By I.C. Murrell

The News sports editor

The Port Arthur Independent School District board unanimously approved the hire of Kenneth Coleman as boys basketball head coach at Memorial High School during a specially called board meeting Tuesday evening.

Port Arthur ISD Superintendent Dr. Mark Porterie said the board voted 7-0 to hire Coleman.

The hire comes almost a month after Travis Williams resigned from the position.

According to an online bio, Coleman is a Port Arthur native who graduated from the former Lincoln High School and attended Lamar University. He has a bachelor’s degree in history with a master’s in administration.

Coleman spent the past two seasons, according to the bio, at Galena Park North Shore, where in 2014 he helped the Mustangs win the 5A state championship over Converse Judson. North Shore finished that season 35-3.

Coleman mentored Kerwin Roach, a forward/guard who committed to Texas as part of Shaka Smart’s first incoming class with the Longhorns.

With the hire, the Titans now move forward from the Williams era, although they were successful under his watch. Williams went 90-41 in four seasons with the Titans and has a 300-95 overall record, but his stay in Port Arthur was marred by a suspension in January after an incident with a player in which a witness recalled that he grabbed one of his players on the court and moved him forcibly off of it, according to reports by The News. Lance Robertson, now coaching at Bridge City, acted as head coach during Williams’ absence.