Lady Pirates before getting a bit closer to home in 2009 when he joined Chapel Hill . He coached the Lady Bulldogs , wearing his beloved blue and gold , through the 2020 season when BHS had an opening following the departure of Tony Wood .
Durham always wanted to come back home to Brownsboro . He wanted to be back in a tradition-rich atmosphere , and have a community that has always been supportive of basketball .
“ I just know how much this community has meant to my family my entire life ,” he said . “ Even when we were living in other places , holidays were always spent bringing my kids home to Brownsboro to see my parents . It ’ s just always been home .”
As he made his way from the metroplex back to East Texas , it was former Bearette coach Fred Griffin that played a role in Durham ’ s successful journey home .
“ I ’ ll never be able to repay him for what he ’ s done for me , and for being the mentor in my career ,” Durham said .
Durham guided the Bearettes to a district championship and the Region II tournament in his first year at BHS , before accomplishing two feats never before seen in Brownsboro this year .
First , he guided the Bearettes past the opening round of the state tournament . Brownsboro had advanced to the state tournament six times before , but never made
Durham , junior , 1988 it past the first round .
While that was an accomplishment on its own , the team took it one step further this season – causing Durham to pause and reflect a little more .
“ I walked into an unbelievable situation with very special kids , whose parents worked very hard to put them in positions to be successful ,” he said a being a little chocked up . “ I walked into a program with a very rich-tradition , and those things came together at a perfect time and in a perfect way . I ’ ve had two different assistants in my two years here that brought a lot to the table , and they are great coaches . Both Bret Botard , and Emily Breedlove have played a huge part in this . I ’ m very proud of what we ’ ve done .”
What people may not realize is how much Brownsboro means to Durham , and how much he loves the community .
Photo by Chad Wilson
Not only did the Bearettes and head coach Jeremy Durham face unchartered territory by playing in the Class 4A state championship game , they also faced media timeouts for the first time . With the game being carried live in Bally Sports , there were several extra stoppages in play that gave the team a chance to regroup and prepare for Hardin-Jefferson .
“ Outside of my faith and my family , coaching is the most important thing to me , it is an honor to me ,” he said . “ Being able to do what I love , at the place I love the most , is pretty wonderful .”
Not only does this community mean a lot to him , but so do his players . Durham doesn ’ t just prioritize his players on the court , but within their lives as well . He cares about his players as if they were his own daughters , and tries to be a great father-like role model in every player ’ s life .
“ My players have always meant a lot to me ,” he said . “ One of the coolest things that has happened in our run this year is all of the former players that have reached out to me , and all the conversations that ’ s led to . When you have a group of kids who give you a gift like this season , really both these past seasons here , then that ’ s obviously going to be another level of special . This group is probably the easiest group of kids I ’ ve ever had to coach , and so it ’ s not a surprise what they ’ ve done . I believe they are capable of doing anything they want individually , and certainly together they can do anything . We just proved that .”
Durham plans on the Bearettes being able to accomplish winning even more state championships . With a basketball town like Brownsboro and now a group of young girls getting to experience this celebration , he believes it will inspire future Bearettes to strive for the same goal .
“ I think that the trail to winning state championships in Brownsboro has just been blazed by this group , and I think we could do it again ,” he said .
Former players and coaching friends and mentors reached out to Durham congratulating him on his success this season , including his mentor Fred Griffin .
“ He ’ s told me that he ’ s proud of us , and what we ’ ve gotten done ,” Durham said . “ If you know him , I don ’ t think he lies very much .”
Durham is not only proud of his team , but is proud of being from Brownsboro . He has mentioned multiple times that Brownsboro was his home , and that , “ there ’ s nowhere I ’ d rather be than right here .”
He is now not only a Brownsboro alumni , but will forever be known as the first coach to ever bring his hometown a Bearette state championship .
Photo by Chad Wilson
Durham was able to celebrate the state championship with his daughter Kinsey who was courtside as a Brownsboro Student Media photographer .
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