Where Are They Now: Roger Harden

by:Kindsey Bernhard04/20/15

kindseybernhard

  roger_harden2 Roger Harden, former Mr. Basketball in Indiana and McDonald's All-American, was a three-year starter at the point guard position during his four year career at Kentucky from 1982 to 1986. During his senior year, Harden set a single-season assist record with a total of 232. Harden's 498 career assists puts him third overall Kentucky history behind Dirk Minefield (646) and Anthony Epps (544). He was also named Third-Team All-SEC and to the All-SEC Tournament team during his senior year. Harden scored a total of 478 points as a Wildcat. When the Kentucky basketball program switched to Nike from Converse for the 1984-85 season, Harden was the only player to continue wearing Converse, while his teammates wore the "Kentucky Dunk" shoe. Roger then went on to work for Converse for a brief time following his basketball career. Read an article about Harden's career from the Cats' Pause in 1986 here. roger_harden6 Harden was drafted 115th overall by the Los Angeles Lakers in the 5th round of the 1986 NBA Draft. Harden never played a game for the Lakers, and his NBA career never developed into anything. Harden returned to Kentucky to coach as an assistant under Eddie Sutton for one season in 1987. Harden went on to coach AAU in Indiana in the 1990s. He has also done some youth and middle school AAU coaching. Harden has done a lot of skill work with young individuals to improve their game. In May of 2012, Harden was announced as the new head coach of Williamstown (Ky.) Junior/Senior High School in Grant County. Williamstown is a small school with an enrollment of 426 students in grades 6-12.
"I'm just thrilled about being back in the game, and being back in the gym every day," Harden said. "In my heart, I've always wanted to coach."
Williamstown is the home of Harden's wife, Gina, and the two have been married for 15 years. They have four children Joseph, Allison, Sarah and Olivia. 500df17c5116b.preview-620 Williamstown plays in the 8th Region and has not had a winning season since 2004-05. Harden knew the challenges he faced when he decided to take the job.
"It's going to be a building process, for sure," he said. "They've never had a strength or conditioning program, so we're going to introduce the players to that."
In his first year as head coach (2012-13), the Demons finished with a record of 3-15. In his second season as head coach (2013-14), his team recorded a 10-20 season. In the 2014-15 season, the Demons finished with a 6-19 record. Harden has yet to win in 32nd District, which also contains Grant County, Simon Kenton and Walton-Verona. Williamstown has come in last in the district except in the 2013-14 season, they came in third.  
Here are three highlights of Harden in the 1986 NCAA Regional Final Elite Eight game against LSU. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EDEbgpk54i8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9vs5-kAZ8Fg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2BX2OmCHETA  

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