Jonquin McKinney, a former Swainsboro Tiger basketball player and coach, recently led Saint Francis High School to win the State Championship title. Saint Francis is a Class A, Division 1 High School in Alpharetta, Georgia. On Saturday, March 11, they defeated Galloway High School of Atlanta at the Macon Coliseum on in the championship game.
Any basketball fan from Emanuel County or Southeast Georgia knows McKinney, better known as Coach Q, or ATAP. McKinney played at SHS under Coach Leroy Jordan in early 2000. After graduating from SHS, he attended Morris College, where he excelled on the basketball court. A few years after graduating from Morris, he returned to Swainsboro, where he worked as an assistant coach. He was an assistant under Coach Jordan, Coach Bobby Andrews, and Coach Bryce Hobbs. McKinney also coached at Swainsboro Middle School.
While coaching in Swainsboro, he won a championship at Swainsboro Middle and was an assistant on Swainsboro High School 2020 State Championship team. Additionally, he was an assistant on two final four teams in 2011 and 2015, and an assistant on the state runner-up team in 2017.
McKinney had a stop on the collegiate level at Savannah State University before returning to high school. By a twist of fate, he heard Coach Aisha Kennedy at Saint Francis High was looking for an assistant coach. The two had one meeting and formed a coaching union. McKinney made an impression at that meeting and throughout the season. Watching the interactions between coaches and the team and coaches and coaches was a testament to the trust and respect created. It couldn’t have been more evident than in the final seconds of the championship game. St Francis was ahead by two points and needed a defensive stop to win the game. Coach Kennedy deferred to McKinney during a timeout to draw up the defense. McKinney designed the play, and Coach Kennedy implemented it. St Francis won the championship. McKinney said of Coach Kennedy, “She is definitely a legend, but she has always trusted my decisions.”
In addition to coaching, McKinney trains athletes with camps and individual training sessions. Countless players have attended his camps and sessions. He started the training in 2015 and named his organization ATAP (All Things Are Possible) Fundamentals. Many players who attended his sessions are now excelling in high school or college.
For information on the training program, you can contact Jonquin McKinney or visit the website at
https://atapfundamentals05.wixsite.com/.
