COVINGTON, Ga. — Early Tuesday morning, news broke that Charlemagne Gibbons has stepped down as head basketball coach of the Newton Rams. Gibbons will head the Gainesville Red He Elephants men’s basketball program beginning in the 2023-24 season.
Coaching at Newton was one of many stops on Gibbons’ journey. This included stints at Starrs Mill, Florida Atlantic University, and most notably Morgan County High School, where he became a winning state coach.
But there is one thing that makes Newton unique from Gibbons’ point of view.
“Newton has an innate talent,” said Gibbons. “We’ve had some good players here over the years, plus the local players that we grew up with were great. The depth of your talent here at Newton is more than that. Excellent.”
Newton’s program has come a long way under Gibbons’ watch over the past four years.
First, he compiled an overall record of 76-36 and was 8-4 in the postseason. Gibbons was also named the 2022 Region 4-AAAAAAA Coach of the Year. He led the Rams to a Sweet Sixteen and Final Four, plus he has two Elite Eight appearances. One of which he was this past season.
Some of that “natural talent” includes five-star McDonald’s All-American Stephon Castle, four-star Indiana signatory Jakai Newton, and over who was a three-star player before entering OTE. He was a player like Time Elite star TJ Clark. alliance.
Gibbons described the opportunity to mentor such talent as “an amazing experience”.
“It was an absolute pleasure as a coach to be able to have that level of talent in our program,” Gibbons said. “It’s been a great ride for me.”
Another aspect of the modified Rams program is the level of competition.
Over the past four seasons, Newton has run a national schedule competing against some of the nation’s top-ranked high school programs.
Just this past season, Newton played at then-No. 1 Duncanville High School in Texas and then IMG Academy in the Hoop Hall Classic in Springfield, Massachusetts. The Rams also won the City of Palms Tournament in Fort Myers, Florida, defeating teams such as Charlotte and Tampa He Catholic, both based in Florida.
Not to mention last season when the Rams won the 2022 Sugar Bowl National Prep Classic Tournament Championship in Westwego, Louisiana.
In doing so, Gibbons believes he put Newton on the map.
“I think over the last four years, we’ve become one of the top programs in the state. I think,” Gibbons said. He said. “I am very proud of the way they have made Newton Basketball a household name on a national level.”
Newton performed this excellent schedule while playing against Grayson, Archer, and Parkview in Region 4-AAAAAAA.
By always trying to play at the highest level in his high school game, Gibbons is optimistic about the future of Rams basketball.
“We may not have the star power of Castle, Newton and TJ Clark, but I think we will have a really good team that can compete at the state and national level for years to come.And find the elusive championship. We will continue to be a team for,” Gibbons said.
Nonetheless, there is one aspect of the program that Gibbons has often shared as one of the reasons he came to Newton in the first place. it’s a fan.
And now that he’s leaving the Rams for Gainesville, Gibbons said he’ll miss the most support from Rams fans at his next destination.
“Whether it’s Tuesday night, Friday night or Saturday night, the crowd will be cramming the gym, making it a really hard place to play and a really fun place to play,” Gibbons said. “One of the things I miss is the packed crowds here at 1 Lam Way every night. It has got to be the best fan base in the state.”
