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JoJo English Named Richland Northeast Head Coach

Richland Northeast brings a familiar face back to the high school ranks as JoJo English will take over the Cavalier program.

A familiar face to Columbia basketball has been hired as the new head coach at Richland Northeast.

JoJo English, who won a pair of state titles before taking his talents to USC, the NBA and overseas, will take over the Cavalier program.

English is no stranger to coaching in the Midlands as he won a state championship at Sumter in 2015.

He left that program to become an assistant at Catawba College, an NCAA Division II program that competes in the South Atlantic Conference. After two seasons there, English left to return to Columbia with an eye on getting back to the high school ranks and RNE provided that opportunity.

"Working at the Division II level and doing a lot of recruiting going to various high school gyms and games made me miss coaching in South Carolina high school basketball even more," English told News19 in a statement.

RNE athletics director Gary Fulmer coached English when Fulmer as an assistant coach at that school. Now English has been hired by his former coach to take over a Cavalier program that went 1-18 last season under former coach and RNE grad Lucas Hargrove.

After graduating from USC, English spent 10 years playing professionally with the Chicago Bulls and Minnesota Timberwolves, along with various teams overseas.

Coaching seemed like a natural transition for someone whose mission is to make an impact on the next generation.

"My purpose and my passion is helping those kids that won't make it unless I am a part of their life," English said.

"After speaking at length with Principal (Teresa) Suber and Coach Gary Fulmer, we understood that our philosophy and goals relating to children parallel each other."

There is one aspect that will take some getting used to and that's wearing orange. The former USC standout will proudly wear the Richland Northeast colors in spite of that.

"The most difficult part in making the decision is that RNE has orange in the school colors," English said.

The Lower Richland and USC graduate's arch rivals have been Eau Claire and Clemson, both teams with orange in their uniforms.

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