Harvey Childers, Mississippi basketball coaching legend, dies at 87

One of Mississippi's most successful high school basketball coaches, Harvey Childers died on July 23, Northeast Mississippi Community College announced in a press release.

He was 87.

The longtime coach was credited with a head coaching record of 1,013-305 during his 39-year career.

At the high school level, Childers had a record of 821-192, coaching a handful of programs around the state. Childers made his coaching debut in 1963 at Thaxton (which later closed). He then had stints at Myrtle and New Albany. He won a pair of MHSAA championships with New Albany in 1977 and 1985.

Childers coached Northeast Mississippi College from 1985-92. He led NMCC to a national runner-up finish in the NJCAA Tournament in 1989 and has the fourth-most wins in program history with 192. It was the third national runner-up finish in program history and the first since 1951.

He later returned to high school basketball and took a coaching job at Marshall Academy in the mid 1990s. He had a stint at Wheeler, then began coaching at Ripley in 2002, where he later would retire in 2008.

Childers was inducted into the Mississippi Association of Coaches Hall of Fame in 1995, the Northeast Sports Hall of Fame in 2009 and the Mississippi Association of Community Colleges Conference Hall of Fame.

Northeast Mississippi College has honored Childers each of the last three years by hosting the Harvey Childers Classic Tournament, which will be held again this December.

Michael Chavez  covers high school sports, among others, for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at [email protected] or reach out to him on X  @MikeSChavez  or Facebook at  Michael Chavez .

This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Harvey Childers, Mississippi basketball coaching legend, dies at 87

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