FORT SMITH -- Robert Brunk believed the Fort Smith Southside's girls basketball coaching position was a "destination job." When the job opened this spring, he could not pass up the opportunity.
Brunk was named Tuesday as Lady Mavericks' new basketball coach.
"Even back when I was a girls assistant coach for Jana Armor (in Muldrow, Okla.), I always felt that Southside was a job I wanted," Brunk said. "When we've played benefit games here I believed this job was special. I cannot wait to get started and work with these young ladies."
Brunk is a native of Roland, Okla., which is just across the Arkansas River from Fort Smith. He has had coaching stops as an assistant at Muldrow before head coaching stops at Stillwell (Okla.), Sallisaw (Okla.) Central and Sallisaw High School.
Southside, once a power in the largest classification of girls' basketball in the 1980s and 1990s, has fallen on hard times since losing to city rival Northside in the 2013 7A championship game. The Mavs finished the 2018-19 season 0-24, the worst record since the school started the girls' basketball program in the mid-1970s.
"What impressed me most in meeting with coach Brunk was that he laid out a plan on what it will take to build the Lady Maverick program," Fort Smith Public Schools athletic director Dr. Darren McKinney said. "He was very detail-oriented in that he had a five-year plan. He knows the situation that he is getting into here. He is willing to build the program and make it his own."
Southside is arguably playing in the state's toughest conference, the 6A-Central. Since 2012, four current teams in the Central have won state titles -- Cabot, Conway, Northside and North Little Rock.
"From the people that I have talked to, (the 6A-Central) is the toughest conference in the state," Brunk said. "This is something that as a coach, you want to get excited about. You want to compete against the best. Every team in this conference seems to have at least one Division I player."
Brunk replaces Stephen Brown, who is retiring. Brown coached the Mavericks for four seasons and a 14-89 record. Southside reached the 7A state tournament under Brown during the 2017-18 season.
Sports on 04/17/2019