Fans of USN’s Varsity Boys’ Basketball Team have seen a new face in front of the bench this year, as Coach Gregory Eubanks begins as the team’s new head coach.
Eubanks’ energy as a coach emanates around the whole Sperling Gymnasium. He constantly moves up and down the bench on the sideline, while shouting out encouragement and plays the team needs to make.
Outside of the gym, Eubanks increases students’ excitement for the season. High school students and teachers can see him walking the halls every game day with a white board in hand, advertising night’s games and theme.
Before arriving at the school this fall, Eubanks’ coaching résumé included leading teams at every level. Following his playing career at Lipscomb University (1988-1992), he spent three years coaching at Faulkner University in Montgomery, Alabama.
However, after those three years, Eubanks stopped coaching for some time. At one point, he thought that his coaching career would end with that role.
“After I coached for three years in college…I was just in business sales for around 15 years, and I thought that’s what I was supposed to do, or was going to do for the rest of my career,” said Eubanks.
A part of Eubanks’ desire to start coaching stemmed from the influence past coaches had on him and his childhood. Coaches that support their players in sports and in life skills create communities characterized by growth and care. Eubanks is grateful that he had coaches like this throughout his sports career, especially his dad.
“One of the reasons I wanted to coach was that I had such good coaches when I was growing up…my father was the best coach I ever had…He had a real calm demeanor about him and was really encouraging.”
He added “I had a great high school basketball coach, a great high school baseball coach, and then a great college basketball coach. All of those people influenced me so much.”
Because of this, Eubanks was excited for the opportunity to get back into coaching with an offer from Ensworth back in 2009. He quickly fell back into the routine of coaching, and today he “couldn’t imagine doing anything else.”
After coaching the freshmen team at Ensworth until 2018, Eubanks went to coach at Harding Academy in Memphis, TN for three years. From there he went to Middle Tennessee Christian School, where he coached until joining USN’s staff this year.
When Eubanks decided he wanted to continue his coaching career in a new environment, he began looking at different openings across the state. While browsing the USN website, he saw that there was a position open for a PE teacher and a basketball coach. After reaching out to USN’s Athletic Director, Josh Scouten, he applied for the job and was offered the position soon after.
Eubanks was instantly drawn to USN’s urban campus and welcoming faces. What he appreciates most about the environment is the school’s constant focus on fostering people to be not just good athletes, but driven students as well.
“I think the administration wants [the coaches] to do the best we can, to work hard and to teach lessons, and if we win some games, great. If we lose some games, so be it,” remarked Eubanks. “But the bottom line is that we want our students to have great athletic experiences and to learn how to be good teammates, how to work hard, and how to maintain a commitment.”
Eubanks held many open gyms for his players all throughout August. These open gyms were an opportunity for him and his players to begin building connections prior to the season’s official start.
“The attendance was really good at those open gyms. We’d have 10 or 12 guys, and so it gave me a chance to see them play after we missed all summer,” says Eubanks. “I got a chance to meet them, see them play, and for them to meet me…When we hit the ground running with practice at the start of the season, I already had an idea of what guys could do and couldn’t do.”
The season has only just begun, yet Eubanks has already seen moments that make him hopeful for the coming months. His favorite practices and games so far have reminded him of his core values of hard work and grit.
A moment that Eubanks was especially proud of was at the Antioch game on November 18. After trailing at halftime, the Tigers came back to win the game 57-49.
“I loved the way we came back, the way we showed a lot of grit and passion in the second half against Antioch, even when we did not shoot the ball well. [The players] showed a lot of commitment to each other and the want to win,” said Eubanks.
Looking ahead, Eubanks hopes to provide the team with the best and most meaningful season possible.
“My personal goal would be to put the guys in the best situation to win every game…and that starts with learning how to practice and how we conduct ourselves in practice.” He remarks that “I want the guys at the end of the year to look back and say I’m better for being part of the team. To say I was a good teammate, I really enjoyed my teammates, and we all worked really hard.”
With an overall winning record of 4-2 as of December 10, this year’s boys’ basketball team has shown both improvement and passion – and the season has just begun. With Coach Eubanks leading the squad, it’s sure to be an exciting year for the Tigers.
