Randall Ginn has been named Bogalusa’s boys basketball coach.
“I was trying to further my own career at Hahnville,” Ginn said. “While at Hahnville, I got word that my dad was ill. When (Bogalusa City Schools Superintendent) Mrs. (Lisa) Tanner called, I felt like I needed to come home and be in the area for my dad. Anytime your previous boss calls, you listen because that means you did something right the first time.”
Ginn worked under Tanner at Franklinton High School when she was the principal there.
Ginn brings nearly a decade and a half of head-coaching experience to the sideline. He was the head coach at Covington from 2000-04, and followed that with a two-year stint at Slidell as an assistant coach under Rick Spring.
Ginn, who was born in Bogalusa, then spent 10 seasons at Franklinton High School. Ginn, a 1984 Franklinton High School graduate, went 164-119 (for a 57.9 winning percentage) at his alma mater.
Ginn’s 2015-16 Demons were co-District 8-4A champions with Salmen. That year, Franklinton defeated Salmen and it was the Spartans’ first district loss since the 2007-08 season.
For his head-coaching career, Ginn has a 212-177 (.544) career record.
Ginn spent last season as an associate head coach under Spring at Hahnville.
Ginn said he’s excited about the Bogalusa job.
“I enjoyed co-coaching with Spring, but when you’re my age you always enjoy coaching your own program,” Ginn said. “We called ourselves the two-headed monster. If I wanted to put in a certain defense down there, I could, but it was still his program.”
Ginn said he’s looking forward to working and helping in the community.
“Kids have been great. The kids are excited,” he said. “We’re going to continue the winning tradition and try to get a little deeper in the playoffs. Daily, we’re going to work on making a good first impression on everybody we touch. We need to ambassadors and salesmen not only for our basketball program, but for our school and our community.”
Besides basketball, Ginn will also be coaching the defensive linemen and linebackers in football.
Ginn replaces Ken Matthews, who spent two seasons as the team’s head basketball coach. Matthews posted a 33-22 record (.600) at Bogalusa. The Lumberjacks won the 2015-16 District 7-3A title and the team reached the first round of the Class 3A state playoffs both seasons.
Bogalusa athletic director Michael Cummings praised both Matthews and Ginn.
“Coach Matthews did a real good job. With coach Ginn, we’re bringing in someone new. He did a phenomenal job of coaching the d-line at Franklinton,” Cummings said. “He’s a great motivator and the kids buy into his system. We get two good coaches in one. We get a really good assistant football coach and a talented head basketball coach.”