Legendary high school basketball coach Tony Irons is leaving his post at Vashon High to become the new coach at Mineral Area College in Park Hills, MO.
The announcement was posted by St. Louisan Carl Reed Jr., who is a national college football analyst for 247Sports.
Irons, who is the son of Hall of Fame coach Floyd Irons, picked up where his father left off in making Vashon a statewide power and nationally respected high school basketball program.
During his stellar career at Vashon, Irons led the Wolverines to seven state championships, including the last four Class 4 state titles. He added an eighth state title when he led Imagine Prep to the Class 3 state championship in 2013. In 10 seasons at Vashon, Irons compiled a record of 216-38.
In his last game on the sidelines at Vashon, the Wolverines defeated John Burroughs 68-37 to win their fourth consecutive Class 4 state championship.
In recent years Irons has also been very involved in coaching at the grassroots level and with USA Basketball. He has been the head coach of the Brad Beal Elite 17U team in the prestigious Nike Elite Youth Basketball League for the past three years.
Irons will be taking over a Mineral Area program that is one of the best in the National Junior College Athletic Association Region 16. The Cardinals finished with a 29-3 record and runner up finish in Region 16 this past season under the guidance of coach Greg Heiar, who left to become the head coach at Trinity Valley Community College in Athens, TX.
Tony Irons has been a winner in every program he’s been involved with as a player and as a coach. A 2002 graduate of Lutheran North, he was the starting point guard of the Crusaders’ Class 2 state championship team. He went on to play collegiate basketball at the College of the Ozarks in Point Lookout, MO., where he was the starting point guard of their NAIA Division II national championship team in 2006.
