Philip Ledford coaches the JV Wildcats to a win over Sanderson in January of 2016. Millbrook won the JV Conference Championship in his final season on the bench.
Junior Varsity Head Coach, Philip Ledford has stepped down from the position to spend more time with his family. Ledford’s tenure with the Millbrook Basketball program comes to an end after 15 years at the Freshman, Junior Varsity, and Varsity levels. Varsity Associate Head Coach, Chris Davis will take over the Junior Varsity head coaching position for the 2016-17 season.
“Coach Led” started in the early 2000’s as a volunteer assistant coach with Varsity and in his first three seasons, the Wildcats were able to set a then program record 26 wins in a season. Millbrook made it to the regional playoffs five times while Ledford assisted with Varsity, and after helping guide the team to their only State Championship appearance in 2010-11, he took the position of Head Coach with the newly formed Freshman Team in 2011-12.
Under Ledford’s guidance, the Freshman Wildcats went 21-2 in his two seasons on the bench. Through his twelve years with the Freshman, and Varsity programs, Ledford also served as an assistant coach on JV. He was named the Head Coach of the JV team in 2013-14, and in his third and final season this past year, he guided Millbrook to another Junior Varsity Conference Championship, and their second straight appearance in the Athens Drive Junior Varsity Holiday Tournament Championship.
The Millbrook Freshman team program produced two varsity players in Ledford’s tenure, and both were able to transition from the Freshman team to Junior Varsity with Ledford in 2013-14. “Coach Led cared for all of us, and he would constantly check up on how we were doing in the classroom” says one of those players in Seve Williams, who now attends the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The other, John Burwell played two years under Ledford, and has since moved on to play collegiate basketball at William Peace University, “Led was tough on me, and he believed in me. I became physically and mentally tougher thanks to him when I made the jump to Varsity” said Burwell.
"I still remember the "Mr. Clean" Coach Led from back in the day" jokes Jarrick Brown, a member of the Class of 2010 who went on to play collegiately at Lenoir Rhyne after playing for Ledford on JV and Varsity while he was an assistant coach. After graduating from Lenoir Rhyne, Brown joined Ledford’s coaching staff as a volunteer assistant in 2015-16. "Being able to be on the sidelines with him for another season, and win another championship was a blessing. It's good to know that he was there to push me to be better through the sweat, tears, wins, losses, and most importantly the championships as a player, and a coach".
Varsity Associate Head Coach, Chris Davis will take over the Junior Varsity team in 2016-17, he coached the JV Wildcats from 2001-2013, and with Philip Ledford as an assistant, Millbrook won nine JV conference championships in that span. Davis brings nineteen years of coaching experience at Millbrook and Leesville Road back to the JV bench. In his sixteen years with the Wildcats, the Varsity program has won ten conference championships, and they have appeared in the regional playoffs eight times. Davis served as an assistant coach in 2012 Jordan Brand All-Star Classic, and he currently coaches the WCBA 17U Elite Blue team in the AAU circuit.
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The Millbrook Basketball program begins their 83rd season of action with tryouts on October 31st. The Wildcats kick off their season on November 15th when the Freshman and Junior Varsity teams travel to Knightdale; Varsity starts their season hosting the Knights in the Inaugural HighSchoolOT.com Triangle Tip-Off at Millbrook on November 17th.