Bio

Cassels Wilson of Summit, MS, began his basketball career at McComb High School. He graduated from McComb High in 1964 and received a scholarship to continue playing basketball at Southwest Mississippi Community College. While at Southwest, Wilson was selected as Most Improved Player and was honored as an Honorable Mention All-South Member of the Mississippi Junior College team in 1966. He was best known for his defensive ability to shut down the opponent’s best scorer. After graduating from Southwest in 1966, Wilson continued his college career by accepting a basketball scholarship to Millsaps College where he graduated in 1968. Wilson began coaching in the fall of 1968 at North Pike High School in Summit where he enjoyed a thirty-five year career as head boys basketball coach. In addition to his coaching duties, Wilson chaired the social studies department and taught American History and World History. While at North Pike, Wilson was named Conference Coach of the Year twice and Division Coach of the Year five times. His teams advanced to the state playoffs twenty times. Twelve of those times were in consecutive years (1981-1992). His teams completed twenty-one division tournaments as season champions or runners-up. His teams won sixteen invitational tournaments. Over fifty of his players attended college on basketball scholarships. Wilson was inducted into the Southwest Mississippi Community College Sports Hall of Fame in 1997. He was a member of the Mississippi Association of Coaches serving two terms on the Board of Directors. Wilson was a career member of the Mississippi Education Association. He served as a member of the American Society of Curriculum Development and also as a member of the Committee for Teacher and Administrator Certification for the Mississippi State Department of Education. Wilson is a lifelong member of Pisgah United Methodist Church in Summit. He is married to Debbie Brewer Wilson who was also a teacher and coach. They have two sons, Todd Wilson and Nic Wilson.