Carlyle looks to build on Starkville tradition
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In the middle of a championship run with Columbus back in 2017-18, Anthony Carlyle couldn't help but notice what Greg Carter had built in Starkville.
The 19year Yellow Jacket coach won four state championships during his time at SHS. Car- lyle, a winner of six titles at three different schools, went head-to-head with Carter and his Jackets three times that season with a split in the regular season and then a state championship battle that went the way of Carlyle's Falcons led by Allamerican Robert Woodard II.
Six years later, Carlyle is going to be sitting in the other chair and wearing black and gold as the head coach of Starkville. His hire was approved by the SOCSD board last Friday.
“(With) the rich tradition that they have there in all sports and the people in play, it's just a no-brainer,” Carlisle said of taking the job. “I talked to coach Carter and gathered his thoughts. All the time that he had in Starkville, I wanted to have a better understanding of the job and the community.
“He told me that it's a wonderful place to coach and the kids are special there. The continuity with coach Carter and coach (Woodie) Howard has helped build a strong culture. Once you put good coaching and good athletes together, you have something special. I'm coming to just continue to build on that.”
Carlyle comes to the Jackets after six years at his alma mater in Yazoo City. It was there where he picked up coaching from his father, Archie, who remains one of the greatest girls basketball coaches the state has ever seen. After winning seven state titles and 1,201 games over a career that spanned 45
years, Archie passed his torch down to his son and he's carried it well.
Anthony won four-straight state titles for Velma Jackson in his first job as head coach. He coached Quinndary, Nick and Brandon Weatherspoon to those titles and helped them get to the next level to excel at Mississippi State (Quinndary and Nick) and Florida Atlantic (Brandon).
After coaching Woodard in the Falcons and winning a state title in just one season, Carlyle came home to build the Indians. His nine wins in year one turned to 19 in 2019-20. By 2023, he won his sixth state title as he led the team to the Class 4A state championship with a 30-5 record. They went back to the title game in 5A this past season but finished just short in a 28-6 season.
For him, success always comes back to the players. He puts them in position and they do the rest.
“I give the credit to the players because I don't shoot any jumpers or play defense,” Carlyle said. “I just steer them in the right direction and instill the discipline and fundamentals.”
Carlyle is coming to a school that needs no building. He enters one of the best situations in the state as SHS returns the bulk of their production as All-area selections David Washington, Jaden Tate and Jerwan Mccarter are all back.
The Jackets haven't won a state championship since 2020, but the team was in the title game in 2021 and spent the last two seasons one game away from the Final Four.
Carlyle has no doubt that his program is going to be right back in position this season.
“I'm kind of familiar with them playing them the year before,” Carlyle said. “I know they graduated a couple of guys, but you could tell that coach Woodie was doing a great job navigating the young team. They came along in district play and into the playoffs. You could see the progression throughout the season and the great job that he was doing. I think we have a chance to be really good this year because of that foundation.”
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