Culpepper helps elevate Lady Cardinals to elite status with "crazy' coaching style


Tipton girls basketball head coach Jason Culpepper designs a play for his team. Culpepper, who took over the program three years ago, had 14 wins his first season and 21 last year. The Lady Cardinals began this season 10-0.
Tipton girls basketball head coach Jason Culpepper designs a play for his team. Culpepper, who took over the program three years ago, had 14 wins his first season and 21 last year. The Lady Cardinals began this season 10-0.

Jason Culpepper speaks his mind, for better or worse, and rarely hides his emotions.

"He's crazy. That's a good word for him," joked Tipton senior Paige Baker. "Crazy in a good way."

Joking aside, Culpepper is one of the top girls basketball coaches in Mid-Missouri. The energetic 23-year-old, who took over at Tipton three years ago, had 14 wins his first season and 21 last year. The Lady Cardinals began this season 10-0 and were ranked No. 4 in Class 2 by the Missouri Basketball Coaches Association.

Despite his passion for coaching, however, Culpepper nearly turned down the Tipton job when it became available after the 2011-12 season, which ended with only five wins. At the time, he was Tipton's junior high boys basketball coach.

"My initial reaction was, "No, I don't want to coach girls. I want to coach boys,'" Culpepper recalled. "The rebuilding process made me nervous, but at the same time, it was something to make my own. I could start building a program from scratch."

Once he accepted the position, Culpepper was determined to make Tipton an elite program, despite splitting time between coaching and classwork in 2012-13. That year, he transferred to Columbia College to finish his bachelor's degree in education.

"It was tough," he said. "Some days, I'd sleep for two hours, take a test, then drive to Tipton for practice. On game nights, I wouldn't get back to Columbia until 11 p.m., then I'd have to study all night. During mid-terms and finals, I didn't sleep more than 10 hours the whole week.

"Looking back, it was really fun. I had to manage my time and become more organized. With only 24 hours in a day, you really have to manage your time."

After a respectable first season, the Lady Cardinals continued their upward trend last year, finishing 21-6 overall and 8-1 in the Kaysinger Conference. After winning the conference tournament, their season ended in the district semifinals.

With even higher expectations heading into this season, Culpepper made sure his players were focused.

"He worked us harder in practice and wanted us to play even harder on the court," Baker said. "That made us a better team."

His coaching not only made the Lady Cardinals a "better" team, it made them a great team in Class 2. Tipton is led by seniors Ashton Pace, Angela Petree, Olivia Huhmann, Layne Koechner and Baker. Junior Destiny Dowell is one of the area's top guards, while sophomore forward Alyson Brant continues to improve.

"We have very good determination," Baker said, "and we're always ready to play."

Culpepper, a former basketball star at Lincoln High School, preaches the "team" atmosphere, even if that means sacrificing individual success at times.

"I understand the game so much better now and realize how important team accomplishments are," he said. "Those are things you'll remember, all the good times with your teammates. Individual success is great, but years down the road, people remember things like conference and district championships."

Culpepper hopes his animated and tenacious coaching style leads to a deep run in the state playoffs.

"I have so much energy ready to come out," he said. "Sometimes, I have to swallow it and keep it inside. Like (Baker) said, I'm a little crazy."

Crazy like a fox.