Ripley native Pete Story hired to complete Billy Begley’s EMCC men’s basketball coaching staff

SCOOBA – With vast experience at the collegiate, high school and AAU levels, Pete Story has been hired as an assistant men's basketball coach at East Mississippi Community College.  First-year EMCC head men's basketball coach Billy Begley made the announcement this week.

Most recently, Story worked with Memphis-based Team Penny, a successful AAU organization headed by former NBA All-Star Anfernee Hardaway.  Story served as the staff's head scout for Team Penny's 17 and under squad in Nike's Elite Youth Basketball League, which advanced to the 2014 finals of the prestigious Nike EYBL Peach Jam in North Augusta, S.C.

During his initial association with Team Penny, Story was an assistant coach for the organization's 15 and under club that claimed the Tennessee state championship in 2013.

"I'm ecstatic and humbled to be a Lion and be a part of Coach Begley's staff and the East Mississippi family," said Story, who joins Drew Bernd on Begley's first-year EMCC coaching staff.  "I'm very thankful to Coach Begley for this opportunity, as this is an ideal situation to develop student-athletes and allow them to grow as young men.  I'm very eager to get started and I am looking forward to winning and working with Coach Begley and Coach Bernd."   

While assisting Team Penny during the AAU's summer competition schedule, Story also spent three school years on the basketball coaching staff at Lausanne Collegiate School in Memphis, where he worked with 2015 NBA Draft first-round pick Cameron Payne of the Oklahoma City Thunder by way of Murray State University.  After serving as the head boys' coach for Lausanne's fifth and sixth grade squad for a season, Story was elevated to be an assistant coach for the Payne-led club that captured the 2013 Tennessee 2A private school state championship.     

Story first became involved with AAU basketball competition as an assistant coach for the Memphis Wildcats.  While handling team travel and assisting the organization with everyday logistics, Story helped guide the Wildcats' 14 and under team to the Division II national championship in 2010.

"I have known Pete from my days at Mississippi State and I am really excited to work with him," Begley noted. "He is a relentless recruiter with high character who has contacts all over the country.  Pete has been a part of some high-level programs and worked with some of the best coaches in the country, so he brings a wealth of knowledge to our program."

With a sports management background prior to getting into coaching, Story earned his bachelor's degree in interdisciplinary studies from Mississippi State University.  As a student assistant in the MSU men's basketball office, Story was affiliated with the Bulldogs' 1996 NCAA Final Four team and 1995 NCAA Sweet 16 club under the guidance of Hall of Fame coach Richard Williams.

Originally from Ripley, Miss., Story received his start in collegiate coaching as a student assistant and team manager for current school president Ricky Ford at Northeast Mississippi Community College.

During his 20-year career in athletics, Story has most recently been involved with the development of numerous basketball standouts around the Memphis area, including K.J. Lawson, Dedric Lawson, Jeremiah Martin, Donte Fitzpatrick and Dwain Whitfield.  Former Mississippi State products Dontae' Jones, Horatio Webster and Detrick White also prospered from Story's tutelage earlier in their professional playing careers.

Story has also gained valuable coaching experience through the years while working basketball camps headed by former NBA players Erick Dampier and Cedric Henderson along with assisting with various coaching clinics.       

Story is married to the former Tiffany Finger, of Indianapolis, Ind.  He has three children – two daughters, Kinshada and Destany, and one son, Jordan.