The new boys basketball coach at Kemper County High School called the Wildcats “a dream job.”

Daryl Osby, a Meridian native, was hired to replace John Darnell, who left after three years to become basketball coach at Lake High School.

“I always thought it (Kemper County High School) was the perfect place for athletes,” said Osby, who had wanted to return to Mississippi. “It is a basketball community. It’s a job I always kept my eye on. When I found out the job was open, it was an opportunity I had to take.”

The Kemper County School Board has also approved the hiring of Ronnie Slaughter as the new girls basketball coach and volleyball coach and Maurice Naylor as the new athletic coordinator. Slaughter had been coaching in Alabama. He replaces Jennie Vance, who left for a position at Moss Point. 

A school spokesman said the high school would host receptions to introduce the new coaches.

Osby graduated from Meridian High School before attending Meridian Community College and then Texas College in Tyler, where he received a degree in biology. He has also done graduate work at Mississippi State.

Since 1999, Osby has split his time between Mississippi and Texas. He coached in the Dallas-Fort Worth area from 1999 until 2004, was an assistant coach at West Lauderdale from 2004-14 and spent the last three years as head basketball coach and athletic director at Alpha Charter School in Garland, Texas.

While Osby was an assistant at West Lauderdale, his son Romero was an All-State player at Northeast Lauderdale. Romero later played at Mississippi Stats and Oklahoma and briefly with the Orlando Magic in the NBA.

Kemper County won the MHSAA 3A state title in 2016 and reached the quarterfinals this year before losing 44-40 to Velma Jackson, which went on to win 3A. The Wildcats finished 19-11.

Osby described his coaching style as “versatile.” 

“First of all you have to have discipline,” he said. “Second of all, I’m the type of coach who will adapt to the situation. I’m not going to say I’m a zone coach or an offensive coach or a defensive coach. We’re going to adapt to any situation.”

Osby will teach physical science at Kemper County.