Head coach led team to first winning season, state playoff appearance in a decade
The Habersham Central boys basketball team is once again back on the search for a head coach less than a year removed from their last head coaching vacancy. Coach Aric Mawdesley informed The Northeast Georgian last week that he had resigned from the position.
“He felt like it was best for him to move on,” Habersham County School System Athletic Director Geep Cunningham said. “He and his family maybe didn’t fit in quite as well as he thought, and we’re good with that, so we’ll move on.”
The basketball program is in a better position for a head coaching search this time around though as they begin looking at potential coaches much sooner than they did in 2021 and with a winning season and state playoff appearance as a solid recruiting pitch.
“We’re just getting started, and we won’t be publicizing who we are or aren’t talking to. Last year was a little different of a situation because Coach Anderson resigned in the middle of April, which is very late in the process that these things take place. With it being late February to early March and the state tournament still taking place, hopefully we’ll have an opportunity to explore our options.”
Mawdesley resigned two days after Habersham Central’s basketball season ended. In his lone season as head coach, he led the Raiders to a winning season and a state playoff appearance, both of which haven’t happened for the team since the 2011-2012 basketball season.
“There’s certainly some pieces in place next year, and I wish them the best.” Mawdesley said.
While they won’t have starters Malachi Dooley or Mekhi Mawdesley – who are both graduating in May – they will bring back star big man Osmar Garcia, along with Bryce Pittman and Brannon Gaines, all of whom started and played significant minutes this season.
“We’ve got a lot of good, young kids in the program. We’ve got a good, young group and our middle schools are doing okay,” Cunningham said. ‘We feel alright about it, this is a great high school and school system. We’ve got a great superintendent, school board and principal that supports everything we try to do. It’s a great opportunity for kids to grow and develop and enjoy their high school experience.”