Following up on something that HoopDirt.com first reported on April 3rd (JUCO DIRT). It’s now been made official – James Stafford has been named as the head coach at Ranger College (TX). The school released this today:
James Stafford is the owner of one of the oddest stat lines in NJCAA men’s Division I basketball. Over the last three years, he is the only coach to register a win as a coach for the nationally-ranked Ranger College men’s basketball team other than head coach Billy Gillispie.
Odds are, there will be more than a few in his future.
A former Division I coach at Southern Methodist University, Stafford was named the new head coach at the Texas college on April 6 by RC President Dr. William J. Campion.
Stafford is more than familiar with the Rangers after having served the past three years as the top assistant under Gillispie, who stepped down on March 30 to take over the men’s coaching duties at Tarleton State University.
“First and foremost, I’d like to thank Coach Gillispie for the opportunity after my time away from collegiate coaching. Additionally, I want to thank Dr. Campion for entrusting the program in my care,” said Stafford, who posted a 17-8 mark as the Rangers’ coach while subbing in for Gillispie at times since joining the RC program in 2017. “I’m very excited about the opportunity. I am both honored and humbled to be named the basketball coach at Ranger College.”
Campion said he was confident Stafford would be able to keep the Rangers’ program among the nation’s elite.
“We couldn’t have found a better person to step in,” said Campion. “He is a successful coach, a proven winner and a someone that is familiar with our campus, students and program. I have all the confidence that he will continue to make Ranger College, its supporters and alumni proud.”
A former high school coach in his home state of Michigan, Stafford began his collegiate coaching career in 1988 at Siena Heights University in Adrian, Michigan. In 1994, he moved to the Division I ranks when he joined Stu Jackson’s and Stan Van Gundy’s Big 10 coaching staff at the University of Wisconsin. In 2000, he was named an assistant at Duquesne University, where he spent two seasons on the staff of coach Darelle Porter. After leaving Duquesne, Stafford coached two years at the University of Toledo and a season at Florida Atlantic before signing on as an assistant at SMU under Matt Doherty.
After 12 years as an assistant, Stafford took a new path in 2007. After finishing his contract with SMU, he moved into the business end of basketball operations by founding several basketball-related organizations, including Basketball 4 Kids, Inc., an organization designed to help parents become better youth-league coaches and leaders, as well as becoming the owner of the Plano Wolves and director of the DI Premier Basketball, which evaluated talent and provided players to the Nike EYBL.
After a decade away from the college coaching ranks, Stafford joining Gillispie’s staff at Ranger College in 2017.
With Stafford’s help, Ranger qualified for back-to-back appearances to the NJCAA Division I Basketball Championships in Hutchinson, Kansas, in 2019 and 2020. The Rangers finished as the 2019 national runners-up after playing in the first-ever nationally-televised NJCAA championship.
In his three seasons at RC, Stafford was a part of one of the most successful periods in the Rangers’ long history. Since 2017, Ranger College posted an 81-16 record and won back-to-back Northern Texas Junior College Athletic Conference titles in 2019 and 2020.
“It has been a joy to play a part in the success we have enjoyed over the last few years,” said Stafford, who said he felt the RC program he inherited from Gillispie was in prime condition to remain a national power. “We will continue to represent the college well while pursuing conference, regional and national championships.”
Stafford said one of the major factors in his decision to take over the Rangers’ program was the support the team received from administrators and fans at Ranger.
“The support here at Ranger, on and off the campus, has been nothing short of superb,” he said. “Having a president who knows the importance of athletics on a college campus is incredible, and seeing the hard work and dedication from vice-presidents like Jennifer Kent and Derrick Worrels makes it an amazing place to be. I want to thank the Ranger College Board of Regents, all of the faculty, staff and everyone in the community. They have all been so welcoming and supportive since my arrival.”
“Lastly, I would like to thank God and my family for their support while I pursue my dreams,” he said.
https://www.rangersports.net/sports/mbkb/2019-20/releases/20200414donx83
