Josh Luckett came to Union three years ago to get some head coaching experience.
Three years later, Luckett is making the jump to Class 6A basketball.
Luckett informed the school at the end of May that he was leaving to be the head boys basketball coach at Northwest Rankin.
“It was a late situation,” Luckett said. “It’s really the first job I had put in for. I put my application in and didn’t hear anything for a couple of weeks. I really didn’t think I had a very good chance. I thought that if I could get in there for an interview, I might could convince them to give me a chance. After a couple of weeks, I had sort of given up on it. Then I got an interview, and I thought it went really well. I felt like I had a chance after that first interview.”
Northwest Rankin went 15-12 last year and Luckett will have his hands full.
“We are in the same division with Murrah, Madison Central and Starkville,” Luckett said. “It’s not a powerhouse, but it’s similar to my Union situation. We’re just trying to build a program and keep something steady. If you win, the sky is the limit. The competition is stiff. I’ll have better talent, but it will be a lot like Union. We won’t be as good as everybody else, but there is some young talent coming through. I think the future is bright.”
Luckett said he enjoyed his time at Union and it was hard to turn down Northwest Rankin.
“Being from Carthage, I passed Northwest Rankin a lot of times going to Jackson,” Luckett said. “It’s a growing area with all of the construction going on. They are building a new school and that will be something good to be a part of. I never thought I would be coaching there. It’s hard to turn down a program like Northwest Rankin. I would like to be at a college program one day, and this was the next step.”
Union athletic director Brad Breland said he hoped to have a coach in place soon.
“We are going to try to get someone as soon as possible,” Breland said. “We have to get the summer going. The kids need to meet the coach and develop that relationship. We have taken some resumes and interviewed a couple of people already.”
