By Robert Wilson
There aren’t any records for this stat, but Ronnie Rogers might be the winningest high school girls basketball assistant in Mississippi history.
If he’s not, then it wouldn’t take long to call the roll of the ones who had more wins.
Rogers was a part of 452 wins, three state championships and two Overall Tournament titles in his 19 years as an assistant coach for legendary coach Jan Sojourner at Jackson Academy.
Sojourner retired this season as the third winningest coach in Mississippi history after 45 years, the last 40 at JA, and Rogers was on the bench besides Sojourner for the past two decades.
In addition to all the championships, JA had a remarkable 97-game winning streak against MAIS competition from 2016-2018.
Now, Rogers, like Sojourner, will embark on the next chapter of his life as he has been named the head girls basketball coach at Central Hinds Academy, replacing Henry Gantz, who is replacing Sojourner at JA. He will be the director of student spiritual life at Central Hinds, located in Raymond, about 25 miles southwest of JA.
“Coach Rogers was the only coach we interviewed for our opening,” Central Hinds head of school Billy Wayne Hankins said. “He was our first choice, and we are so fortunate to have him at CHA. Everyone knows how qualified he is as a basketball coach, but what is more important is he is a great person. Ronnie will be coaching our girls basketball team, but just as importantly he will be a Christian leader on our campus.”
“When Coach Hankins reached out to me on April 4, I had every intention of saying thank you but I am not interested,” Rogers said. “However, after speaking briefly with him I decided to at least meet with him and listen to what he had to say. After visiting with Coach Hankins for 1.5 hours on April 8, I think we both knew that this was a good fit for me and for him. I called him on Friday April 11 and told him I would be accepting the job on Monday.”
It was a tough decision for Rogers.
“I was truly content to work with Coach Gantz and to remain at JA for the entirety of my career,” Rogers said. “He is an incredible coach and one of my great friends in coaching. I admit, one of the downsides to leaving, other than the incredible staff, families, and friends at JA, was knowing I wasn’t going to get to coach with Coach Gantz.”
Rogers, a Starkville High and Mississippi State graduate, feels fortunate to be able to learn and work with one of the most successful coach in Mississippi history.
“I have been so blessed to work under Coach Sojourner and alongside so many great coaches at JA,” Rogers said. “I’ve been able to compete and learn from so many other coaches in our league and abroad. I have been involved in so many big games sitting on Coach Sojourner’s bench, and I’ll bring that big game experience with me to Raymond.”
Sojourner credits Rogers for being a huge reason why she and the Lady Raiders were so successful over the past two decades. Rogers had great input on the offense and scouting and also implemented a matchup zone that JA used on occasion.
“Ronnie does a great job of being consistent in working every day to get the girls better as players,” Sojourner said. “He understands what it takes to win and has a great mind and feel for the game. He will use different schemes offensively and defensively that will blend with his team’s personnel. Ronnie has played a huge part in helping make JA’s basketball program successful. I am very appreciative and grateful for all his time, effort, and input into the program. I know he will do an excellent job at Central Hinds. I’m so happy for him.”
“Coach Rogers will do a great job at Central Hinds and the school is lucky to have him,” said Gantz, who spent 10 years at Central Hinds and won two state championships and reached the Overall Tournament semifinals the past two seasons. “The girls are excited, and he has a lot of talented players to build around.”
Former players at JA talked about Rogers’ dedication, compassion, and knowledge of the game.
“Ronnie was always there. Before practice, after practice, weekends – whenever I or anyone wanted to get in the gym for extra reps, he was always there to help you grow as a player,” said JA All-State forward Conley Chinn, who helped JA, Sojourner and Rogers win two consecutive Overall titles and graduated in 2017 and played college basketball at Belmont, Tenn. “He invested time and effort into the details – training proper form in every aspect of the game. From shooting form to ball handling, and proper screen-setting, Ronnie pays attention to the details many people overlook. I always knew that he wanted each player to build a foundation of skills before anything else. I’ve always appreciated his patience, efforts, and attention to details when it came to player development. And every now and then, he’d share one of his diet cokes with me if I had a good practice.”
