One of the last remaining coaching vacancies in Division I basketball has been filled, and Mississippi Valley State hired from the inside.
Chico Potts, who served for four years as an assistant on the Delta Devil staff, has been promoted to head coach and has signed a multi-year deal, the school announced Tuesday.
“He presented himself well during the interview process,” said MVSU interim director of athletics Donald Sims in a statement. “He also has a plan for our men’s basketball program for them to excel academically and athletically, which is very important.”
Potts takes over for Sean Woods, who took the head-coaching job at Morehead State last month after four years with the program.
Potts played collegiately at LSU and Delta State, then moved on to become a graduate assistant at DSU. He coached at the high school level before taking an assistant job at Delta State from 2006-08.
Mississippi Valley State finished 17-1 in the SWAC this past season, securing a berth in the NCAA tournament, where they were eliminated by Western Kentucky in the First Four games in Dayton.
The Delta Devils have one player signed from the Class of 2012, forward Ruston Hayward, but will need to compensate for the loss of leading scorer and rebounder Paul Crosby, who has graduated.
Daniel Martin is a writer and editor at JohnnyJungle.com, covering St. John’s. You can find him on Twitter:@DanielJMartin_