Huntingdon hires Kimbrough as associate head basketball coach

By Chuck Tidmore

Sports Information Assistant

MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Huntingdon athletic director Mike Turk announced the hiring of Caleb Kimbrough as associate head men's basketball coach on Thursday.

Kimbrough will assist retiring head coach Mike Pugh during the upcoming 2016-17 season before taking over as head coach entering the 2017-18 season.

"We are pleased to have Coach Kimbrough join our staff as associate head coach," Turk said. "He brings a lot of energy with him, as well as some very good experience at the Division III level. We are excited about the immediate impact he can make on our program, and are also looking forward to him leading our program into the future."

Pugh, who announced his retirement in April, said he is excited to have Kimbrough on staff.

"Caleb has a solid resume and is an energetic coach," Pugh said. "You look at the success he had as a player and how he has steadily developed as a coach and I believe he is going to be a great addition to our program."

Kimbrough comes to Huntingdon with seven seasons of coaching experience at the Division III level. He spent the past six seasons at Guilford College. He joined the Quakers as an assistant coach in 2010 and was promoted to associate head coach in 2014.

"First off I'd like to thank President J. Cameron West and Coach Turk," Kimbrough said. "I have felt so welcome here and seeing how much the school supports athletics is awesome. I'm excited to work with Coach Pugh because he brings 40 years of coaching experience to the table. I'm ready to learn from him and to get to know Alabama and the South."

During his six seasons, Guilford compiled a 103-55 record, qualified for the Old Dominion Athletic Conference Tournament every season and reached the conference semifinals in 2014-15.

Kimbrough looks forward to a new challenge with the Hawks

"I have spent seven years coaching in Division III and it has helped me learn how to recruit for different schools," Kimbrough said. "Success is more than wins and losses and it extends off the court. It is really important that not just Huntingdon, but the community supports basketball. We are going to continue to recruit high-end character kids and make sure they reach their potential on and off the court."

Before Guilford, Kimbrough spent one season as an assistant coach at Washington and Lee University. The Generals were 17-10 that season, marking their best record since 1989.

A 2008 graduate of Guilford, Kimbrough was a two-sport athlete for the Quakers, earning honorable mention all-conference honors in basketball and all-conference honors in tennis.

In basketball, he started in a program-record 108 games during four seasons and ended his career as the Quakers' third all-time leader in steals (130) and fourth all-time leader in assists (358). During his final two seasons, Guilford was 48-10, won one ODAC title and made two appearances in the NCAA Tournament.