Ohatchee, AL – Hutchison will bring experiences as part of five state-championship teams to new job as Ohatchee’s head boys’ basketball coach.
By Joe Medley
Quintarius Hutchison learned a lot playing under Schuessler Ware and coaching under Ralpheal Graves.
Now, as Ohatchee’s new head boys’ basketball coach, the 32-year-old Hutchison will get to mesh all of that with what he sees as a special kind of athlete.
“We’ve got kids that are athletes,” he said. “Half of winning basketball games is being an athlete. We’ve got kids that can run and can jump.
“We just have to push basketball into them.”
Hutchison was approved at Tuesday’s meeting of the Calhoun County Board of Education. He’ll replace Kyle Wilson, who took a teaching and coaching position at Sardis after one year at Ohatchee.
Hutchion comes with a winning pedigree. He started on two Final Four teams at Anniston, including the 2009 state championship team.
He served as an assistant under Ralpheal Graves at Sacred Heart, helping the Cardinals win four state titles and post a runner-up finish in six Final Four appearances.
He started working at Ohatchee in the 2023-24 school year, serving as an assistant coach in football and coaching the junior-high girls’ basketball team. He’ll continue to be part of Chris Findley’s football staff.
All he knows is winning, and he learned under Ware, the long-time Anniston coach and member of Alabama High School sports hall of game and Calhoun County Sports Hall of Fame.
Hutchison said he learned “a lot” from Ware.
“Playing for Coach Ware, you really don’t understand what he’s taking you through until you’re done with it,” Hutchison said. “Coach Ware teaches you how to win. …
“Coach Ware is the ultimate winner.”
Hutchison said he learned all about the dive into details with “my guy Ralph,” now entering his second year as Gadsden City’s head coach.
“Ralph teaches you about preparation,” Hutchison said. “You’ll never go into a game with Ralph unprepared. He’ll do his work, no matter what, when it comes to scouting games.
“He can give you a whole scouting report on every player on the team.”
Hutchison will put that to work with a team whose returnees include All-Calhoun County players Alston Carroll, Colby Hester and Jake Roberson. Hutchison said he expects two transfers to help, though he declined to name them.
“I’m not saying they’re awful basketball players, but you can tell that other sports have been pushed more than basketball,” Hutchison said. “We’re trying to get it where we’re not just only a football school, where we can be an all-around sports school.
“Right now, baseball is going to be pretty good. Football is going to be amazing. If we can get basketball rolling, Ohatchee will be back on top. We should have a really good season.”
