Homecoming: Jo Jo English returning to alma mater to lead boys basketball team
Jo Jo English won two state championships as a player with the Lower Richland High School basketball program. Now he’ll try to lead his alma mater to a title as a coach.
English will be the new boys basketball coach at Lower Richland. The move was approved at Tuesday’s Richland 1 school board meeting.
English replaces Caleb Gaither, who became the Northwestern boys basketball coach last month. English’s name came up several times over the last few years when the job was open, but it never came to fruition until now.
This time around, people in the Lower Richland community, including former classmates of English, were persistent that he at least listen to what the LR administration had to say.
“I think it is the environment I need to be in. I need to be in pressure. That is the way I was formed and want to be where energy is. That community already knows what the deal is going to be,” English said. “I was going to games when I was 11 or 12 years old and watching my sister play and when they won the championship in 1983.
“I hope me being there I can give people some excitement but there is bigger meaning that just going back there and coaching basketball. Being in community that I went to elementary school, middle school with, high school and that supported me when I went to South Carolina and when I was playing professionally is pretty special.”
Lower Richland finished third in Region 4-3A this year and missed the playoffs in a season where the top two teams in the region made the postseason because of COVID-19.
This will be English’s fourth high school head coaching stop. He spent the last three years as Richland Northeast boys coach, leading the Cavs to two playoff appearances, including the second round of the playoffs in 2019-20 before losing to Lower Richland in overtime.
RNE defeated Blythewood and state champion Ridge View in 2019-20 and won its first playoff game since 2013.
Before RNE, English was interim girls coach at Scott’s Branch for a few games in 2011-12 season when Eagles head coach Ruth Coard was killed in an automobile accident during the season..
After Scott’s Branch, English went to Sumter for two years and led the Gamecocks to the 2015 state championship, the school’s first in 30 years. He also was an assistant coach at Catawba College between stops at Sumter and RNE.
Now he is back at a place where he enjoyed enormous success as a player and part of the school’s golden era of basketball from the mid-1980s to 1999. English was part of the Diamond Hornets’ back-to-back state championship teams in 1987-88. The 1988 team is regarded by many as the best high school basketball team to ever play in South Carolina.
English said he still has his T-shirt from high school he wore when he signed at South Carolina that says “Diamonds” on the front and “Department of Defense” on the back. He said he plans on bringing that intensity to defense back and also a discipline that goes off the court and into the classroom and when they are away from playing.
English also plans to bring former teammate Charles “Boogie” Jacobs on his coaching staff when he returns to the United States from being overseas.
“When they come in that gym, they are going to play as hard as they can for as long as they can,” English said. “I’m going to bring bring back the Department of Defense. That is going to be our moniker, our mantra and what we stand on.
“But the most important thing is helping the community and helping the young boys and young girls and helping families that that don’t have strong male figure to lean on. I’m going to be that person for them and do the best I can.”
AJ Caldwell takes over at Dreher
Dreher announced AJ Caldwell as its new boys basketball coach on Tuesday.
Caldwell replaces Darryl Javis, who is now the school’s athletic director. Caldwell, who played at Eau Claire, was an assistant with Jarvis at Dreher last season and was with him when Jarvis was head coach at West Florence.
Caldwell also was at Wilson High School in Florence as as JV head coach and assistant on the varsity.
Dreher is in its first season of Region 4-4A with Irmo, AC Flora, Westwood, Lugoff-Elgin and Richland Northeast. The Blue Devils haven’t made the playoffs since 2016-17.
Midlands basketball coaching openings
Boys
School — Former Coach — New Coach
Airport — James Kinard — Robert Davis
Ben Lippen — Kevin Carr — Jay Reid
Dreher — Daryl Jarvis — AJ Caldwell
Lower Richland — Caleb Gaither — Jo Jo English
Lugoff-Elgin — Brendan Marcell — TBA
Richland Northeast — Jo Jo English — TBA
Spring Valley — Perry Dozier — Cypheus Bunton
Girls
A.C. Flora — Coral Johnson — Jacob Thompson
Airport — Jacob Thompson — TBA
Gray Collegiate — David Golden — Ashley Bruner
Irmo — Monica Williams — TBA
Northside Christian — Lucas Hargrove — Kristen Dickerson Fortenberry
This story was originally published May 25, 2021 at 6:16 PM.
