Kinney set to take over at Van Buren

Van Buren didn’t take long or look far to find its new coach.

Only a couple of days after former coach Chris Bryant took a job in the district as an assistant principal, his assistant coach Michael Kinney was elevated to take Bryant’s place.

Kinney has spent 23 years in the district, including the last six as Bryant’s assistant. He’s worn lots of hats in the district but acknowledged he’s found his niche the last six with the girls’ basketball program.

Bryant said he talked to Kinney about his desire to possibly get into administration and asked if Kinney would be interested in the head coach spot should it become available. Kinney’s answer was quick.

“Oh, I said ‘absolutely,’ but I would have been perfectly content to continue to work with coach Bryant,” Kinney said. “I learned a lot about the way he treats people and his players. But I’m excited about this opportunity.

“I haven’t done baseball and I haven’t done soccer. Once I got into the high school girls basketball these last six years, this has been by far the greatest experience. There’s something about it, the challenge they bring. They are a lot of fun to be around. if you get them to buy in and believe in you, they will do anything to make your happy.”

The 48-year-old Kinney, whose daughter is former Lady Pointers’ standout Jamilyn Kinney who is now playing at Belmont, acknowledged there were some frustrations this past season. But he said there’s potential if a big senior class returning along with a couple of talented underclassmen from a group that finished 10-18 and lost in the first-round of the state tournament.

“There were times this year that coach Bryant and I would look at each other, we knew we had a team that could be successful,” Kinney said. “Then there were times we were pulling our hair out. I truly believe we can build on what we had last year.

“It’s gonna be new for them and new for me. We’ve got to trust each other and get on the same page.”

Kinney