When Union girls basketball coach Matt Wilbanks announced that he was leaving for Morton, it didn’t take long to find his replacement.
Union quickly named assistant coach Kelcia Bufkin to replace Wilbanks.
Wilbanks leaves Union for Union after leading the Lady Yellowjackets to the Class 2A State Tournament for the first time in 28 years.
“I am very appreciative of my time here at Union,” Wilbanks said. “The school and community welcomed me and my family with open arms and have been a blessing to us during my four years here. I’ve made a lot of friendships and bonds that will last a lifetime. The players bought in and we had a great run while creating memories that I’ll cherish forever. This is a special place and I wish them and Coach Bufkin the best going forward. She’s a great coach and person to continue leading this program.”
The Union job will be Bufkin’s first head coaching job. But Bufkin does have an impressive resume. After graduating from Scott Central, Bufkin played two years at East Central Community College and then played with Central Arkansas for one year. Bufkin finished out her collegiate career at the University of West Alabama.
“I’m really excited about the opportunity,” Bufkin said. “I know that we will have a pretty good team coming back next year. I look forward to us making it back to the Big House next year. We will have a majority of our team coming back and I’m looking forward to it.”
Bufkin said she doesn’t expect too many changes.
“I really liked what Coach Wilbanks did and learned from seeing how he did things,” Bufkin said. “We aren’t going to change a lot of things but will change a few things. It will be the same style of play.”
Bufkin said she is looking forward to getting to summer workouts.
“We are going to start practicing in June and start our weight program since we have a new strength coach,” Bufkin said. “We need to get faster and stronger. We have some games lined up. There are some players who need to develop and get stronger so they can help the ones we have coming back. I think we have a really strong team coming back and if we can get faster and stronger, it will only help us once the school year starts.”
