Kevin Williams hired as Saxony Lutheran boys basketball coach

Athletic director Sam Sides confirmed Wednesday that Saxony Lutheran has hired former Southeast Missouri State assistant coach Kevin Williams as its new boys basketball coach.

"He's got a lot of experience there, and he comes from a coaching family, a basketball family," Sides said. "He got out of coaching for a little while and wanted to get back into it, and we're real fortunate to have somebody with his experience to be interested in our school. So I think it was a win-win situation."

Williams was an assistant at Southeast during former coach Gary Garner's first three seasons, including the 2000 season when the Indians clinched a berth in the NCAA Tournament.

An all-state player at Central High School, Williams was a member of the Tigers' 1980 state championship team. He went on to compete at Saint Louis University, appearing in 111 games throughout his college career.

After spending two seasons as head coach at Whitfield High School in St. Louis, Williams returned to Southeast in 1997 to pursue a graduate degree.

He took over as head coach at Caruthersville in 2000 and guided the Tigers to a 22-7 record and a trip to the state quarterfinals.

Williams replaces former coach Tim Winkler, who led the Crusaders to a 11-15 record last season.