Rebel grad Tyre Washington steps up as new Southland hoops coach

CARDWELL – Southland High School alumni and former assistant Tyre Washington has been named head coach of the Southland boys basketball team.

Washington graduated from Southland in 2006, and he came back home last year under first year coach Steve Richey. Before coming to Southland, Richey had spent 34 years coaching in Arkansas. This year, he'll return to the Natural State to coach at Cave City.

“I'm going to give it my all,” Washington said. “This being where I graduated from, it's funny how it's come full circle. I just want to show these guys the grind that it takes to not just be a stepping stone. We actually want to be competitive, and for us to do that, they'll have to get used to a grind that I don't know that they've done before.”

Prior to his return, Washington had two-year stints at both Ridgefield Christian School and Delta C-7.

Washington explained that it's long been a goal to return and coach the Rebels. Now, with a solid support system of the community and other Southland graduates, he has big plans to turn the program around.

“I'm excited for this bunch,” Washington said. “Back in the day, I coached them when they were in fifth grade right when I was starting my coaching journey and we went undefeated. Last year as an assistant, we were able to make some noise. We started out not very good, but by the end we were losing our district tournament game by six points. So we're showing signs that we're taking steps in the right direction.”

The Rebels have seemingly been capped at a max of six wins per season since 2016 when the team managed a 17-10 season, their only winning season in the time frame that MSHSAA records history.

Last year, Southland finished with a 6-19 season that ended in their first district tournament game against Clarkton. However, after losing to Clarkton in their first regular season game 31-68, Southland played the Reindeer 43-49 at the end.

“We have our eyes set on ten wins,” Washington explained of the team's goal this year. “If we can do that, we can establish and show people that we're turning around the program. Our next goal is to get a district win, which would be big for the program.”

Washington will be coaching many of the same players as he did last season, losing only one player from last season. The Rebels' 2023-24 roster will be young once again, but full of players hungry to keep improving.

Playing in a tough conference that includes teams like Cooter, Risco and Delta C-7 brings its own challenges. And being a small school brings others, mainly very limited numbers.

“We just have to have everyone in the gym because we don't have a lot of numbers,” he said. “We only have nine people when everybody's there. And we will probably play a six-man deep rotation, so when any of the starters aren't there, it's tough.”

He will also be the new PE teacher, which has been merged into one group, K-12, which he hopes will allow him the chance to develop players from a young age, giving them a fundamental grasp of the game by the time they reach the high school level.

The team recently returned from a camp at Harding University where the Rebels played ten games in three days. They will also be playing in a league in Poplar Bluff, facing teams like East Carter, Twin Rivers and Puxico.