After two years, Junior Tucker is coming out of retirement and returning to Walker Valley High School.
The veteran coach succeeds Jessica Stone, who resigned her coaching position but will remain on the faculty as part of the Mustangs' health and wellness department.
"I guess he got tired of all the golf and fishing," Walker Valley athletic director Mike Turner said. "He decided he wanted to get back into [coaching]. Coach Stone left after last season, he applied and the rest is history."
Tucker spent a decade as an assistant to his brother David, who was the original Lady Mustangs coach until deciding to take a boys' basketball position three years ago at Union County in Blairsville, Ga. Junior stayed one more year as an assistant with Stone to Jan Spangler before retiring.
"I'm excited," Walker Valley principal Danny Coggin said. "I'll tell you what, Junior Tucker brings experience and a vast amount of knowledge. He is one of the most credible people I know and not just in basketball but as a person. We're excited he's going to be a part of this program."
Stone and her husband, Polk County assistant Adam Stone, have a young son and she decided she wanted to devote more time to her family.
"She's a wonderful lady and her reason for not coaching is one of the most admirable I've ever heard. She wants to be a mom. I'm excited for her," Coggin said.
Contact Ward Gossett at wgossett@timesfreepress.com or 423-886-4765. Follow him at Twitter.com/wardgossett.