Former Russellville High Schoold basketball coach for Russellville Dennis Pardue made news this week when he announced that he had accepted the head coaching job at Garrard County.

Despite resigning from his previous job just a few weeks earlier, Pardue had some time to miss the sport he loved.

“It didn’t take me long to realize I didn’t want to step away from the game,” Pardue said. “It’s a great opportunity in a great part of the state for me to make this move. I love the game, and I’m as excited as the first time I started coaching. I still love spending time in the gym and I love spending time with the kid.”

The Garrard County Golden Lions have been through numerous coaches throughout the last few seasons. With all the turnover at the coaching position at Garrard, it might have scared numerous candidates away, but Pardue is confident that he can stabilize the head coaching position.

“If my family is going to move up there, we’re not going to move there for a year or two, we’re moving for the duration and I think that was one selling point that I was sincere about that,” coach Pardue said. “I got about six or seven good years left, if me and my family continues to stay healthy, maybe 10 or 12 years but I was sincere about what I told them.”

Garrard County resides in District 45 and the 12th Region and unlike Region 4 it appears to be a very wide open region and district. The past few years the Region has been dominated by Bowling Green and Warren Central but in Region 12 there have been four different region winners in the past five seasons. In the district there have been three different winners in the past five years. With the turmoil the Golden Lions have had an overall record of 62-83 but in the 2008/2009 season they had their best success with a 20-9 overall record before being upset in the second round of the district tournament.

In coach Pardue the Golden Lions will be getting a coach who not only competed but had a good amount of success in one of the tougher regions in the state. Pardue held a 247-146 record between Russellville and Todd County and grabbed six district titles. His most recent year at Russellville he guided the young but talented Panthers to an upset win over cross town rivals in the district championship game before falling to eventual region runner-up in the Region 4 tournament.

With rumors swirling all over Logan County that coach Pardue would step in and fill the vacant Cougars position coach Pardue got an offer from Garrard he just couldn’t refuse.

“A really good friend of mine grew up there, played there and coached there, and he always bragged on the community there, and I was always interested in them,” coach Pardue said. “They are very big into basketball, really closed to Lexington so you can understand the proximity to good basketball there. It’s just a good opportunity that my family is looking forward to, and I can’t wait to get up there and get started.”

When asked about Logan County coach Pardue was very interested in keeping the story about Garrard County.

“I want it to be about me taking the job at Garrard County, it really has nothing to do with Logan County high school and their personnel search,” coach Pardue said. “I’m going to refrain from answering any questions on Logan County high school, and let’s just stick with the point about this opportunity for myself and my family.”

Coach Pardue will look to try and bring the Golden Lions the same type of success who found while he lived in this part of the state. It all starts this upcoming winter season and Coach Pardue is chomping at the bit to get back into the swing of coaching.