Nearly a year after resigning from the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, George Ivory will coach another game at H.O. Clemmons Arena today.
Surprise.
Ivory will lead his alma mater Mississippi Valley State University men's basketball team into Pine Bluff in hopes of ending the Golden Lions' chances of qualifying for the Southwestern Athletic Conference tournament. Tipoff is scheduled for 5:30 p.m., following the Valley-UAPB women's game, which tips off at 3.
UAPB (6-22, 4-11 SWAC), ranked 11th in the 12-team conference, is 2.5 games behind Jackson State University for the eighth and final qualifying spot for the March 9-12 tournament in Birmingham, Ala. Valley is 2-23 and 2-13 in the SWAC.
Valley spokesperson Donnell Maxie on Friday confirmed Ivory's appointment as a result of Lindsey Hunter being placed on administrative leave for the rest of the season. Hunter, a former NBA player and Jackson State alumnus, is 7-72 in three seasons in Itta Bena.
Maxie declined to give a reason for Hunter's leave, adding Valley would issue a statement at a later date.
Ivory was not listed as one of the Delta Devils' coaches on their online roster as of Friday afternoon. The staff includes one of his former assistants at UAPB, Alan Perry.
A call and message to Ivory's phone were not immediately returned.
Ivory, who as a player led Valley to the 1986 SWAC tournament title and a near-upset of eventual national runner-up Duke University in the NCAA round of 64, was the longest-tenured coach in the SWAC when he resigned from UAPB last April. He posted a 140-268 overall record in Pine Bluff over 13 seasons, including a 116-115 mark in the SWAC.
His 2009-10 team won the SWAC tournament and defeated Winthrop University in the NCAA opening-round game, the last single-game play-in before the round was expanded into the First Four the next season.
LIONS AND DEVILS THIS SEASON
Solomon Bozeman succeeded Ivory at UAPB in June, and the Lions have made little improvement on last season's 4-21 overall and 3-13 SWAC records. The Lions have either struggled to close out tight games or staged too-little, too-late comebacks from big deficits during a three-game skid, including Monday's 70-68 home loss to Texas Southern University.
UAPB last won 75-70 at Alabama State University on Feb. 12.
Both Ivory and Hunter have sons on Valley's roster. Caleb Hunter, a 5-foot-10 guard, averages 14 points per game, but has not scored 20 or more in the past two outings. George Ivory III, a Watson Chapel High School graduate who was on the Lions' roster last season, has not recorded any stats this season.
The Lions beat the Devils 74-68 in Itta Bena on Jan. 29 behind Shawn Williams' 26 points.
REMAINING GAMES
UAPB will visit Jackson State on Thursday and Alcorn State University next Saturday to close the regular season.