Purcell Marian names Steven Gentry as next head boys basketball coach

Purcell Marian has named Steven Gentry as its next head boys basketball coach, according to Athletic Director D.J. Dowdy.

Over the last two decades, Gentry has amassed nearly 250 high school wins and most recently served as the head coach at Deer Park for four seasons before he stepped down in 2020.

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Gentry went 80-22 with the Wildcats, including a perfect season in 2018 that ended with the school's first-ever boys basketball state championship. Gentry was named the District 16 and Cincinnati Hills League Coach of the Year that season.

"Steven (Gentry) has had success everywhere he's been," Dowdy said in a statement. "He knows what it takes to be successful on the court, in the classroom and in life. We could not have found a better leader for our young men."

Gentry has also been a head boys basketball coach at Shroder, Lockland, Aiken and Withrow. Overall, he's collected six district titles and four conference championships.

A Xavier University graduate, Gentry played three years of basketball under Pete Gillen and was a member of the 1993 Midwestern Collegiate Conference regular-season championship team that beat New Orleans in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. In high school, Gentry played at Withrow for head coach George Jackson and helped lead the Tigers to Eastern Metro Conference and City titles as a senior in 1989. He was also a nominee for the McDonald's All-American team.

"Steven is a born leader," Xavier Basketball Academic Advisor Sr. Rose Ann Fleming said in a press release. "He is mission-driven, honest, aware of others' needs, has a magnetic personality and a desire to win."

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Purcell Marian Athletic Hall of Famer Dave Minor added: "I have known Coach Gentry for over thirty years. He is a great human being whose character and integrity line up with the values of Purcell Marian High School. Steven stresses fundamentals and learning how to play the game the right way."

Gentry replaces Mark Majick, who served as Purcell Marian's head coach for the last two years.

Purcell Marian went 8-14 last season and finished fourth in the Miami Valley Conference-Scarlet division.

Purcell Marian won a regional championship and went to the Division III state Final Four in 2019.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Purcell Marian taps Steven Gentry as next head boys basketball coach