Hopkins County Central’s new boys’ basketball head coach has deep roots in the 2nd Region, especially the 5th District.
The school announced on Monday that former Caldwell County High School and Western Kentucky University standout Michael Fraliex has been hired as the Storm’s new skipper.
“Hopkins County Central is very excited to have Coach Fraliex as our new coach, and we look forward to the continuing progress of our Storm basketball program,” the school said in a news release.
Fraliex scored 2,896 points in a Caldwell uniform from 1987-92. At the time, that was more points than any player ever in the 5th District.
Fraliex had a standout career at Western Kentucky, and is still 31st on that school’s career scoring list with 1,205 points. He ended his playing days on The Hill atop the career lists for 3-pointers made and 3-pointers attempted as a Hilltopper.
He played in three NCAA Tournaments, including Western Kentucky’s Sweet 16 team in 1993. He hit a late 3-pointer in that game to force overtime as the Hilltoppers upset Michigan in the first round of the 1995 NCAA Tournament. That Michigan squad included future NBA stars Jalen Rose and Juwan Howard.
Following a stint as an assistant coach on the boys’ team at Lyon County, Fraliex first became a head coach when he took over the girls’ program at Lyon for the 2000-01 season, leading the team to regional berths in 2002 and 2004.
Fraliex returned to his alma mater for the 2004-05 season and coached the Tigers for five seasons. His best year was in 2007, when he guided Caldwell to a 23-4 record, a 7th District championship and a berth in the 2nd Region semifinals. Fraliex was named the 2nd Region Coach of the Year that season.
Fraliex was 69-51 as head coach at Caldwell County. Most recently, Fraliex has been an assistant coach at Livingston Central.
Fraliex replaces Lee James on the Hopkins Central bench. The Storm was 12-15 this past season.
