Moulchin hired as new Trojans basketball coach

There will be a new head coach on the sidelines next season for the Whitehall High School boys basketball team.

Mike Moulchin was recently hired to take over for longtime coach Zach McLean who resigned following the 2019-20 season.

Moulchin began his coaching career in his early 20's in a biddy ball league at the Boys and Girls Club in Las Vegas. He would later go on to coach junior high and continued his path to McQueen High School in Reno and Clark High School in Las Vegas. Taking over for a Clark women's program that had gone 18-88 the previous five years, Moulchin would lead his team to three straight playoff appearances, two regional semifinals, coached the regional player of the year, won the Division 1A Coach of the Year in 2014 and assisted in placing 12 players into college scholarships.

"I was very fortunate to have some great players at both programs and we had very good success," he said.

After moving to Montana, Moulchin is no stranger to the Whitehall High School program that finished last season with a third-place finish at the 5B District Tournament, and whose season ended with a heartbreaking two-point loss to Columbus in a Southern Divisional Tournament play-in game.

He is excited about the opportunity and after watching the team play last season, three things stood out. Moulchin said there was good coaching from McLean noting it is very tough to keep a team together after the slow start to the season. He added there is also great support from the community and parents, and regardless of the score the boys played with a lot of heart and showed a lot of athletic ability.

Moulchin also sees areas to improve.

"I feel if we support our lower level players and coaches and develop the same style of play at all levels, we can build the program up by building character, self-confidence, and in essence becoming a basketball family at all levels. That will take hard work in all phases of the game. The rewards I believe will be very high by us investing in our kids. In essence, the program is all about the players all the time," he said.

Analyzing his coaching style, Moulchin describes it as very positive, very passionate, and very animated.

"I am very competitive and strive to instill that in my players. With this team, we have some very good pieces. However, where the challenge will lie in developing and improving every player. It's not about just the first five, it's about the firepower that we need to have off the bench," he said.

While this offseason will be different than any in the past, Moulchin has already had a chance to have a Zoom meeting with players and parents and felt it went really well.

"If there is no summer league or practices, I think it would be wise to get the kids a skills packet on fundamentals to work on their own at home during the summer months. I believe with hard work this group could greatly improve. I feel these young men don't realize how much better they could be. I for one want to find out," he said.