“Coach Rogers has been a constant in my life since the eighth grade when he first coached me,” former JA point guard Mollie Blair Baioni, who graduated from JA in 2013, played at Mississippi College and finished her fifth year as the girls basketball coach at Bayou Academy in Cleveland. “That year we ended up winning the junior high district championship and it is still one of my favorite memories as a player. After losing to Pillow three times that year, we were able to beat them when it mattered in the championship game. Coach Rogers taught us to believe in ourselves and to not let losses define us and it paid off. As an assistant coach for my varsity years, we could always count on Coach Rogers. He’d pick us up when we were down, be tough on us when we needed it, and would even throw out a joke here and there. I have countless memories that I can think of and still laugh about today. He was always in charge of scouting the other teams and truly did a great job with that. It really mattered to him that we were as prepared as possible for any game we faced.
“After my playing days were over, Coach Rogers turned into a friend and mentor to me. While I was in college, he let me help coach his junior high teams during the summer to give me some experience. He was also always a great listening ear through the good times and bad times of becoming an adult. Since becoming a head coach myself, I can always count on Coach Rogers to send me any film and scouting reports that I need. He’s someone that you can always count on, he always wants the best for everyone, and he’ll do anything he can to help you in any way.”
“I am thankful to have played under Coach Rogers,” said Emily McNair Holmes, who liked Chinn helped JA, Sojourner and Rogers win two consecutive Overall titles and graduated in 2017 and played college soccer at Mississippi College. “He was always willing to work with me outside if our scheduled practice time. He cares a lot about the game but even more about the players. He goes above and beyond to get to know his players individually and help make them reach their full potential. Central Hinds is lucky to have him.”
“Coach Rogers has been coaching me for the last six years,” said JA rising senior guard Jayden Rhymes. “He has taught me so much, just about the fundamentals of basketball. Learning just how to do the basic stuff has improved my game tremendously. Throughout my middle school seasons, he has always told me I would do big things and I just had to have the confidence and work ethic. Entering our junior varsity season, he knew that we were a special team and never doubted us. We won the championship that year because he always believed in us. Outside of basketball, Coach Rogers is very kind and funny. Something I’ve learned from him from just watching him is to just be yourself and have confidence. I know Coach Rogers will do amazing things as the head coach at Central Hinds.”
This isn’t Rogers first time that he has been a head coach. He was head coach for one year at Manchester Academy in Yazoo City and one year at East Rankin Academy before coming to JA. Rogers was also an assistant at JA from 2000-2002 for then JA boys basketball coach Bill Ball. Rogers also has been the ninth-grade girls coach at JA for the past 20 seasons.
“I really enjoyed my years working with Ronnie,” said Ball, who won 599 games and two Overall championships at JA, Starkville Academy and Hartfield Academy in 22 seasons and now is an assistant junior high and high school coach at Hartfield. “Ronnie has always had his teams super prepared for each game and season. He was a tremendous asset for Coach Sojourner. Ronnie is a great teacher of the game. He not only did a great job with the girls at JA but did a fabulous job with his East Rankin teams. Ronnie’s true legacy in coaching is the impact he has made on every boy and girl that played for him. I’m thankful for our time together at JA and lasting friendship we have developed.”
Rogers is just as excited about being the spiritual leader of the school.
“My first job out of college was in the campus ministry at Ole Miss at RUF (Reformed University Fellowship),” Rogers said. “I do have a master’s in divinity (at Reformed Theological Seminary in Jackson) and I have certainly used it at JA and I want to expand on that at Central Hinds. While I’m sad to leave so many great students and friends at JA, I truly felt like I was going to be Jonah going to Tarshish instead of Nineveh as it became quite apparent that Central Hinds and this coaching position was what God had been preparing me for all these years.”
Rogers was also much more than an assistant basketball coach at JA. He was head golf coach for six years (and coached now PGA Tour professional Wilson Furr), and an assistant tennis coach for 20 years.
Although Central Hinds had its best two-year run in school history with back to back MAIS Class 4A state championships and back to back Overall semifinal finishes, the Lady Cougars have no returning starters from those talented teams.
“Coach Gantz and those before him always had hard-nosed, competitive teams that you better be ready to play,” Rogers said. “There is great pride in Raymond for the Lady Cougars, and nothing is going to change. I’ve met so many incredible young ladies in the three weeks since I was named coach. We start working this week and we are going to be relentless in our pursuit of excellence.”
