Former CEU coaches reunite

Almost 20 years later, two former coaches at the College of Eastern Utah (USU Eastern) have reunited in Carthage, Texas, and reversed their rolls from assistant coach to head coach and from head coach to assistant coach.
After leaving coaching at CEU, Junsie Cotton and Guy Beach’s careers crisscrossed throughout the United States as they both gained experience and accolades.
Both were assistant coaches at the University of Texas at El Paso. Cotton started his coaching career as an assistant at Utah State University and then coached under Beach at CEU where their team posted a 28-5 record and won the first of only two Scenic West Athletic Conference championships at the school.
He left Price to become an assistant at Midland College in 1997 and then head coach at the school. At Midland, his teams posted a 55-5 record and he was selected Region V Coach of the Year as he guided his team to the WJAC Conference Championship, a Region V Championship and sixth place finish at the NJCAA Tournament.
His next coaching assignment was the head position at Lincoln Trail College in Illinois where he led his team to the 2007 Region XXIV Championship. Cotton was named Coach of the Year for the second time in his career.
He is in his third year as head coach at Panola College where he led his team to the NJCAA Region XIV playoffs his first season.
Beach is beginning his 19th season as a college basketball coach and accepted the assistant coaching position at Panola College last fall. His coaching experience reads like a Who’s Who in coaching with assistant jobs at Weber State University, CEU and Fresno State University. He was head coach at CEU and College of Southern Idaho where he compiled a 103-25 record in four seasons. He also spent a year as an assistant for the Idaho Stampede in the NBA D-League championship.