New Seagoville High School head boys basketball coach Dez Willingham has built his approach to the game around a simple phrase: “Sometimes me. Sometimes you. Always us.”
For a former championship point guard who played Division I basketball and has coached at both private school and Class 6A programs in Dallas. That mindset fits the job now waiting for him at Seagoville.
Willingham takes over a Dragons program coming off a 22-win season, but also one entering a significant transition after graduating several of its most productive players.
What Seagoville is getting in its new coach is someone who has already experienced Texas high school basketball at its highest level.
A State Champion at DeSoto
Willingham was one of the premier guards in Texas during his playing days at DeSoto.
As a senior in 2003, he helped lead the Eagles to a 33-6 record and the UIL Class 5A state championship. DeSoto defeated Corpus Christi Ray 94-73 in the championship game, with Willingham scoring 24 points.
He was named the championship game MVP and earned a spot on the UIL state all tournament team.
His senior season included averages of 15.3 points and 6.8 assists per game. He was also a first team Class 5A All State selection by the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches and was named the Dallas Morning News Player of the Year.
National recruiting services regarded Willingham as one of the top point guards in the 2003 class, and ESPN eventually ranked him among its top 20 point guards nationally.
A Seagoville Connection From 2003
There is a notable connection between Willingham and Seagoville that predates his arrival as coach by more than two decades.
During the summer of 2003, Willingham played for the Global Games Select Team in Dallas. One of his teammates was a rising Seagoville High School star named LaMarcus Aldridge.
The roster also included future NBA players and major college standouts such as Ronnie Brewer, Aaron Brooks, Acie Law and J.R. Giddens.
Willingham started all five games during the international tournament, averaging 11 points and 4.5 assists as the Select Team finished second.
More than 20 years later, the former DeSoto point guard and former teammate of one of Seagoville basketball’s most recognizable players is now running the Dragons program himself.
Division I Experience
Willingham originally signed with Kansas State and played his freshman season for the Wildcats. His college path eventually brought him back to the Dallas area.
After attending Mountain View College for a year without playing basketball, Willingham joined SMU. During the 2005 and 2006 season, he averaged 9.6 points and 2.6 assists while starting 28 games for the Mustangs.
One of his most memorable college moments came the following season at TCU, when Willingham buried a three pointer as time expired to give SMU a 64-62 victory.
He finished his college career at North Texas during the 2007 and 2008 season, where he shot 43.8 percent from three point range.
That background gives Seagoville a head coach who has experienced the game as a highly recruited high school player, a state champion and a Division I guard.
From First Baptist to Skyline
Willingham moved into coaching and spent several seasons at First Baptist Academy in Dallas.
His tenure there included a run to the TAPPS Class 2A state semifinals in 2020, with First Baptist defeating Abilene Christian and Cambridge during the postseason before falling to Lubbock All Saints in the state semifinals.
In 2021, Willingham left First Baptist to become the head boys basketball coach at Dallas Skyline.
Skyline proved to be a much tougher assignment, as the Raiders endured three consecutive losing seasons during Willingham’s tenure against Class 6A competition.
That part of his résumé matters as well. Willingham arrives at Seagoville with experience from both sides of coaching: building successful teams and working through difficult seasons inside a large public school program.
Seagoville Is Not Starting From Zero
Willingham inherits a Dragons team that finished 22-11 overall and 11-3 in district play last season. Seagoville finished second in District 14-5A and defeated White 67-64 in its playoff opener before its season ended against Red Oak.
Much of that team’s veteran production has graduated. Adam West, the district’s Offensive Player of the Year, was a senior. Mason Maxfield and Twone Long, both first team All District selections, were seniors as well.
That means Willingham’s first season will involve more than installing his system. He will need to identify new leaders, develop returning players and replace a substantial amount of experienced production.
A New Era for Dragons Basketball
The résumé makes Willingham an intriguing hire, but championships from 2003 will not determine what happens at Seagoville in 2026.
Development will. So will defense, accountability, guard play, roster growth and the ability to turn younger players into varsity contributors.
Seagoville already showed last season that it can win more than 20 games and compete for one of the top positions in its district. The next challenge is building a program capable of sustaining that success after a senior heavy roster moves on.
Willingham has played in championship games. He has coached in a state semifinal. He has experienced major college basketball and the demands of Dallas ISD basketball.
Now comes a different challenge: building his own chapter at Seagoville.
And the philosophy that defines his approach may ultimately offer the clearest sense of what he wants that chapter to become:
Sometimes me. Sometimes you. Always us.
