A new head coach has taken over the JR boys’ varsity basketball team, replacing interim coach Bill Bourgouin, who had been with the program for years and led the Tigers to the DCSAA semifinals last season.
Athletic Director Patrice Arrington announced that the new head coach is Tre Mouton, who has 10 years of coaching experience, having coached at several schools in Maryland—National Christian Academy, Mount Zion HS, Westlake HS—and various travel basketball league teams, including Team Loaded Black, a youth basketball organization in Richmond.
Mouton’s father, Ed, graduated from Wilson and was a member of the 1984 team that won the school’s first DCIAA basketball championship. “He’s been around a family of coaches,” Arrington said.
“[My] goal for the team is to win the conference and win the DC state championship,” Mouton said. He emphasized developing JR’s “very talented and hungry” younger players. “I plan for our JV to win at the same level as the varsity team,” he said.
Arrington promoted Bourgouin from assistant coach to interim head coach last year after longtime coach David “Tee” Johnson left JR to join the staff at the University of Massachusetts Lowell. Arrington installed Bourgouin to provide continuity for the team after Johnson’s departure late in the school year.
At that time, Arrington expressed confidence in Bourgouin, a JR special education teacher. “We will continue our winning tradition with Coach Bill at the helm,” Arrington said.
Last season, the Tigers fell to Sidwell Friends in the DCSAA semifinals on a half-court buzzer-beater, continuing a streak of semifinal losses from ‘24 and ‘25. The team had a 22-10 record, going 14-1 in DCIAA play with a loss in the DCIAA finals to Roosevelt.
Basketball and football are considered high-profile sports, so the hiring process for coaches is more extensive than other sports and includes a committee that evaluates potential prospects, Arrington said.
According to Arrington, Bourgouin was aware when he was named interim that the appointment was not permanent and that when the 25-26 season ended, the search for a head coach would begin. Bourgouin declined to comment.
When the season ended, the application for head coach was opened and received 50 applications. A committee with Arrington, Assistant Principal Marc Minsker, and others involved with the team narrowed the candidates to a final group, which included Bourgouin.
The finalists were interviewed by the committee, had a Q&A session, and delivered a presentation. Each applicant was scored on a rubric, and Mouton scored the highest.
Shortly after the hiring, a petition started by team manager and statistician Sahara Samuels called to reconsider Bourgouin’s removal. The petition had more than 300 signatures.
The petition said morale within the team changed, and that coaches, staff, and players were considering stepping away from the program. “His impact extended beyond wins and losses, he focused just as much on developing character and leadership as he did basketball skills,” wrote Samuels.
As Mouton has already been hired, the petition will not lead to the reinstatement of Bourgouin.
Bourgouin’s removal sent shockwaves throughout the program’s players and families. Some players said they were disappointed by a lack of communication prior to the change.
“I knew that [Bourgouin’s] coaching spot wasn’t secure, but I didn’t think it was going to go the way it did,” said junior forward Isaiah Whitfield. Junior forward Lane Mahan added, “There was sadness and dismay. We love Coach Bill. He was a great coach.”
Players said that Bourgouin built strong relationships and created a sense of community. “I felt like I could talk to him about everything,” Whitfield said. “He taught me how to be more of a man.”
Bourgouin encouraged the team to hold events. The team held a car wash outside JR on weekends last fall and also hosted a dinner where basketball families were served by players.
Arrington has generated controversy surrounding coaches before. In 2024, she dismissed head football coach Minoso Rodgers despite his strong connection to players, saying that football would benefit from a change of leadership. The ‘24 football off-season cycled through three head coaches, and players expressed dissatisfaction.
Mouton coached his first game with the Tigers in late May—a 71-66 Capital Hoops Summer League win over Clinton Grace Christian School in Maryland—just a couple of days after Bourgouin coached the Tigers to a huge 16-point win over DeMatha Catholic HS, the No. 1-ranked school in Maryland last season.
Mouton is expected to bring in his own coaching staff, including Satchel Ball, an assistant coach at St. Mary’s College of Maryland, and Anthony Blow, who currently works with Team Durant, a youth basketball program founded by NBA star Kevin Durant. Several Tigers have played for Team Durant, and Johnson, former JR head coach, was a lead coach there. Mouton may also replace the current junior varsity and freshman coaches.
Mouton has coached multiple players who have gone on to play Division I. “He has a multitude of coaching abilities and skill development that help players get to the next level,” Arrington said.
Mouton acknowledged that player’s concerns about next year’s prospects because of the coaching change. “Obviously, it was unexpected, and things are happening fast,” he said.
But the new coach said he believed the team has the ability to win the DCIAA and state championships. “The group is hungry to win,” Mouton said.
JR is gaining a transfer, 6’4” sophomore shooting guard Elijah Hall from Roosevelt, who averaged more than 20 points per game past season. Mahan is also having a great season in summer league, recently scoring 34 points against Clinton Grace.
While rumors circulated about players leaving JR because of the coaching move, Mahan said that “most of the [team] thinks that coming back this next year will be a better option.”
“The AD made her decision and we’re going to have to trust in that,” Mahan said. He said that Mouton “sees the culture at Jackson-Reed and wants to keep growing on the good stuff we’ve already built. Regardless of who is coaching us, we can still be a great team.” •
