Published: April 24, 2009 10:43 pm      

Back to the Future III

Pulaski County High School rehires Al Gover as their new boys basketball coach

Somerset — For the third time in eight years, Pulaski County High School has rehired a former Maroons basketball coach after they announced the hiring of Al Gover as the new boys basketball coach.

Just over a month ago Mark Flynn resigned after coaching the Maroons for 3 1/2 seasons, leaving a vacant position on the Pulaski sidelines.

According to Pulaski athletic director Randy Elmore, nearly 45 applicants applied for the Pulaski boys basketball coaching position. And from those applicants, 15 were currently a head coach or a former head varsity coach.

“I am truly humbled by this great opportunity to be named the Pulaski boys basketball coach,” Gover said. “Basketball has been a big part of my life and I am glad to be back coaching at the high school level.”

Gover coached the Maroons for five seasons before resigning after the 2000-2001 season, which ended with 7-20 record and a 48th District Tournament first round loss to Southwestern.

During those five seasons coaching the Maroons, Gover compiled a 72-55 record with a .524 win percentage which is the highest winning percentage for a Pulaski coach since Fraley’s stint from 1977 to 1994.

Gover’s best season came in 1998-1999 when the Maroons sported a 22-5 record. Gover-coached teams had winning records four of his five seasons at Pulaski.

However, Gover was never able to advance his five Pulaski squads out of the first round of the old 48th District Tournament, which included all three local teams and the two Laurel County teams.

“I was pleased with the work I did at Pulaski in those five seasons, “ Gover commented. “We just always seemed to run into some kind of bad luck come tournament time and we didn’t finish as strong as we might have liked to.”

Gover’s best season came prior to coming to Pulaski when he led the 1995-1996 Somerset Briar Jumpers to a 48th District Championship and a semifinal appearance in the 12th Region Tournament.

But since trading in his ‘purple and gold’ for the ‘maroon and white’ back in 1996, Gover has taught at Pulaski County High School ever since.

“Pulaski County High School has been very good to me,” Gover commented. “I have taught here at Pulaski County for 14 years and I have spent most of my career here, so I am a true Maroon.”

After resigning from the Pulaski coaching position in 2001, Gover stayed away from high school basketball for over seven years before former Pulaski coach Mark Flynn asked Gover to join his staff.

“Al Gover did a great job on this year’s coaching staff and was a positive influence on the kids,” Flynn said. “When you are hiring a new coach and you find a coach who the kids already know, like and respect like they do Al Gover — then you have a positive situation.”

“Al Gover is a basketball person and has been around the game all his life,” Flynn said. “He is a good person, a good coach and it is a bonus that all the kids already know him. I think Al Gover was definitely the right person to carry on the Pulaski basketball tradition.”

Gover had no intentions of becoming a head coach and only helped out Flynn, as an assistant coach, because he wanted to be involved with high school basketball again.

“I just had that fire inside of me to get back on the sidelines and I jumped at the opportunity to be an assistant under Mark Flynn,” Gover said.

And while Gover doesn't see much of an adjustment for the Pulaski players between his and Mark Flynn’s coaching styles, he did say he did things a little differently.

“I guess you can say I am a pretty intense coach and I like to get after the ball on both ends of the floor,” Gover said. “I like to score off transition baskets and play an up-tempo style of basketball. My aggressive style of play will be dependent on a deep bench.”

“We have got a good group of kids returning next season and we have a lot of work to do,” Gover commented. “I think we will be very competitive at the district and regional level next season.”

Gover is only the fourth Pulaski coach since 1977 — Dave Fraley from 1977 to 1995, Dave Schulz from 1995 to 1996, Gover from 1996 to 2001, Fraley from 2001 to 2006, Mark Flynn 2006 to 2009.

Girls basketball coach Larry Hurt, and boys basketball coaches Fraley and Gover have all been rehired after resigning from coaching at Pulaski.

Also, joining Gover’s coaching staff will be Deron Breeze, who was the Bracken County boys head basketball coach last season.