MAN – Harvey Arms is back as the head coach of the Man High School boys’ basketball team.

Arms replaces Jimmy Justice, who led the Hillbillies the last three seasons before resigning.

Justice was 25-46 in three seasons at the helm, including this year’s 10-15 mark. Man beat Burch in this year’s sectional tourney, 61-46, then lost to Matewan, 80-66, in the finals. Under the new post-season format, sectional runner-up Man then advanced to the regional tourney where the upset-minded Billies lost 57-50 at Charleston Catholic.

Man was just 8-15 under Justice in the 2007-08 season and only 7-16 during the 2006-07 campaign. Both years the Billies lost to Gilbert in the sectional tourney.

Arms, who is also Man’s head football coach, stepped down as the Billies’ basketball mentor after the 2005-06 season when Man was 13-10 and lost to Gilbert in the Class A sectional tournament.

In his nine seasons at the helm, the Billies made it to the state tournament twice – in 1998 in his first year as coach and in 2005.

Arms, a Man High School graduate, has been coaching Man area athletics since 1972.

From 1974-75 he was the head man in football, boys’ basketball and track at Man Junior High. Arms has turned around Man’s football program since he was hired in 2002, leading the Billies to the playoffs in 2004, 2005 and 2008.

Arms said he hopes to give the Man basketball program a jump-start as well.

“When you coach there’s always that challenge and competition,” Arms said. “I think that we’ve got a good group of young players coming back next year. I’m kind of excited about the challenge again.”

Man loses senior Cory Spence due to graduation but the bulk of the team returns for the 2009-10 season.

Key Man players such as rising seniors Travis Hurley, Ryan Crum, Tyler Browning and Evan Riggins will be back. T.J. Hoosier and Adam Copley, both rising juniors, return as well as rising sophomore guard and sharpshooter Jordan Simpson.

“These players played a lot last year,” Arms said. “Simpson played really well last year for a freshman. We’ve got some talent although we lack a little size. Hopefully, some of them will grow a little bit over the summer. I think that it will be a good group to work with and they are excited about the challenge.”