Britt named interim head coach for upcoming basketball season
FC High School graduate played college ball at University of Arkansas
As a Mustang player, Marcus Britt always enjoyed the before and after game conversations he and Coach Dwight Lofton would have.
"Sometimes we would just sit in his office and just talk, mostly about the game, but not always about basketball. Sometimes just about things," Britt remembered during a recent interview. "Coach would always put on some jazz music just to help us relax and maybe some country western as well. You know that was the kind of guy Coach Lofton was. I learned so much from him during those times together."
Coming into Lofton’s Forrest City boys basketball program for the 2004-05 season, Britt, then a sophomore, said all he and his teammates wanted to do was win games. They did just that. During Britt's three seasons the Mustangs won 68 games against just 18 losses.
While Britt was an integral part of that run, he still down plays the perception that he and his Mustang teammates helped put Forrest City on the basketball map. For the most part, Mustang basketball fans, then and now still maintain a much different idea about that.
As a sophomore, Britt a 6-3, 180-pound combo guard, helped lead the Mustangs to a 21-7 season, the No. 2 seed into the Class 5A state tournament semifinals earning Arkansas Democrat-Gazette’s Sophomore of the Year.
As a junior during the 2005-06 season, Britt and his teammates put together a second straight 217 season and another No. 2 seed into the state tournament as the Mustangs finished the year as the state's 10th ranked team.
As a senior, during the 2006-07 season, Britt helped the Mustangs reach the Class 6A championship game, and the No. 1 seed into the state tournament, losing to Jonesboro, a team they had defeated twice during the regular season, finishing with a 26-4 overall season mark. Britt was named All-Conference, All-Tournament and All State, averaging 18 points per game.
In December 2006, prior to graduating from Forrest City in 2007, Britt signed a letter-ofintent with Louisiana Tech in Ruston, La., while Stan Heath was still head basketball coach at Arkansas.
Less than five months later, Heath took the job at South Florida, Louisiana Tech head coach Keith Richard was fired and John Pelphrey became the new Razorback basketball coach.
Pelphrey signed Britt and Springdale Har-Ber forward Michael Sanchez making Britt the first basketball player from Forrest City to sign a national letter-of-intent with Arkansas and the second basketball player from St. Francis County to sign with Arkansas in recent years.
Palestine-Wheatley’s Carl Baker signed with the Razorbacks and spent four years playing for former head coach Nolan Richardson and became only the third Forrest City basketball player to sign with a major Division 1 school, joining Arthur Banks (Memphis) and Don Kessinger (Ole Miss).
“Make no mistake,” said Forrest City Coach Dwight Lofton upon Britt‘s decision to go to Arkansas, “Britt is not going to Arkansas to be a decoration or sit on the bench. Coach Pelphrey fully expects Britt to get some major playing time this next season, filling a critical need at Arkansas. Pelphrey will play an up-tempo, high-pressure system and Britt can do that.”
As an Arkansas Razorback, Britt enjoyed his role as being a “defensive specialist” or stopper during his four years under Pelphrey, getting into the game when a key defensive play was needed. He became more involved as an offensive threat during the latter stages of his Razorback career.
He attempted to play basketball overseas after finishing his work at Arkansas, but due to outside circumstances, was unable to make that transition.
Britt was however, able to transition back to his roots in Madison and back to Mustang basketball, being hired by Forrest City as an assistant coach for one season with the Lady Mustangs basketball program sitting alongside then head coach Erica Leake and the last two seasons as Lofton's assistant, where he began the grooming process to transition into the head coaching ranks as Lofton began to think retirement.
That transition happened sooner than even Britt had visualized.
Following the sudden and unexpected passing of Lofton this past April, following 25 seasons with the Mustangs and more than 400 wins, Britt was elevated to the status of "interim head coach" for the Mustangs upcoming 2021-22 basketball season.
