• Source: Hines Will Be Vincent's Boys Coach

    A source told me Monday that Marquis Hines will be the next boys basketball at Milwaukee Vincent. Word reached the masses fast on Facebook through his brother, who said that Hines will return to the Vincent sidelines beginning next season.

    So far, no official announcement has been made on the hiring of Hines. The official confirmation will be forthcoming sometime this week.

    There had been rumors that Carlos Hubbard would leave Milwaukee Northwest and take over the boys job at Vincent. The coaching vacancy was created with the dismissal of John Allen.

    Hines, if he's the coach, will return to Vincent for the first time in two years. He completed two years at Homestead as their boys coach.

    Even though the Highlanders had two winning seasons in 2011 and 2012, Hines said he was never comfortable at the Mequon school. Some parents were concerned that he was trying to recruit players from Milwaukee to transfer to Homestead, a charge that he denied.

    Under Hines' leadership at Vincent, the girls team went to the state finals four straight times, winning three in a row. He decided to move on from coaching the girls after the graduation of former Vincent and current Oklahoma player Nicole Griffin.

    Hines, who took over the girls program after the untimely death of Chris Griffin, Nicole's father, groomed his girls into winners. It was clear at the time that he wanted the boys job, but Allen took the job while serving as the schools athletic director after former coach Tom Diener resigned. Diener is now coaching Milwaukee Hamilton.

    The no-nonsense coaching style of Hines will reach everyone on the team from the star players to the last man on the bench. Every player will have to check their egos and attitudes at the door and bring their desire to play defense and a will to win.

    Like Pius' Joel Classen, who won state titles as the girls coach there before taking over the boys team and taking them to state twice, Hines will attempt to do the same with the Vincent boys program.

    The Vikings' boys under Diener won five state championships. It will be a fresh start at a familiar place for Hines. He will welcome the challenge of getting the boys to state for the first time since 2007 when they lost in the finals to Madison Memorial.