Coach Malcolm Kuykendall was a basketball coach who guided his teams to unprecedented 8 state championships during his 25-year career. Coach Kuykendall hails from New Albany and attended East Union and Blue Springs (Union County) High schools. He was an All-Conference basketball player and attended Delta State. He started his coaching chores at Nettleton in 1970 and moved to Pine Grove High in Ripley where he remained for a decade. He led Pine Grove to the 1977 & 1981 state championships. Malcolm was hired to coach at Belmont, where he would lead the Lady Cardinals to 6 state crowns in 13 seasons. His Lady Cardinals took the gold ball state championship trophies in 1982, 1983, 1985, 1986, 1988, and 1995. He coached in 1,338 high school hoops contests, winning 1,017 and losing only 321 for a winning percentage of 76%. Malcolm and his twin brother led their respective teams to state titles in the same years of 1983, 1985, and 1986. He was chosen as Coach of the Year on numerous occasions by the Northeast Daily Journal, the Jackson Clarion Ledger, and the MAC and was nominated for National Coach of the Year in 1989 & 1993. HCoached in the Mississippi High School All-Star game in 1977 as boys coach and in the 1986 game as girls coach, both for the North squad. He served as assistant coach in the 1991 MS/AL basketball game. He was once featured in “Faces of the Crowd” Sports Illustrated column. He was also an Author and clinic speaker during his coaching career.