Mississippi Delta Community College names Jamar McKnight men’s basketball coach

Mississippi Delta Community College handed its men’s basketball program to Jamar McKnight, a former junior college standout whose hiring changed the clock on recruiting, roster management and offseason planning in Moorhead. McKnight officially began his duties June 8, even though the college did not announce the move until June 17, giving the Trojans an immediate reset point heading toward next season.

What makes the hire stand out inside the Mississippi Delta and for Cleveland County families who follow junior college basketball is McKnight’s direct connection to the league he now coaches in. MDCC said he became the only current MACCC head men’s basketball coach who previously competed in the conference as a student-athlete, a detail that gives him both institutional memory and a built-in understanding of how Mississippi junior college basketball operates on the floor and in the gym.

McKnight arrives with a résumé built around player development at multiple levels. Northwest Mississippi Community College’s athletic bio says he coached the Zachary All-Stars AAU program from 2007 to 2013, then joined Baton Rouge Community College as an assistant coach from 2011 to 2014. While at BRCC, he went 5-1 as interim head coach and helped the program win its first conference title and reach the NJCAA National Tournament.

His background also stretches beyond the college game. McKnight played professionally with the Greenville Groove of the former National Basketball Development League, then spent time overseas in Austria, Hungary, Iran and Spain from 2004 to 2006. Player bios list him as a 6-foot-5 forward from Zachary, Louisiana, born Oct. 6, 1980, and Sports-Reference credits him with averaging 8.7 points and 3.0 rebounds in his Clemson University career. RealGM lists him as undrafted in the 2002 NBA Draft.

The change comes during a busy stretch for the Trojans. MDCC’s athletics site lists DeJuan Clark as an assistant coach on the men’s basketball staff, and the program’s 2025-26 page shows the team already in its next cycle of preparation. In 2024-25, Mississippi Delta averaged 69.8 points per game over 30 games, giving McKnight a clear baseline as he takes over a roster that will need attention on both ends of the floor.

McKnight’s hiring followed another recent coaching move at the school, when Mississippi Delta previously named Jonathan Nevol head men’s basketball coach in late May with a June 1 start date. With McKnight now in place, the program has shifted again, and the next phase will be judged by whether his MACCC background, recruiting ties and player-development track record can turn familiarity into wins.