August 16, 2019 - Leading the Panola College Women’s Basketball team for the 2019-2020 season will be Alex Furr, the 2018 Women’s Basketball Coaches Association Assistant Coach of the Year. Furr, an East Texas native, has spent the past four years at New Mexico Junior College, working as assistant coach and recruiting coordinator.
A 2010 graduate of Athens High School, Furr earned her bachelor of science degree from Fresno State University in Fresno, Calif., in 2014, and her master of science in sports psychology from Fresno State in 2016.
During her time at Fresno State, Furr played for three head coaches, earning the coveted Iron Bulldog Award for the Fresno State Strength and Conditioning Program. She also won the Paul Schechter Courage Award, presented annually to student-athletes who have overcome a physical challenge to become a champion. While at Fresno State, she earned a spot in the Top 10 All-Time in “three pointers made” and “career free throws percentage.”
Furr comes to Panola from New Mexico Junior College where she worked with the #1 Pre-Season NCJAA team in the nation. The team had the best finish in school history, as national runner up to the NJCAA tournament.
While playing at Athens High School, Furr was named the 2010 Texas Association of Basketball Coaches “Miss Texas” award, earned all-state recognition three years in a row, recorded 3.169 career points, made 337 total three-pointers, averaged 36 PPG as a senior player; averaged 25.7 PPG over her career; scored more than 40 points in 29 games, scored more than 50 points four times, and had a career high of 54 points in one game.
At New Mexico Junior College, Furr adjusted her approach from player to coach, sharing her knowledge and experience with her players. “There is no doubt in my mind that I have found what I have been waiting for,” she said, when discussing her decision to take on the head coaching position at Panola College.
Don Clinton, Athletic Director and Vice President of Student Services, said he is excited to have Coach Furr join the Panola College coaching staff.
“She has an incredible basketball pedigree with her dad being a highly successful JUCO coach at TVCC,” Clinton said. “She has grown up in the gym and has excelled as a player and a young coach. She has been deemed as one of the rising coaching stars in the country and was voted assistant coach of the year. She has only been coaching three years in college and has been around success continuously. We are excited for the energy and all of what she will bring to the program.”
