Hunley comes home
Hunley, a former basketball player at Farragut High School, is returning to his alma mater as an assistant coach tor the boys basketball team.
He recently was hired by head coach J.P.
Burris to replace Adam Jenkins, who resigned after last season.
Hunley played at Farragut from 2004 to 08 under former head coach Donald Dodgen, now the school’s athletic director.
“It’s a great opportunity for me,” Hunley said. “I’m excited. It’s home to me. I just live up the road and my kids are in the Farragut schools.
“I played for Dodgen and it was a lot of fun. I was here from 2004 to 08 and we had two great years during my junior and senior years.”
This will be Hunley’s first time as a permanent assistant on a coaching staff. Although he has helped the program at Farragut as he worked as a volunteer for former head coach Chris Cool, now an assistant principal at Clinton High School.
“It’s great to be around the kids,” Hunley said. “It’s good to carry on the tradition. I’ve known J.P. for a long time. We played here together.
“I love the game. I just love being around it. This is my first time as an assistant. After Coach Dodgen, we had Coach Cool and I volunteered and helped him a little bit.”
During his playing days with the Admirals, Hunley played both guard positions under
Dodgen’s mentorship. After his high school days, he played at Tennessee Tech.
“I was a guard. I played both point guard and shooting guard,” he said. “I was pretty versatile and I did just about everything. I did what I could do to get on the floor.”
Hunley knows that basketball is a team game, no matter the environment.
“Basketball is a team game. You have to play together and you have to have a chemistry, whether it’s pick-up games or if it’s organized ball.”
Burris said that Hunley is a welcomed addition to the coaching staff at FHS.
“When I came here, he always wanted to be involved but the timing just wasn’t right,” Burris said. “Then I reached out.
“We played here together and he does things the right way. I really feel like he fits our program. He really fits in with our other coaches like Adam did. Coach Jenkins got a really, really good job opportunity and he wasn’t going to have time to help us. “
