Gillispie's sister to coach Coppell girls team

[kepdawg]

Gillispie's sister to coach Coppell girls team

Hoffman led Crockett to second-place finish in 3A last season

05:57 PM CDT on Tuesday, April 10, 2007

By BRANDON GEORGE / The Dallas Morning News
bgeorge@dallasnews.com

Crockett girls basketball coach Jerry Hoffman – a sister of new Kentucky men's basketball coach Billy Gillispie – said she has accepted the job as Coppell girls coach.

Hoffman's hire is still pending Coppell ISD school board approval later this month, Coppell ISD athletic director John Crawford said. Hoffman is replacing Mitchell Davis, who resigned.

Hoffman, 45, led Class 3A Crockett to a state runner-up finish this season and a 31-7 record and leaves behind four returning starters. Hoffman has coached girls basketball at the 3A level for 19 seasons (16 at Waco Robinson) and her teams have reached the playoffs 15 times.

"I have family from this area and have lived most of my life away from them," Hoffman said. "You don't always get opportunities like this. I felt like it was time to go."

Hoffman played point guard on Graford's 1978 team that lost in the Class B state championship game. When Hoffman was a freshman at Graford, Mansfield Summit girls basketball coach Samantha Morrow was a senior on that same team.

Hoffman, who visited Coppell's campus Tuesday, said she has yet to resign from Crockett but plans to do so soon. Hoffman said she will remain at Crockett through April and won't officially begin at Coppell until after this school year.

Hoffman said another plus to taking the Coppell job is that she'll live only a few minutes from the airport, where she can get to quickly and fly to watch her brother coach Kentucky.

"I'm just so proud of him," Hoffman said. " feel so fortunate to be able to be associated with him. I hated to see him leave Texas A&M, but he's coaching at one of the places you dream about when you're a coach."

[tortilla_man]

saw all these teams mention at Johnson Col. here in huntsville during the play offs, didnt know she was related to BCG.

[Johnny Utah]

Very good basketball coach as well.