Golden ready to bring his brand of basketball to Hartselle
For the Enquirer
Josh Golden said it was too good an opportunity to turn down.
Golden has spent the last eight years as the head basketball coach at Mortimer Jordan High School. However, when former Hartselle coach Faron Key left to take the head job at Wallace State, Golden said the Hartselle job piqued his interest.
“There were a lot of things that were intriguing. Hartselle has such a strong reputation, not just with athletics, but as a school,” Golden said. “It’s one of the better schools, and went I started talking to (Hartselle Principal) Dr. (Brad) Cooper and (Hartselle Athletic Director) Jake Miles, it became evident that this was a great place to coach and to raise a family.” Golden is the new Hartselle basketball coach in a move that was made official last month. He has had stints at Mortimer Jordan, Thompson (girl’s coach) and Sylacauga and holds a career record of 377246. He led Sylacauaga to the Final Four in 2011 and also won two AISA state championships as the head coach of Tuscaloosa Academy.
Golden takes over for Key, who left Hartselle has the school’s all-time winningest coach.
“Faron was very successful here and turned this into a strong program,” Golden said. “We actually defeated Hartselle last season when I was at Jordan, and I probably got more texts after that game than any other game in my time there. That just shows you the type of program he made Hartselle into.” Now as Golden takes over the program, he admits he’s getting a late start and is still unsure what the team will look like this season. He does know how his team will play, though, as he introduces himself to community that might not be familiar with him as a coach.
“Thankfully all the assistant coaches here have been doing a great job of getting the guys good work this summer, but it’s a little early, and we’re still trying to decode what we’re going to look like on both offense and defense,” Golden said. “Some non-negotiables for my team though is when we’re on the floor, we’re playing as hard as possible, and when we’re not, we still have high energy. Keeping good energy is something I’m really big on.” While Key turned Hartselle into a 6A contender, the Tigers did struggle to reach the regional tournament at Wallace State. Playing in Class 6A, Hartselle was dealt some tough matchups and reached the regional tournament only once under Key. Golden hopes he can take the foundation Key has left and use it to help the program take the next step.
“They had some really tough draws, and had to play the No. 1 team multiple times,” Golden said. “Unfortunately, luck of the draw is just part of it. But our goal each year is going to be to get to Birmingham (home of the Final Four), because once you’re there, anybody can win.” Golden said he’s excited to get this season started and excited to show the Hartselle community what his brand of basketball will be like.
“We’re going to play a fun brand of basketball, but a brand of basketball that the people in Hartselle will be proud of.”
