BHS hires new boys hoops coach

By Jeff Ireland

Brighton High School athletic director Chic Nute had already interviewed several candidates to fill the boys’ basketball coaching vacancy at his school.
Jason Morgan had already interviewed for several head coaching basketball jobs around the Mid-South.
The two eventually came together.
“I’m a man of faith,” said Morgan. “God does amazing things. I had interviewed at almost a dozen schools. Some good situations. Some bad. I was in Memphis for an interview and Chic called. I met a bunch of the people there and one thing led to another. The Lord opened up some doors for more for sure.”
Morgan comes to Brighton with plenty of head coaching experience.
He spent the last three seasons at Greenville (Ms.) Christian, leading them to the Mississippi Private School Association state title. From 2001 to 2007 he was the head man at Grace Christian in Louisville, Ms.
Morgan brings a 311-104 career record that includes seven district titles. It’s been a while since Brighton has won a league title.
“I’ve always had success wherever I’ve gone,” said Morgan. “The number one reason is that I always have kids give their best.”
The team will have quite a different look in several different ways.
The roster will be quite different, for one. A couple of players have transferred and, as of earlier this week, there were at least a couple of players from last season who were not on the team.
“I know for a fact we won’t be as talented as we were last year,” said Morgan. “But I’ve got some guys committed to this program.”
Last year’s team played a run and gun style that resulted in some high-scoring games. While Morgan said he likes to get up and down the court, defense will be a priority this season.
“Last year they gave up almost 80 points a game,” said Morgan, “and allowed 100 about half a dozen times. That’s a lot of pressure to put on your offense. If you look at our team this year, you’re going to see us play tough half court offense. Force the other team to take bad shots and rebound.”
Morgan said his current players have told him that there were players last season who did not give maximum effort all the time. He has vowed to correct that this season as Brighton begins a new era.
He’s not promising any titles this season, or any season. Instead, he said he will focus on effort and character.
“My thing is getting guys to give 100 percent, in everything,” said Morgan. “Of course I care about basketball. But I care more about the people they become. They will be people a lot longer than they’ll be basketball players. What they learn here they can carry over to the rest of their lives.”

Munford standout promoted to Phillies AA squad

By Jeff Ireland

Donnie Overbeck fields questions about his son on a daily basis.
Though the questions are usually the same, as any proud father would be, he never really tires of talking about his talented offspring.
“With access to the Internet, a lot of people know what he’s doing,” said Overbeck, whose son, Cody, is playing his third season in the Philadelphia Phillies’ minor league system. “Sometimes it seems like the whole town is following him. I tell him the whole town is behind him … try to boost his confidence.”
Here lately there have been plenty of good things for Munford and Tipton County residents to discuss concerning Cody.
Late last week Cody was informed that he was being promoted from the Class A Clearwater (Fla.) Threshers to the Class AA Reading (Pa.) Phillies, meaning he is just two steps away from playing in the big leagues.
After a 2009 season in which Cody struggled with injuries and hit .230 with 12 homeruns, he set the Florida State League on fire the first half of 2010. Before being promoted to Reading he hit .302 with 11 homeruns, 41 RBI’s, 19 doubles and a .553 slugging percentage. He was among the league leaders in the all the aforementioned categories and made the All-Star team. He was named the Florida State League Player of the Week in early May.
At 23, Overbeck is considered one of the Phillies’ better prospects at third base.
Overbeck, soft-spoken and modest in interviews, doesn’t like to brag. But with the numbers he has been putting up he knew a call-up was coming.
“I got the call yesterday,” Overbeck said last Friday. “I expected it. I just wasn’t sure when it would be.”
Overbeck played on some very talented teams at Munford High School. His junior year the Cougars finished second in the Class AAA State Tournament and he led the team back to state his senior season.
When he signed with Ole Miss and became the team’s best hitter by his sophomore season, scouts began to take notice. He was drafted in the ninth round of the 2008 draft and decided to begin his professional career.
The idea of playing professionally had been in the back of the mind of Cody and his father, but it began to look much more possible when Cody began to excel at the college level.
“Once he got to Ole Miss and began playing right with those guys, I began to think he was good enough to draft,” said Donnie. “It got in the back of your head, ‘Hey, he can play with these guys.’”
Cody knows the transition to Class AA won’t be easy. Just like any jump in classification, the pitching gets much better. The Phillies’ top prospect, outfielder Dominic Brown, is Cody’s teammate in Reading.
“You’ve got middle infielders and centerfielders who are a lot better,” said Cody. “They take away hits that might have been hits (in Class A). And, obviously, the pitchers locate (their pitches) better.”
The way things look now, Overbeck couldn’t be in a better organization. The Phillies’ current third baseman, Placido Polanco, is a veteran who doesn’t figure to be with the team forever. It also has to be encouraging to play for a team that has been to two straight World Series and won three straight division titles.
Overbeck has met several current Phillies, including former NL MVP Jimmy Rollins, Brad Lidge and J.A. Happ.
“They’ve all been to Clearwater for rehab,” said Cody. “They’re all nice guys.”
Back home in Munford, there’s talk about when and how Cody will make it to the Philadelphia Phillies. His dad gets those questions all the time. On Facebook Cody has nearly 1,400 friends, many of whom follow his career closely.
As far as Cody’s outlook on his prospects for further advancement, he’s realistic, but hopeful..
“Oh yeah,” Cody said with a chuckle when asked if people ask him when he’s going to make it to the big leagues. “All the time. I try not to get too far ahead of myself. I haven’t set a timeframe or anything. I take it one year at a time and see what happens.”