Blount High School has hired state championship coach Shumbe Hunter to lead its boys basketball program.

Principal Jerome Woods made the announcement Tuesday afternoon. Hunter replaces Kantonio Davis, who spent just one season at the school.

“We are excited to welcome coach Hunter to the Blount basketball family,” Woods told AL.com. “He is a proven winner, disciplinarian, state champion. I’ve watched him coach from afar. I’ve been on the other side of court and admired the tenacity his kids played and the aura he seemed to have in commanding the bench and the floor. Those are all things we covet here. I think he’s up to the challenge and will be a very welcome addition to some talented young men in our program.”

Hunter led Williamson to the Class 4A state title in 2020. During his tenure with the Lions, he also led the team to the Elite 8 in 2022 and won the area five out of six years.

He coached in the Alabama-Mississippi All-Star Game in 2021 and the North-South All-Star Game in 2022. Hunter also spent five years at Foley where he led the Lions to the Class 6A, Area 3 title in 2012 and coached the team to a 19-10 record in the first year of Class 7A competition.

Prior to his Alabama coaching experience, Hunter spent three years as an assistant coach at East Hall, Ga.

He released the following statement to the media after his hire at Blount.

“I am embracing another opportunity to add value from an overall perspective athletically but mostly adding value to lives I am about to come in contact with. What’s better than that?

Successful coaching and athletics as a whole begins and ends with building relationships. You have to connect — relate to today’s student-athletes along with the surroundings to build real equity in order to challenge them. This is a unique era we live in.

If you have followed me in this profession, it is known that I expect my student-athletes to compete at a high level in every facet and perform on a next level standard. That part will not change, and it is not much too much to ask.

My staff and I are blessed to have created cultures of success. Not just on the court but in the community, classrooms, hallways and every competitive arena we’ve stepped into.

Blount has a championship atmosphere. I love the energy that the student body brings which is only a reflection of a supportive faculty and staff. You don’t find that much these days, but it is here at Blount High School.

Both the academic and athletic support needed to continue excellence is right before me. With God’s grace and family support (wife and children), I am eager to be a part of all that it has to offer.

“I have much appreciation and respect for Principal Woods and his administrative staff. He has laid out a clear and concise vision which aligns with my own. It is a very important factor when competing at a high level. This layout can only lead to success.”