overcome adversity was tested early in the season. Larkin said, “The second week of the season we went on a three-game losing streak, and a lot of it was due to injury, but we came back and continued to work hard. We always kept a level head through adversity.”
Star point guard Joseph Berry said, “It was a special moment to finally win Overall. At no point during the championship game did we believe we could lose.”
