Howard College has hired John Ishee, III, former head women’s basketball coach at Pratt Community College, as the new Women’s Basketball Coach for the Hawks. Ishee will be on campus meeting with the team and will start his official duties on November 4, 2020.
The position was recently opened after the retirement of long-time Hawks coach, Earl Diddle.
“We are very excited to bring Coach Ishee to Howard College,” said Terry Hansen, Chief Athletics and Special Projects Director. “The experience he brings to the table will be invaluable for our program moving forward.”
Ishee comes to the Hawks after 3 years of success with Pratt Community College. Prior to that, he has coached at the high school, community college, and university level in Texas as well as New Mexico, Missouri, and Mississippi.
Most recently, he was a finalist for the 2020 Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) 2 year/community college national coach of the year while his team also pulled out a huge win over then #12 Seward County, breaking a 28 year and 53 game losing streak. As evidence of the focus on the student athlete, his 2020 team was 9th in the nation for WBCA team GPA with a 3.51.
“Although I have thoroughly enjoyed my time at Pratt, I am very excited about the challenge ahead and being a part of the Hawk Athletics program,” said Ishee. “Howard College has a great athletic tradition built by coaches Anna Smith, Royce Chadwick, Matt Corkery and Earl Diddle, just to name a few. I’m grateful to Dr. Sparks, Mr. Hansen, and Mr. Yeater for the opportunity to step in line and contribute to the tradition of excellence.”
Coach Ishee received his Bachelor of Science degree and a Master of Education degree from the University of Southern Mississippi. He has accumulated numerous awards and honors throughout his basketball career of 35 years.
“I’m anxious to meet this group of young women that will be representing Howard College. We know we have our work cut out for us as the WJCAC conference is historically one of the best, but I’m ready to get to work,” stated Ishee. “I look forward to working with assistant coach Meesha Wade and appreciate everything she has done in recruiting and keeping the team moving forward in preparation for the upcoming season.”