UPDATED: April 29, 2016
Bernard Berryhill, head coach of the Class 2A state champion West Tallahatchie High School boys’ basketball team, last week was named the American Family Insurance All-USA Mississippi Boys Basketball Coach of the Year by USAToday High School Sports.
The honor follows a 2015-16 campaign during which Berryhill guided the Choc-taws to their most successful season in program history.
The Choctaws were the top-ranked boys’ team in Class 2A for all but the opening week of the season.
West Tally’s boys earned the first basketball state championship in Tallahatchie County history by defeating Coahoma Agricultural High School 52-43 in the Mississippi High School Activities Association’s 2A title game on March 11.
At 34-0, the Choctaws achieved the only perfect record in the state during the season, becoming the first Mississippi boys’ basketball team in 31 years to run the table for an undefeated mark.
In February, West Tally became the first boys’ roundball squad in the county ever to achieve an untarnished record (27-0) in the regular season.
Along the way, the Choctaws defeated opponents by an average of 24.1 points.
Berryhill, a West Tally alumnus, has served as boys’ basketball coach at his alma mater for 15 of his 19 years as an employee within the West Tallahatchie School District.
After his team won the state championship, Berryhill said the experience was “surreal,” noting that as the season unfolded, it took on the aura of “a fairy tale, or a movie or play with the perfect plot, the perfect script and the perfect happy ending for West Tally.”
He gave all of the credit to his players: “It’s about these young men,” he said. “I’m just going along for the ride and I’m glad they allowed me to get the opportunity. It’s a blessing to be a part of it.”
IN THE PHOTO: Head coach Bernard Berryhill talks to his players during the Mississippi High School Activities Association's Class 2A boys' basketball state championship game at the Mississippi Coliseum in Jackson on March 11, 2016. West Tallahatchie defeated Coahoma Agricultural High School 52-43. (Sun-Sentinel file photo by Clay McFerrin)