“I am honored to be named as the Mustangs head coach and excited for the future of our program,” Britt said during a recent interview as he settled in to Lofton's longtime office at Mustang Arena, now his own. "While I have been working toward being the head basketball coach here at some point in the future, this is not the way I wanted it to happen."
"Coach Lofton wanted to have two more years with me to make sure that I was fully prepared to take the reigns whenever he decided to step away," Britt said. "I feel like I'm ready to take over the program. It just takes a lot of patience especially when it comes to working with the players oneon-one or as a group. I just want them to know that I have their best interests at heart."
“I think that we have something special in the near future and I am excited to be a part of it," Britt said recently. "I can’t wait to get on the court with our guys. We have a proud tradition of basketball at Forrest City and I’m excited for the opportunity to continue that tradition."
When asked if he had always wanted to coach, Britt said "yes."
"Once you have learned the game you want to stick around the game anyway you can," Britt added. "Coaching is the next closest thing to actually playing the game. I always wanted to coach and I always knew I wanted to come to Forrest City and coach. I never thought I would get the head coaching job this way, but I'm excited still and I feel like I'm ready for the challenge. Just to be a part the hometown feel again and be a part of the community. It is rare for a student to play and graduate from a school and then get the opportunity to come back and coach there. And that makes it a blessing."
Britt is not alone. Over the past few seasons, several former Mustang players and graduates have returned to take coaching positions with the Forrest City School District.
When asked about the interim head coaching tag applied to this season, Britt said it is entirely fair.
"It's just something I have to deal with," Britt added. "It's up to me, as a coach on and off the court, to make sure this basketball program continues to meet the standards the teammates and fans expect. I don't think that will be a problem for me on the court in a game teaching or coaching. There, for me, it is second nature. Away from the court, I'm going to have to borrow from my father who taught me how to conduct myself in public. I will need to focus on that this coming season."
About what the future may hold for Britt, he added his roots are here and he feels grounded.
"It is home but I can't say that I wouldn't be interested or entertain possible coaching positions elsewhere, if I felt like it was better suited than being here at Forrest City. For now, however, I see myself here at Forrest City and doing what I can do to help continue the basketball program's stability and winning tradition," Britt added.
Being named the interim head coach was not surprising to Britt, the fans or the district personnel.
“The FCSD is excited that Coach Marcus Britt has agreed to lead the Mustangs as interim head coach," FCSD Superintendent Dr. Tiffany Hardrick said of the move. "Coach Britt has an amazing resume. He is a Forrest City graduate, a former Razorback and had the privilege of learning as an assistant coach under Coach Lofton’s leadership. We welcome him in his new role,”
FCHS principal Malcolm Jones, was also excited about Britt's promotion to interim head coach. “This is a great opportunity for a former student athlete to return to lead our basketball program," Jones added. "We look forward to Coach Britt molding and shaping our student athletes into well rounded people. He’s played the game at a high level. I am sure that his wealth of knowledge, success, and experience will equate to good fortunes for the Mustang basketball program."
Asked about the upcoming season, Britt said he believes the Mustangs will be okay.
"I think the most important thing will be handling whatever adversity we might face and what we have to do to work past it," Britt said. "This team is a very young team, but I think we will be okay."
Britt hopes to play the same uptempo style of basketball that Lofton played and will run some of Lofton's set plays when needed.
"Coach didn't have many of those because he just didn't think there was a reason to have them," Britt said. "He knew the game was changing, more up and down and that's the way he coached. We are going to try to have a mixture of both."
In 2017, Britt, along with fellow Mustang players Kelson Stewart and Stephen Weaver, always known as the Triplets were inducted into the Forrest City Athletic Hall of Fame.
Britt still lives in his home town of Madison and during the off season coaches an AAU basketball team.
Britt said he still finds time to play basketball and says he is still close to being the same playing size as he was for the Mustangs. As interim and hopefully one day head coach for the Mustangs, Britt is already looking forward to being able to coach his son as a Mustang.