ALTON - Eric McCrary, a former player and coach at Belleville East High School, has been appointed as the new head boys basketball coach at Alton High School, it was announced in a press release on Tuesday.
McCrary is a graduate of Belleville East, Southeast Missouri State University in Cape Girardeau and Missouri Baptist University in West St. Louis County, and is replacing Dana Morgan, who stepped down after two seasons as head coach of the Redbirds.
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"We had some excellent candidates," said Alton High athletic director Chris Kusnerick in the press release that announced the appointment of McCrary, "and we feel the background Eric can bring to the table with his experience as a player and coach in the Southwestern Conference, as well as his extensive college coaching experience, really stood out."
McCrary played for his father, Doug McCrary, at East, where he led the Lancers in his senior year in 2006 to an IHSA Class AA regional championship and a berth in the sectional final. losing to East St. Louis at the Collinsville sectional 65-58 to finish 21-9 that season. McCrary averaged 11.3 points and 7.3 rebounds per game. After high school, he played for both Mineral Area College in Park Hills, Mo. and SEMO before going into coaching.
He served as an assistant coach at Southwestern Illinois College in Belleville, Moberly Area Community College in Moberly, Mo. and at Mineral Area before returning to East, where he served as varsity assistant coach to head coach Jeff Creek before being hired as the new Alton coach.
He also has an extensive playing and coaching background in the Bradley Beal Elite AAU basketball program in St. Louis.
"We are very excited to have coach McCrary work with out student-athletes this summer." Kusnerick said in the release, "and look forward to seeing Redbird basketball this winter under his direction."
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