MORGAN COUNTY
A few weeks ago, former Morgan County head basketball coach Charlemagne Gibbons inked a deal with Gainesville High School to become the new face of the Red Elephants’ program.
Gibbons, who was with the Bulldogs from 2006-2014, coached the boys' program at Morgan for all eight years while helping coach the girls' basketball program for four of those years.
It was at Morgan County that Gibbons started to become recognized for his winning culture.
At the start, his teams produced a couple of winning seasons, but as Gibbons started to develop as a coach, Morgan County started to win games. The Bulldogs won three straight region championships from 2011-2014 and won the GHSA Class 3A state championship in Gibbons’ last season with the team.
As the head of the boys’ squad, Gibbons earned Region 8-3A Coach of the Year honors twice in 2012 and 2013 before being named State Coach of the Year by the Georgia Athletic Coaches Association and the AJC in 2014.
As the head coach of the Lady Bulldogs, Gibbons took the team to two state quarterfinal games which came during the 2012 and 2014 seasons.
Not only is winning part of Gibbons’ repertoire, but he also does a great job at developing talent. He coached 15 total All-Region athletes between both Bulldog programs, and 12 of those players went on to be recognized at the state level as well.
Morgan County isn’t the only place Gibbons has coached at. He recently had a four-year stint at Newton County High School in Covington, GA in which he led the Rams to two state quarterfinal games and one state semifinal game back in 2020. That deep playoff run earned him Region 4-7A Coach of the Year as well.
Gibbons also comes in with experience coaching at the next level after spending time on the Florida Atlantic University basketball staff prior to coaching at Newton County.
In an interview with the Gainesville Times, Gibbons acknowledged that he’s ready for the challenge and excited to get started.
“I’m super excited to be joining the Gainesville family. The vision that Dr. Williams, Mr. Green, and athletic director Adam Lindsey have for the program is outstanding,” Gibbons said. “They have a true vision for Gainesville athletics to become one of the top programs in the state. I look forward to the challenge and feel my experience and past success will be a great complement to the already-outstanding things that are taking place in Red Elephant Nation.”