Staff report

SPENCER — The basketball odyssey for Jason Causby took another interesting turn on Wednesday when he was announced as the new head boys coach of the Cox Mill Chargers.

Former Rowan AD Brad Hinson, now the Cox Mill AD, announced the hire after an extensive search and interview period.

Causby will be the assistant coach for the West team in this summer’s East-West All-Star Game. He has coached 298 varsity boys basketball wins, with 291 of those coming in Rowan County. He is second on Rowan’s all-time coaching wins list for boys basketball, behind only former West Rowan coach Mike Gurley.

A modern and still relatively new Concord school, Cox Mill, is currently a member of the 4A Greater Metro Conference and will be competing in a 6A/7A league when the new realignment kicks in this fall. Cox Mill has been a state power, at times, but was 12-14 in the 2024-25 season.

Causby is a West Rowan graduate who got his first varsity coaching opportunity at Salisbury High. He coached six seasons, with five winning teams, including a 28-2 powerhouse.

Causby left Salisbury for North Hills Christian School and coached a year there with some success (14 wins) before returning for another run at Salisbury. He coached there for four more seasons, the best of which was 15-10, as the talent level had declined a bit from the peak years.

In 10 seasons — including both stints — at Salisbury, Causby’s record was 157-111.

His next stop was in Mecklenburg County at Mallard Creek. That team started woefully at 0-9 but finished 7-17.

Causby then returned to Rowan County when he was hired by North Rowan. His first Cavaliers team was his best one. That was a 28-3 squad, and the next season, North followed up with 22-8.

A 6-6 COVID season came next.

Causby coached his seventh season at North in 2024-25 with an 18-11 team and posted a record of 120-62 for his time in Spencer.

Causby’s teams at Salisbury, North Hills and North Rowan were 291-186, winning 61 percent of the time.