Houston boys’ basketball coach Wayne Jessen turned in his letter of resignation this morning after one year with the Tigers, athletic director Chris Edwards confirmed Thursday afternoon.
Jessen has accepted the boys’ basketball job at Van Buren High School. Houston’s opening has been posted online.
Houston made major strides under Jessen, who had taken one year off from basketball after spending one year at Fordland and the previous 11 seasons at Conway. The Tigers, who were 6-18 the previous year and 14-35 overall under coach Aaron Griffin, spent most of the season above .500 before finishing 11-14.
Despite missing leading scorer Michael Buckner, the Tigers led most of their Class 3 District 10 opener against Mountain View-Liberty before losing 56-51.
“I’ve had teams with better records that I didn’t like being around,” Jessen said in February when the season ended. “This season was more enjoyable because they worked hard. They were fun to coach.”
Houston hasn’t won a conference title since 1989 in boys’ basketball. The last district championship came in 1984.