Hinds Community College has announced the hiring of Yusef Fitzgerald as head coach of the Hinds Bulldogs men’s basketball team for the 2017-18 season.

A press conference was held, 10 a.m. Wednesday at Mayo Gymnasium on the Raymond Campus to announce the hire.

Fitzgerald arrives at Hinds from Iona College, in New Rochelle, N.Y., where he spent one season as director of operations for the men’s basketball program. In his lone season, the Gaels won the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference title and won a spot in the NCAA Tournament.

“We are confident that Coach Yusef Fitzgerald will bring a passion to the program and the Utica Campus that will be consistent with our vision,” said Dr. Deborah Mays-Jackson, vice president of the Utica Campus, where the Hinds men’s and women’s basketball teams are based. “I am excited about the transition the men’s basketball program is about to encounter.”

Prior to Iona, he was an assistant coach for two seasons at Jones County Junior College, in Ellisville. He helped lead the Bobcats to a 35-13 record over his two seasons, which included an appearance in the MACJC tournament championship game.

Before Jones, Fitzgerald, who attended high school at Piney Woods High School in Rankin County, coached in the high school and AAU ranks near Jackson and in Chicago. Those included stops with the Jackson Panthers AAU program, a position at his high school alma mater and a head coaching gig with Chicago’s U15 Mean Streets AAU program while also serving as an assistant at Julian High School.

An Atlanta native, Fitzgerald as a junior helped lead Piney Woods to its first state championship in school history, a feat repeated during his senior year. He moved on to play at Tougaloo College, from 1995-98.
http://sports.hindscc.edu/news/2017/6/7/yusef-fitzgerald-named-head-mens-basketball-coach.aspx