- Joined
- May 8, 2002
- Posts
- 1,171,598
- Reaction score
- 59
Veteran boys basketball coach Bakari Bryant is returning to lead the boys team at Jenkins, where he won a state championship in 2015, after one year coaching the boys squad at New Hampstead, he confirmed on Friday.
Bryant is a Savannah native who played high school ball at Savannah High under legendary coach Tim Jordan and was a member of the Blue Jackets 1998 Class 4A state title team.
After working as an assistant at his alma mater under Jordan, he started his head coaching career at Jenkins and had a very successful stint with the Warriors from 2011-2018. He led the Warriors to the only state title in school history in 2015 when they won the Class 3A state crown, and followed that with state runnerup finishes in 2016 and 2018.
After a year as an assistant at Berkmar High in the Atlanta area, he took over as the head coach at Dougherty High in Albany for a successful six year run. He led the Trojans to the GHSA playoffs each year, reaching the quarterfinals for three straight seasons before a run to the state semifinals in 2024.
Bryant said he and his family wanted to settle back home in Savannah and he took the job at New Hampstead in May of 2025. The Phoenix had a down year, finishing the season with a 9-17 record and missing the playoffs.
"It was a situation where a door opened up and I felt like I had to take the opportunity," said Bryant, 45, "This is a full circle moment for me being able to come back to where I started my coaching career. It couldn't be better than to get the chance to come back and lead a program I feel like I created. I'm coming back to restore the standard of the program and its coaching."
Bryant will replace Terry Hines, who had led the program for the last six seasons ― posting a record of 63-78 in that span, according to Maxpreps.com. Jenkins posted a 12-12 mark this year, and the Warriors missed the playoffs.
"We're graduating seven or eight seniors, but Jenkins has an enrollment of about 1,400 students and that's a lot more than we had when I was coaching here," Bryant said. "Jenkins as been getting a lot of great athletes in all sports, and we're looking to build on that. We know that we'll need a couple horses to lead us to another state championship."
Dennis Knight covers sports for the Savannah Morning News. Contact him at [email protected]. Twitter: @DennisKnightSMN
This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Bakari Bryant returning to Jenkins to run boys basketball program
Continue reading...
Bryant is a Savannah native who played high school ball at Savannah High under legendary coach Tim Jordan and was a member of the Blue Jackets 1998 Class 4A state title team.
After working as an assistant at his alma mater under Jordan, he started his head coaching career at Jenkins and had a very successful stint with the Warriors from 2011-2018. He led the Warriors to the only state title in school history in 2015 when they won the Class 3A state crown, and followed that with state runnerup finishes in 2016 and 2018.
After a year as an assistant at Berkmar High in the Atlanta area, he took over as the head coach at Dougherty High in Albany for a successful six year run. He led the Trojans to the GHSA playoffs each year, reaching the quarterfinals for three straight seasons before a run to the state semifinals in 2024.
Bryant said he and his family wanted to settle back home in Savannah and he took the job at New Hampstead in May of 2025. The Phoenix had a down year, finishing the season with a 9-17 record and missing the playoffs.
"It was a situation where a door opened up and I felt like I had to take the opportunity," said Bryant, 45, "This is a full circle moment for me being able to come back to where I started my coaching career. It couldn't be better than to get the chance to come back and lead a program I feel like I created. I'm coming back to restore the standard of the program and its coaching."
You must be registered for see images attach
Bryant will replace Terry Hines, who had led the program for the last six seasons ― posting a record of 63-78 in that span, according to Maxpreps.com. Jenkins posted a 12-12 mark this year, and the Warriors missed the playoffs.
"We're graduating seven or eight seniors, but Jenkins has an enrollment of about 1,400 students and that's a lot more than we had when I was coaching here," Bryant said. "Jenkins as been getting a lot of great athletes in all sports, and we're looking to build on that. We know that we'll need a couple horses to lead us to another state championship."
Dennis Knight covers sports for the Savannah Morning News. Contact him at [email protected]. Twitter: @DennisKnightSMN
This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Bakari Bryant returning to Jenkins to run boys basketball program
Continue reading...
