The Dougherty County Board of Education voted Monday to hire Bakari Bryant, a head coach who is no stranger to championships, on as the new head boys basketball coach at Dougherty Comprehensive High School.

Bryant takes the helm of the Trojans Basketball Team having come from Berkmar High School in Lilburn, Ga., where he helped guide the Patriots to 19-9 record as an assistant coach. Prior to that role, Bryant was the head coach at Jenkins High School in Savannah, where he won a state title in 2015 and four consecutive region titles and two state runner-up appearances. Additionally, Bryant’s players maintained a 99% graduation rate while he was in charge of the program.

“I’m very excited to be a Trojan,” Bryant said. “Sometimes we have to make things fit our purpose but I believe that this opportunity was God’s purpose for me. For me personally, joining the team at Dougherty is a match made in Heaven.”

Bryant, who holds his undergraduate degree in Business Administration from the University of West Alabama and a graduate degree in Education from Cambridge College, said that while he’s excited to get to know the athletes at Dougherty, he’s also eager to get to know the staff and students at Albany Middle School -- Dougherty’s feeder.

“I can’t help but feel like this is where I’m supposed to be,” Bryant said. “I’m eager to get started working with the athletes, especially at Albany Middle. It’s great that we have the opportunity to build a program in a feeder school and really develop a pipeline of talent. This will be my first time having that opportunity.”