Published: June 11, 2008 12:43 am            

Estelle named Navarro head basketball coach

With the Lewis Orr era at an end, a new era has begun for the Navarro College men’s basketball program.

Navarro president Dr. Richard Sanchez named assistant coach Johnny Estelle as the new head basketball coach Tuesday.

“I am very grateful for this opportunity,” Estelle said. “I want to thank Dr. Sanchez and Roark Montgomery for believing in me and I really appreciate that they chose me.”

With several candidates interested in the position after the retirement of Orr following the end of the 2008 season, Navarro Athletic Director Roark Montgomery said he felt Estelle was the best person for the job.

“We had a number of good applicants,” Montgomery said. “The advantage with Johnny is that I have been able to see how well he deals with the kids the past few years and I know how good his ethics are.”

Prior to his past eight seasons as an assistant coach at Navarro, Estelle was an assistant coach at Northland Pioneer College and played his college basketball at Texas A&M Kingsville.

Estelle admits that filling the shoes of Orr will be no easy task. After 32 years of coaching at Navarro, Orr retired ranked sixth among active junior college basketball coaches with 678 career wins.

“I have had the greatest assistant coaching job in the world with coach Orr,” Estelle said. “He has always been there for me and I am eager to carry on his legacy.”

Montgomery, however, said he is confident that Estelle can carry over the success that Orr had during his tenure at Navarro.

“I don’t expect (Estelle) to copy what Orr did,” he said. “I think he can take what he has learned over the past years and put his on stamp on the program.”

After a last second shot came up short in a heartbreaking loss to San Jacinto College in the Region XIV Tournament finals this season, Estelle said he has his eyes on getting the Bulldogs back to the region tournament.

“We came up three points short of winning the region tournament the past two years,” he said. “I think the team has a talented foundation right now and I hope we can get back to the championship and win it.”

        

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