WALLACE STATE LIONS - MEN

MEET THE COACHING STAFF - MENS BASKETBALL

Head Coach Allen Sharpe

256.352.8365, allen.sharpe@wallacestate.edu

Allen Sharpe enters the second season of his second stint as Wallace State’s men’s basketball’s head coach. Sharpe returned to Wallace State during the COVID19-shortened 2020-2021 season, guiding the men to the Alabama Community College Conference (ACCC) quarterfinals. It marked the 9th postseason appearance in 11 years for the Wallace State men.

Sharpe enters the 2021-2022 season only five career wins shy of 400. He’s recorded a 395-180 career record in 19 seasons, spanning four stops.

Sharpe previously coached at Wallace State from 2005-2010, compiling a 136-30 record with the Lions and leading the program to its first ever ACCC/Region 22 Tournament championship in 2010. Sharpe also led Wallace State to its only No. 1 national ranking in 2008, a campaign that began 30-0. In seven seasons overall at Wallace State, Sharpe’s record is 147-42.

Sharpe inherited the head spot at the University of Arkansas-Monticello after his first stint in Hanceville. He coached the Boll Weevils for four seasons, becoming the only coach in program history to have four consecutive winning seasons, compiling a 70-42 record. Sharpe returned to the state in 2014 as the University of West Alabama’s head coach. He spent six seasons with the Tigers, finishing his tenure there with a 108-71 record. He was named the 2019 Gulf South Conference Coach of the Year when the Tigers registered the program’s first NJCAA Division II tournament win since 1982.

Sharpe’s head coaching career began at Truett-McConnell College in Georgia. Sharpe played collegiately at Lipscomb University in Nashville, Tenn, scoring 1,431 points under legendary coach Don Meyer. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Lipscomb and a master’s degree from Piedmont College. He and his wife, Susan, have three kids, Garrison, Ally and Anderson.

Assistant Coach Cameron Prather

cameron.prather@wallacestate.edu

Cameron Prather enters his second season as a Wallace State assistant coach. Prather previously coached at Athens Prep Academy in Tennessee, where he served as an assistant.

Prather, who graduated from Whites Creek High (Tenn.), played collegiately at Cumberland University in Lebanon, Tenn., from 2011-2015. As a point guard, Prather was a three-time Mid-South Conference Scholar-Athlete with the Phoenix. At Cumberland, Prather earned his bachelor’s in Health and Human Performance with an emphasis in sports management and his MBA. He served as a graduate assistant there for three seasons before moving on to Athens Prep.

Assistant Coach Cory Cooperwood

256.352.8451, cory.cooperwood@wallacestate.edu

Cory Cooperwood, the first two-time NJCAA Division I 1st-team All-American in Wallace State men’s basketball history, enters his second season as an assistant coach with the Lions.

After carving out a stellar career at Wallace State, Cooperwood transferred to Wright State in Dayton, Ohio, where he was a significant contributor for two seasons. He earned a bachelor’s degree in Organizational Leadership from Wright State. Cooperwood, also the first WSCC athlete to earn the ASWA Community College Athlete of the Year (2007), played professional basketball in Australia, Germany and Finland.

Before returning to Hanceville, Cooperwood spent one season as a volunteer coach at Harding University in Arkansas.

Women’s Basketball Program Highlights

• 6 Alabama Community College Conference Championships

• 6 appearances at NJCAA Division I National Tournament, including earning a berth in 2020

• Receives annual individual and team NJCAA

All-Academic recognition

• 2019-2020 sophomore Imari Martin became 1st player in program history to be named a NJCAA 1st-team All-American

• 100+ alums who have transferred to Division I programs

• Multiple ACCC Coach of the Year recognitions

• Team earned the Alberta Lee Cox Sportsmanship Award at the 2015 NJCAA Tournament

State Cheerleading Highlights

• 2 UCA National Championships (2004, 2006)

• Multiple Top 5 National Competition finishes

• Scores of cheerleaders have gone on to cheer for Division I programs across the country

Men’s Basketball Program Highlights

• 3 Alabama Community College Conference Championships (all since 2010)

• 3 NJCAA Division I National Tournament appearances (all since 2010)

• Earned No. 1 NJCAA ranking in 2008

• Consistently among the top academic basketball teams across the NJCAA ranks, including being named national Academic Team of the Year in 2018-2019

• 15 consecutive years a Lions basketball player has signed with a Division I program

• 3 NJCAA 1st-team All-Americans (Cory Cooperwood and L.A. Farmer, both named twice, and Demarkus Lampley)

• 2 Alabama Sports Writers Association (ASWA) Community College Athletes of the Year (Cooperwood and Lampley)