Butler High coach Myron Lowery endures tough times, keeps passion

Myron Lowery was at his desk trying to evaluate all the things that caused his Providence High boys’ basketball team to suffer through a 1-24 season three years ago.

Then things got worse.

As he looked at his team’s statistics on maxpreps.com, he saw a link to the N.C. state rankings and clicked on it to see where Providence finished.

They ranked last.

“Obviously, I knew we had a bad season. But to see that we were all the way at the bottom of the state rankings in last place was tough, and I think at that point I really hit rock bottom as a coach,” said Lowery, who had 107 wins in his first seven years at Providence (2003-2010), including a Southwestern 4A (SW4A) regular season and conference tournament title. “At that moment, I remember thinking to myself, ‘I am better than this.’ I decided then that I had to do something different.”

Lowery wasn’t just dealing with tough issues on the court, his father, Robert Lowery, had died during that one-win season in 2012-13.

Lowery said his father’s memory was, and still is, an inspiration to keep pushing through the tough times. Robert Lowery had been a professional boxer and trainer.

“My dad had a big impact on my life, especially in terms of being tough and to keep fighting through the hard times and I’ve never forgotten the things he taught me,” Lowery said. “So, I knew that as bad as things seemed at the time that I had to get back up off the mat.

“I never lost confidence... I knew what I was doing and that I was a good coach.”

One of Lowery’s closest coaching friends, Myers Park athletic director and former Mustangs’ boys’ basketball head coach, Rick Lewis, admires the resilience of Myron Lowery.

“The best thing about Myron is that he is always such a positive person, even that season (1-24), where he had such a bad year and his father passed, he was the same person that he had been when we made our head coaching debuts together,” Lewis said.

Lowery resigned from his Providence High position. The day after resigning, Lowery got calls about other coaching opportunities.

He took some time off and then becan an assistant coach at Olympic High. It was the 2013-14 season and Olympic was one of the top teams in the state. Lowery said he enjoyed being a part of a 23-5, Olympic team, and the experience rejuvenated his passion for coaching.

Lowery ultimately became the coach at Butler High school. Butler, currently No. 7 in the Observer’s Sweet 16, begins play in the Y.C. Winborn Holiday Classic Friday. Butler plays Lancaster at 4:30 p.m. at Rock Hill High School.

Coming to Butler has been a career resurgence for Lowery, whose team is a serious contender for the N.C. 4A title this season.

“I remember interviewing for the Butler job and then that next Thursday, (Butler athletic director, Courtney Paschal) texted me ‘Do you want to be a Butler Bulldog?’” Lowery said. “I was so excited that I went and found my youngest daughter, Ella (11) and let he text Courtney back ‘Yes, I want to be a Butler Bulldog.’ From the minute, I interviewed for that Butler job, everything just felt right.”

Lowery said he immediately clicked with his new players and assistants, L.J. Johnson and Pat King. The Bulldogs went 21-2 last summer (2014) as they prepared for the 2014-15 season.

They carried that momentum in his first year and posted a 23-4 overall record, including 11-1 in SW4A conference play to win the league title. They also spent some time ranked as the No. 1 team in the state. Butler had another strong offseason this summer going 31-7.

Lowery’s Butler teams are 75-13 overall.

The Bulldogs have been up and down this season dealing with some injuries, but Lowery says they are starting to find their stride.

After 26 years as a head coach, with 302 victories, Lowery says he is as eager as ever to take on the next challenge.

“I remember sitting down at my computer in my office after last season, looking at things and just feeling ecstatic,” said Lowery, noting his wife, Dawn and daughters, Zanna and Ella, have been his biggest supporters. “It felt so good to be relevant again. I knew I could do it. I knew it would all come together again. This whole journey has been very rewarding and taught me a lot about myself. After all of the tough times, It’s a great feeling to be this excited about basketball every day.”

Myron Lowery Coaching Profile

Age: 49

College: Marshall (1989 graduate).

Family: Wife, Dawn, two daughters, Zanna (13) and Ella (11).

Coaching Experience: 26 years: Sedgefield Junior High, J.V. head coach (1990-1992); Sedgefield Middle School head coach (1993-96); Sun Valley assistant (1993-95); Harding head coach (1996-2003); Providence head coach (2003-2013); Olympic assistant coach (2013-14); Butler head coach (2014-present).

Wins (through Myers Park game Dec. 15): 302 overall; 28 wins at Butler; 116 victories at Providence; 97 wins at Harding.

Interesting Note: Lowery has defeated every Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools’ team in his career and needs only a win at Hough next season to have won in every opposing, CMS schools’ gym.

This story was originally published December 17, 2015 at 8:46 PM with the headline "Butler High coach Myron Lowery endures tough times, keeps passion."