New Jeffersonville boys’ basketball coach Matt Pait spoke with Matt Denison on 1450 The Sports Buzz (WXVW-AM) on Thursday morning.

After one year as girls’ coach at Jeffersonville, Matt Pait was approved during a special school board meeting Tuesday night as the Red Devils’ new boys’ basketball boss.

Hoosier Hills Hoops spoke with Pait immediately after his hiring was made official.

With such a long hiring process, is there any pressure taking over the boys’ program at this late date?

School starts next week, so we’ll get (the players) in the gym as soon as we can and get working on our fall conditioning program. Most of them have been playing AAU and did stuff as Jeff team in June. They’re been playing basketball; not sitting around doing nothing. It helps that I do know them a little and have coached some of the team in the past. School starting earlier this year is actually going to help us out; we can get going pretty quick.

As a Jeffersonville native and former player, is the Jeff boys’ hoops job your dream coaching position?

It definitely is. I told the girls’ team today that I wouldn’t have left the girls’ job at Jeff for any other job. Because of my pride and passion for Jeffersonville as a former player, this is a great opportunity for me. I had a great time coaching girls, and they are headed in the right direction for the future. Timing-wise it wasn’t great for (the girls’ team), but it’s a dream job for me and a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

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Matt Pait was named new varsity boys’ basketball coach Tuesday night, replacing Chad Gilbert who left to take an administrative position at Charlestown High School.

Here’s a detailed history of Pait’s basketball involvements:

COACHING CAREER

• Graduate assistant for one season at Lincoln Memorial, a NCAA Division II program in Harrogate, Tennessee.
• Varsity boys’ assistant and junior varsity coach for four seasons at Jeffersonville.
• Varsity girls’ head coach for one season at Jeffersonville.

PLAYING CAREER

• Four-year varsity player at Jeffersonville; captain for three seasons.
• Three-time Hoosier Hills Conference all-conference winner.
• First-team All-State as senior in 2003.
• First-team academic All-State as senior in 2003.
• Eighth in career scoring at Jeffersonville.
• Played one season at Gardner-Webb University, a NCAA Division I program in Boiling Springs, North Carolina.
• Played three seasons at Bellarmine in Louisville.
• Named to All-Great Lakes Valley Conference team in 2005.

Here’s a brief highlight clip from the Derek Smith Shootout in Louisville, which was won for the second consecutive summer by Trinity.

A record number of Southern Indiana high schools participated in the 17th-annual event, including Charlestown, Christian Academy, Clarksville, Floyd Central, Jeffersonville, Lanesville, New Albany, Providence, Rock Creek, Seymour and Silver Creek.

Ohio captured the championship in the first-ever National High School Basketball Coaches Association Rising Senior event Tuesday at Ben Davis High School in Indianapolis.

The players from the Buckeye state tallied a 5-0 record in the six state boys’ basketball shootout. Teams representing Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Ohio and Wisconsin took part in the event, which included five rounds of games, a skills competition and off-court sessions for the teams.

Indiana placed second with a 4-1 mark, followed by Iowa at 3-2, Wisconsin at 2-3, Kentucky at 1-4 and Illinois at 0-5.

This year’s event did not fall during an evaluation period for NCAA Division I coaches, but college coaches from lower levels (NCAA Division II and III and NAIA programs) attended.

Indiana Basketball Coaches Association executive director Steve Witty said the plan is to move the Rising Senior event to a July evaluation period in future years. Indianapolis again will host the event in 2014, and organizers are hopeful that more states will take part in future years.

Tuesday’s results

• Ohio 67, Wisconsin 59
• Indiana 79, Iowa 73
• Kentucky 92, Illinois 84
• Indiana 104, Kentucky 58
• Iowa 78, Wisconsin 67
• Ohio 94, Illinois 64

The first-year Rising Senior event, presented by the National High School Basketball Coaches Association, tipped Monday at Ben Davis High School in Indianapolis.

The event, which includes teams from six Midwestern states all backed by their respective coaches associations, will conclude Tuesday.

Indiana finished the first day at 2-1, recording wins over Illinois and Wisconsin and dropping a three-point decision to Ohio.

Monday’s results

Ohio 78, Iowa 75
Indiana 83, Illinois 75
Wisconsin 94, Kentucky 88
Indiana 74, Wisconsin 69
Ohio 105, Kentucky 79
Iowa 99, Illinois 85
Iowa 85, Kentucky 76
Wisconsin 83, Illinois 57
Ohio 82, Indiana 79

Tuesday’s schedule

9:30 a.m. Main Gym: Ohio vs. Wisconsin
9:30 a.m. MPA #1: Indiana vs. Iowa
9:30 a.m. MPA #3: Kentucky vs. Illinois

1:45 p.m. Main Gym: Indiana vs. Kentucky
1:45 p.m. MPA #1: Iowa vs. Wisconsin
1:45 p.m. MPA #3: Ohio vs. Illinois