I’ve mentioned Anthony Boone at Hendrix a few times over the past few weeks (DD 4/12) – his hiring as the head basketball coach at D3 Hendrix College is now official. Here’s the release from the school:
Hendrix College announces Anthony Boone as the next head men’s basketball coach of the Hendrix Warriors.
Hendrix College has announced Anthony Boone as its new head men’s basketball coach. Boone comes to Hendrix via the University of Central Arkansas (UCA), where he spent the last four years as the head men’s basketball coach after serving as associate head coach since the 2014-15 season. Prior to UCA, he was an assistant coach for the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury for one season. Boone’s father is a 1973 graduate of Hendrix College.”Throughout the search process, it was paramount to me and the search committee that we find the person we believed could uphold and continue the legacy Coach Cliff Garrison and Coach Thad McCracken established for the Hendrix men’s basketball program,” said Hendrix College Director of Athletics Amy Weaver. “I have no doubt that Coach Boone will do just that. He is a first-class coach, but he is an even better person. I look forward to seeing the positive impact Coach Boone will have on the Hendrix community and Hendrix athletics.”
As a standout basketball player for Ole Miss under head coach Rob Evans, Boone led the Rebels to back-to-back 20-win seasons for the first time in 60 years and helped lead them to back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances and a Southeastern Conference (SEC) regular season championship in 1997-98. Despite undergoing four knee surgeries, he started 79 of 94 games at Ole Miss.
Boone’s inspirational play and esteemed college basketball career was recognized by the retirement of his number (41) – only the second student-athlete at Ole Miss to receive this honor. After his senior season at Ole Miss, Boone was one of seven finalists for the Chip Hilton Award, given annually by the Basketball Hall of Fame to a player who demonstrates character on and off the court. He is a member of the Ole Miss Hall of Fame and was twice selected for the Southeastern Conference Academic Honor Roll.
Following his graduation from Ole Miss, Boone remained in Oxford to serve as a graduate assistant. From there, he went on to serve as an assistant coach for three seasons at Murray State (2000-03), six seasons at Jackson State (2003-09), and four seasons at Grand Canyon University (2009-13).
“I am so thankful for the opportunity to join the Warrior family as the men’s basketball coach,” said Coach Boone. “Hendrix College has attracted a lot of great students and produced so many wonderful and successful alumni, including my dad. Hendrix is a community that provides an atmosphere that facilitates personal and intellectual growth, and I look forward to being a part of and contributing to that community.”
Boone holds a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering and a master’s degree in mathematics. He was class salutatorian at Central High School in West Helena, Ark. and was an all-state athlete for the Cougars.
Boone and his wife, Jennifer, reside in Conway and have two daughters, Rebecca and Lyndsey. In his spare time, he enjoys singing and is the lead tenor soloist in the choir of First United Methodist Church in Conway.
