James Sams has been named the new Brimfield boys basketball head coach.
The Indians JV coach was promoted to the top spot at the District 309 board meeting on May 20. Sams replaces Scott Carlson, who retired in March following 28 total seasons with 568 wins, including the 2015 Class 1A state championship.
“This is kind of the end-goal when I came over to Brimfield,” Sams told the Journal Star. “This is what I wanted.”
Sams, who also serves as the Brimfield/Elmwood baseball head coach, spent two seasons on Carlson’s staff, soaking in every bit of hoops knowledge from Carlson.
“Obviously, coach Carlson’s a legend,” Sams said, “so I wasn’t in a hurry to get (the job). I was just trying to learn as much as I could from him.”
The pair had a conversation prior to Carlson retiring where he told Sams that he would be Carlson’s choice as his replacement. Sams says he admires Carlson’s meticulous practice plans and breakdown of other teams through in-person scouting and watching film.
He hopes to incorporate those things along with what he picked up from coaching basketball at North Fulton as well as at Williamsfield under legendary head coach Bob Anderson.
“We just won the regional last (season),” Sams said, “so I don’t want to go in and change everything because obviously what we did was pretty successful. It will be a lot of what coach Carlson did.
“… We did a lot of run, fastbreak, trap, full-court pressure (at Williamsfield), so I think we’ll do a little more of that next year but really emphasize kind of pushing the pace of play, especially with the shot clock now.”
For now, Sams finds himself at a really busy time of the year. He hosted his Brimfield youth basketball camp recently, while still coaching the Indians in the Class 2A baseball postseason.
Plus, he’s handling all the planning for both sports for the upcoming summer contact days.
“That’s the kind of the biggest issue is just trying to manage both schedules at once and get things ready for the kids,” Sams said.
Brimfield went 25-8 during the 2025-26 campaign, winning a Class 1A regional for the first time in 10 years. The Indians lost to Deer Creek-Mackinaw, 41-40, in the sectional semifinals. A trio of all-conference players — Connor Doe, Dawson Traphagan and Jackson Kappes — all graduated.
Adam Duvall is a Journal Star sports reporter. Email him at aduvall@pjstar.com. Follow him on Twitter @AdamDuvall.
This article originally appeared on Journal Star: After learning from ‘legend,’ Brimfield assistant promoted to head coach
Reporting by Adam Duvall, Peoria Journal Star / Journal Star
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By Adam Duvall, Peoria Journal Star | USA TODAY Network
