SAY GOODBYE, HELLO | Sabine’s Carr departs basketball program; assistant Story assumes reins

LIBERTY CITY — Sabine High School boys basketball coach Colby Carr is leaving the program, the school announced on Monday, and his replacement has already been found.

The Cardinals didn’t have to look far.

“We are promoting assistant Ian Story to take over the program,” Sabine Athletic Director Cody Gilbert told ETBlitz.com on Sunday. “Coach Story has built an outstanding relationship-builder in his two years here, and has a great plan to continue our success, and elevate our boys basketball program.”

Carr is headed to Maud, where he lives – he’s actually been driving to coach at Sabine for five seasons!

“Coach Carr has done a tremendous job with our basketball program,” Gilbert said. “He is a great coach, and a great friend. We are going to miss his presence.”

Carr leaves the program as a winner, which is what Sabine boys basketball has always been, dating back to the days of Carl Allen and beyond. His Sabine teams since he took over never missed the playoffs. He finished 123-93 at Sabine, winning three district championships and with a record of 63-23 in district games.

The Cardinals’ most recent season, the 2023-24 campaign, was arguably Carr’s best at the helm: 23 wins, just 10 losses, and an unbeaten season in District 15-3A – a district championship (10-0), which, of course, Story was also coaching.

Sabine gets, in Story, a White Oak native who won’t be changing much.

“We did graduate five,” he noted. “But we’re bringing back a guard and four post (players). For sure, we have another guard coming from JV. We’re trying out a few people, and we’ll get it right. …There won’t be a lot of change in the way we do things.”

Coach Story is married – his wife is Kynzie, and they have two children: a son, Shepherd, 2, and a newborn baby girl, Shiloh, just born in February.