Pallotti hires new coaches for boys and girls basketball

St. Vincent Pallotti High School announced the hiring of Dennis Murphy as head coach for its boys basketball team and Rod Hairston as head coach in girls basketball.

Both men will assume their new positions immediately.

Murphy most recently served as an assistant coach at Bishop O'Connell High School in Arlington, Va., and has held similar positions at Catholic University, St. John's College High School and Paul XI Catholic High School, in Fairfax, Va.

The Catholic University graduate spent 22 years (1985-2007) on active duty in the United States Marine Corps.

Murphy replaces former coach Shae Johnson, who led the 2012-2013 Panthers to a 33-10 record and the school's first-ever Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association B Conference title.

Pallotti, which had defeated A Conference powerhouse Mount St. Joseph in late November, defeated Gilman 62-55 in the B Conference championship game.

Hairston, one of the most well-known coaches in the D.C. area, comes to Pallotti from the Bullis School, where the 2012-13 team posted a record of 21-5, won league and tournament championships and sent several players to Division I schools.

His most notable accomplishments occurred from 1997-2009, when he was the head coach at Eleanor Roosevelt High School.

During that span, Hairston's teams won a Maryland state record five consecutive Class 4A state championships.

He is a 1992 graduate of Bowie State University, where he received a Bachelor of Science in communications/journalism and in 2002 earned a master's equivalency in special education from Trinity College.

He replaces Josh Pratt, whose 2012-2013 Panthers were 19-16, in his fourth season as coach.