Rodney English
Rodney English, former boys’ basketball coach at East Hamilton, recently was named to a similar job at Whites Creek High School in Nashville. The move was made public Monday when English’s name appeared on the official Whites Creek school directory that is annually submitted to the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association.
The hiring of English at Whites Creek was also confirmed by Roosevelt Sanders, athletic director for the Metro Nashville Public Schools, in a one word response during a telephone interview.
“Yes,” Sanders said.
English, who offered no comment on his new job, was suspended in January and eventually resigned after four years as the Hurricanes’ basketball coach. An incident involving a player, Drew Williams, and his father, Solomon Williams, after a regular-season game against Tyner, led to English’s suspension following a Hamilton County Schools investigation.
English led East Hamilton to a 76-41 record and to the 2017 boys’ state Class 3A state tournament in the team’s best season since the school opened in 2009.
Zach Roddenberry coached the Hurricanes on an interim basis for the remainder of the 2017-18 season. Roddenberry has since been hired at Ahlf Junior High School in Searcy, Arkansas, where he will teach and serve as that school’s girls’ head basketball coach.
Frank Jones, a former Riverside High School standout who had coaching stops at Kirkman, City High, Tyner and Howard after attending and playing college ball at Tennessee Tech, was selected in May as East Hamilton’s new boys’ coach.
English replaces Carlton Battle at Whites Creek.
Battle was, ironically, suspended without pay for an altercation with the father of a Cobras’ player after the father allegedly punched Battle in the team locker room. According to players that were in the locker room, Battle then punched the player’s father and was suspended in late February.
In early February, Whites Creek assistant coach Kevin Moore was arrested for sexual contact with a 17-year-old girl and later released on a $2,500 bond after being charged with misdemeanor sexual contact by an authority figure.
There are no basketball assistant coaches listed on the Whites Creek’s directory.
Sanders, when contacted would not comment on how, or if, the situations with Battle and Moore were resolved.
But he did say, “We’re looking forward to (English) leading that boys’ basketball program in the right direction.”
(Contact Larry Fleming at larryfleming44@gmail.com and on Twitter @larryfleming44)