CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – The new West Creek boys’ basketball coach, Matthew Hardaway, has come back around to basketball, a sport he said “changed everything for me.”

“This opportunity means a lot to me,” Hardaway told Clarksville Now. “It’s something I’ve felt really strong about since graduating college. If you would have told me four to six years ago that I was going to be in this position, I wouldn’t have believed it.

“I wasn’t even coaching six years ago; I was working for Homeland Security,” he said.

The hiring of Hardway, an assistant coach at Montgomery Central, came after longtime boys’ basketball coach Russell Malone stepped down in March. Even with the coaching transition taking place over the off-season, Hardaway has high expectations for his team entering the 2023 season.

Getting a taste of coaching

Hardaway’s first coaching experience came during the summer of 2009 when he was home from college. His dad coached a grade-school team but couldn’t attend the practice because of work. Hardaway ended up going in place of his father and coaching the team for one night. He got to see the other side of basketball from the coach’s perspective. It inspired him and gave him an idea of what he wanted to do with his life.

Hardaway was a student-athlete at the time, playing college basketball for Vorhees University and then Fisk University.

When his playing career was cut short by a knee injury, he decided it was time for a fresh start. He ended up transferring to the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga, and served as an intern for the men’s basketball team. He was brought in by Chattanooga’s former head coach Will Wade, best known for his time spent at VCU and LSU.

Following graduation, Hardaway spent some time away from basketball and pursued other interests, including working for Homeland Security.

“I wasn’t happy with doing the same routine every day, and I felt like I wasn’t making a difference,” Hardaway said.

Back on the court

He returned to the sidelines, accepting an assistant coaching role at Montgomery Central High School and spending the past four years working under MCHS head coach Mike Brown.

“Coming back to basketball just changed everything for me. I knew I needed to be around here to make an impact, not just for myself but for the youth who’ve had similar experiences to my own – emotionally and psychologically through the sport,” he said.

Two years ago, while coaching at Central, he founded an AAU team known as the Clarksville Magic. He founded the team to help student-athletes develop during the off-season and to give back to the community. Since the program’s establishment, their roster has tripled in size, which led the organization to add another team to the program.

After being hired on at West Creek, Hardaway has stepped down as the Clarksville Magic head coach. Instead, he plans to help manage the program and give other up-and-coming coaches a chance.

West Creek boys’ basketball

Hardaway will now get a chance of his own to try new things with a team that finished 17-12 during the 2022-23 season.

“It’s important for these young high school athletes to know what they’re in for before transitioning into college. They need to know it’s not going to be just some easy path; it’s going to take a lot of hard work and mental stress,” he said. “I think I have a lot to offer these young men.”

West Creek had a number of playmakers on their roster, including two student-athletes selected to the Clarksville Now All Area team. Kameron Bowers was the only freshman to be named on the list.

Hardaway has expectations for the West Creek boys’ basketball team to compete right away. He doesn’t want to settle for appearances in district and regional tournaments, rather, he wants to compete for a chance to travel to Murfreesboro.