By Matt Vines, The DeSoto Parish Journal 

MANSFIELD – Facing one of the toughest schedules in the state with a young roster still waiting for its most experienced player to return, first-year Mansfield boys basketball coach Reggie Williams knew that putting together the Wolverines would be a process.  

That process bore its best fruit of the early season Wednesday as Mansfield easily disposed of Lakeside, 48-24, as Williams logged his third win in his first season as a head coach.  

Williams, who was an assistant with the Green Oaks girls before serving stints with the Huntington and Southwood boys (along with Huntington football), learned from established head coaches like Huntington’s Mack Jones and Southwood’s Brandon Gultrey to establish and trust that process.   

“I learned so much from all of those coaches, and I have to credit (Gultrey) for giving me a lot of decision-making responsibilities,” Williams said. “He taught me how to really run a tight ship and taught me the business of being a head coach.  

“A lot of people see what goes on at practice or on a game day, but he was very transparent in areas like dealing with parents and administration, fundraising, making a schedule, arranging busses and acquiring uniforms.”  

When Williams arrived at his alma mater Southwood before the 2021-22 season, he told Gultrey to not count on him staying too long because becoming a head coach was his ultimate goal.  

Williams was right – after Southwood rattled off 21 straight wins and reached the quarterfinals this past season (Williams second on staff), he accepted the Mansfield head job. 

“I would say yes and no,” the 32-year-old said when asked if he was surprised by how quickly he’s become a head coach. “I know people that have been coaching for 10 or more years in basketball and football and haven’t been a head coach yet.  

“But one thing people told me when they congratulated on getting the job is that they saw how hard I worked. So I’d have to say from that standpoint, no I’m not surprised that I got an opportunity to be a head coach. I can’t thank the Mansfield administration enough for this opportunity, and I plan on building something special here.”  

Williams first test as a head coach? It came against his mentor Gultrey and that Class 5A Southwood program coming off one of its best seasons in program history.  

To complicate matters, Mansfield football was in the midst of a postseason run, and Williams was missing football players from his roster.  

A roster that included seven freshmen have taken their lumps against a schedule where eight of Mansfield’s first 11 opponents were Class 4A and Class 5A opponents. 

The Wolverines (3-9) have strong numbers for a Class 2A program, but it’ll take awhile before Mansfield High can expect to beat the likes of Southwood, Barbe, Evangel Christian and Benton among others.  

“No matter how much say so you had as an assistant, it’s different being the guy in that seat,” Williams said. “The thing I’ve learned the most so far is everything comes with a process. We’re a microwave generation, so sometimes we don’t see the value of maybe starting off not so hot and then peaking later in the season. But I’ve also learned that these players are fighters, they have natural dog in them.” 

While wins haven’t come in bunches yet, Williams sees his younger players developing nicely.  

His bunch went toe-to-toe with Class 5A Parkway this past week in an eventual 13-point loss, but the progress he sees on the floor bodes well for Mansfield competing in a difficult District 3-2A that includes state runner-up Winnfield, annual contender Lakeview and scrappy programs in Red River and Many. 

And Mansfield hasn’t even had the services of its most experienced returning player in Bryson Murray, who will return to the floor in the coming weeks.  

Pairing Murray with senior post Darien Kelly Jr should provide a dangerous 1-2 punch to go along with a slew of juniors and freshmen that are gaining valuable experience each game.  

“Bryson is the leader we’ve been missing, and he’s capable of getting 20 or 25 points in his sleep,” Williams said. “Darien is a 6-4 guy that played cornerback on the football team, so that tells you how much of an athletic freak he is. “We have a freshmen in Malachi Johnson that will be a special player in his time here.  

“We’ve very raw and very athletic. A lot of these guys are used to being better athletes than everybody else, but we’re developing the skill to go with it. We do want to use their speed and athleticism to run, but we’re working on being better in transition. Once we figure that out, we’ve got a very good future here.”