Former Tennessee guard Jon Higgins hired as Farragut boys basketball coach

Farragut High School hired former Tennessee guard Jon Higgins as its new boys basketball coach on Thursday.

“After he interviewed with the committee, it was unanimous,” Farragut athletic director Donald Dodgen said. “His energy, his knowledge of the sport and the way he communicates — he has that winning attitude — were very impressive. I’m very impressed with his philosophies, both offensively and defensively, and his academic background (as a teacher), too.”

Higgins takes over the Admirals after spending the past five seasons as the coach at Central. Over that span, the Bobcats went 53-102, but did post a 21-12 record with a Region 2-AAA semifinal appearance in 2015-16. Before taking over at Central, Higgins was an assistant under Jody Wright at Fulton.

Higgins replaces Chris Cool, who stepped down after coaching the Admirals for seven years on March 22. During Cool’s tenure, Farragut went 100-104 and made four region tournament appearances.

The Shaker Heights, Ohio, native ranks among UT’s all-time leaders in career 3-point percentage (fifth, 39.8 percent), 3-pointers made (fourth, 209), 3-point attempts (fifth, 525), assists (eighth, 352), steals (ninth, 130), games started (third, 122) and games played (eighth, 124). He played for the Vols from 1999-2003.