Rebounding is an essential individual skill in basketball, and it’s pretty important for a program as well. Following up a bad season with a good one and avoiding a downward spiral often separates the best teams from the merely mediocre ones.

The Vicksburg Missy Gators showed that this season as they reversed their fortunes and got back on track. After going 10-20 in the 2023-24 season, they finished 18-13 and reached the second round of the MHSAA Class 6A playoffs.

As the architect of that turnaround, Troy Stewart is The Vicksburg Post’s basketball Coach of the Year for the fourth time in the past six seasons.

“It’s a great honor. It’s a testament to the girls that are playing for me. It’s not necessarily my honor. I just appreciate them,” Stewart said.

The Missy Gators have reached at least the second round of the state tournament seven times in Stewart’s eight seasons as coach. The lone miss was in 2024, when he lost eight seniors and had to cobble together a lineup filled with young players and others playing out of position.

It turned into a one-year blip as they finished third in the regular season and second in the tournament in Region 2-6A in 2025, then beat Center Hill in the first round of the state tournament. The season ended with a second-round loss at Olive Branch.

Stewart said the consistency over time is something he’s more proud of than any of the year-to-year win totals.

“The fact that we’re always in the conversation as one of the better teams in our division means a lot as a coach and program because we’re trying to build a program here,” Stewart said. “I’ve had talent since I’ve been here, so it’s not just a testament to me. It’s a testament to the girls. They do everything. They buy in, and once they buy in we work hard enough that things fall in place. It’s a team accomplishment.”

The Missy Gators’ rebuilding process continued this year, but took a big step forward as some of the seeds planted in 2024 started to bear fruit.

Post player Cynia Johnson, a two-year starter, averaged 23 points, 18 rebounds and three blocks per game. Point guard Zion Harvey, who sat out last season after transferring from Warren Central, averaged 27 points and six assists. Johnson and Harvey shared The Post’s girls’ Player of the Year award.

Stewart said the way others, like juniors Jada Erwin and Jordan Grace, played supporting roles also made a big difference.

“The biggest thing was the buy-in from the rest of the team,” Stewart said. “The way they believed in Cynia and Zion made a real big difference. You had Jada (Erwin) and Jordan Grace making big shots and playing great defense. Then the rest of the team playing their role, it meant something.”

Stewart added that being ready to step up when it’s your time is a message he preaches often, and soon it will be up to the next generation of Missy Gators to take it to heart.

Three eighth-graders and a freshman saw significant playing time this season. It was not only a move to win now, but also for the next year or two.

Johnson and Harvey are both graduating after accounting for about 85 percent of the Missy Gators’ scoring this season. With the young core stepping into starting roles, Stewart said he’s excited to take on the challenge of making sure the program stays consistent.

“I’m more excited to be a coach for this team next year than I’ve ever had to be, simply because I know we’re going to have to work harder, be more prepared, do things in order,” Stewart said. “We’re going to have to be locked in from day one, and I’m going to find out if I’m actually the coach I am because it’s not about the talent that’s sitting in the room. It’ll be about me putting the talent on the floor together. It’s going to be different.”

Vicksburg Post Basketball Coaches of the Year
2025 – Troy Stewart, Vicksburg
2024 – Kelvin Carter, Vicksburg
2023 – Troy Stewart and Kelvin Carter, Vicksburg
2022 – Walter Hallberg, Porter’s Chapel
2021 – Troy Stewart, Vicksburg
2020 – Troy Stewart, Vicksburg
2019 – Eddie Pickle, St. Aloysius
2018 – Bruce Robinson, Warren Central
2017 – Jackie Glass, Warren Central
2016 – Jackie Glass, Warren Central
2015 – Jackie Glass, Warren Central
2014 – Dellie C. Robinson, Vicksburg
2013 – E.J. Creel, Porters Chapel
2012 – E.J. Creel, Porters Chapel
2011 – Dellie C. Robinson, Vicksburg
2010 – Jackie Martin-Glass, Warren Central
2009 – Dellie C. Robinson, Vicksburg
2008 – Dellie. C. Robinson, Vicksburg
2007 – Kyt Bonner, St. Aloysius; and Penn Majors, St. Aloysius
2006 – Donny Fuller, Warren Central; and Drew McBrayer, St. Aloysius
2005 – Donny Fuller, Warren Central; and Mike Grzanich, Porters Chapel
2004 – Donny Fuller, Warren Central; and Jesse Johnson, Warren Central
2003 – Donny Fuller, Warren Central; and Dellie C. Robinson, Vicksburg
2002 – Donny Fuller, Warren Central; and Dellie C. Robinson, Vicksburg
2001 – Mitchell Willis, Porters Chapel; and Dellie C. Robinson, Vicksburg
2000 – Mike Coleman, Vicksburg; and Dellie C. Robinson, Vicksburg
1999 – Debbie Carr, Porters Chapel; and Noah Hamilton, St. Aloysius
1998 – Debbie Carr, Porters Chapel; and John Duett, Warren Central
1997 – Doc Stephens, Vicksburg; and Kenny Bizot, Porters Chapel
1996 – Donny Fuller, Warren Central; and Dellie C. Robinson, Vicksburg
1995 – Donny Fuller, Warren Central; and Dellie C. Robinson, Vicksburg
1994 – Donny Fuller, Warren Central; and John Duett, Warren Central
Note: From 1994 to 2007 a separate girls and boys Coach of the Year was recognized. The award was consolidated to one Coach of the Year beginning in 2008.