By Thomas Sellers Jr.
Coaches LaTesa McLaughlin & Nick Buford
GERMANTOWN – The Nick Buford Era is officially underway for Millington Central High School Lady Trojans Basketball.
While the first game to count in the box score won’t be until November, Buford has been busy all June establishing his foundation for the future. A part of the construction crew are the current crop of Lady Trojans, Millington Trojans Head Basketball Coach Jewell Gates and Millington Middle School Head Coach LaTesa McLaughlin.
The working relationship between Buford and McLaughlin will be vital for restoring the Lady Trojan program back to the glory days of winning five district championships between former coaches Stan Gatlin and Bruce Marshall.
McLaughlin said with Buford being named head coach of the Lady Trojans in May, Millington girls’ basketball is on the eve of a renaissance.
“One thing is because they’re young,” she noted. “And now you have the new coaching addition. I believe you have a group of girls who are hungry and who want to be taught the game.
“They’re willing and ready to learn the game,” McLaughlin added. “And they have someone ready to instill that in them. I feel they will buy into the program. They will get some pride behind their name and everything will be alright.”
Buford said he knows the Lady Stallions are in good hands with a two-time National champion coaching them. Buford also references McLaughlin’s basketball IQ, attention to defensive details and her legacy as one of the best Lady Trojan players ever.
McLaughlin was a Millington standout from 2005-09 going to three-straight Sub-States, State runner-up in 2008 and holding the TSSAA all-time record for steals.
Buford said he will work alongside McLaughlin to establish that trust for the girls that they have two coaches concerned about their overall growth through the game.
“Show my face as much as possible,” he said. “Be there for anything that is needed if it be advice, scheduling a game or just anything. I want to show my face.
“If they see us communicating openly, they will do the same meaning high school with middle school,” Buford continued. “If they all see a family environment and we create that environment, they’ll follow along.”
McLaughlin said her program will follow along with what Buford needs done on the floor to build for the future.
“We’ve both talked about when you look at small towns, like Covington,” she said, “I know they’ve built their program from the middle school and up. The transition is a lot easier when those girls in the middle school are already learning what the high school is doing.
“It’s not they’re learning a system in middle school then going off to high school learning a completely different system,” McLaughlin added. “So what I want to do is change my entire system to what he’s doing at the high school level. So when they do go over and transition over when he’s saying “21” we had the communication. They’ll already know what 21 is.”
McLaughlin said the overall goal is giving the girls 7 years of development in basketball and a place for them to grow as a person.
“That’s why it is important for me to go into the gym and say, ‘Hey Coach what do you want me to run or what do you want to see the girls learn,’” she added. “Now I can go to the middle school and communicate those things to the girls for an easier transition.”
McLaughlin said all the coaches and administrations will be on board to restore the Lady Trojans program back to the greatness of the late 2000s and early 2010s. Now the girls have to continue to buy into what they are being shown and taught at both levels.
“Just willing to learn and having a heart,” she said. “They want to learn anyway so it’s about having that heart. I believe everything else will fall into place as long as they have that heart. I want them to learn about not giving up and having that dog mentality.
“We’ll teach the game, I am not worried about that,” McLaughlin continued. “We’ll teach the basics of the game. They have to be willing to come in ready to go. It’s a pride thing and a pride within themselves. They have to have a pride in wearing a Millington jersey and everything will take off from there.”
Buford said when the girls go from the Blue and White of MMS to wearing the Black and Gold of MCHS, the only difference will be increasing the competitiveness to surpass the competition.
“Work, be able to come in and work,” he said. “Because it’s going to take work. The biggest change coming over from middle school to high school, you can ask any kid and 90 percent of them will tell you it’s the speed of the game.
“ If you can work, you’ll be able to catch up with the speed of the game,” Buford concluded. “So if they are willing to work when they’re able to get to me and I know they will, everything will map straight out.”
