Former Fighting Camel Kurtis Darden, Sr., who brings 12 years of coaching experience on the high school level, is in his first season as director of basketball operations.
Darden joined the Fighting Camel staff after spending two seasons as head coach at Freedom Christian Academy in Fayetteville, N.C. Prior to that Darden served as head coach at Village Christian Academy since 2010. During that time, he led Village Christian to back-to-back NCISAA 2-A state titles in 2016 and 2017.
Over a dozen high school seasons, Darden led his teams to a 243-83 won-lost record and a pair of state runner-up finishes in addition to the two state championships.
Originally from Fayetteville, Darden has been a staple of the Fayetteville community since playing for Seventy-First Senior High. He then went on to join the Camels and played for Coach Billy Lee (1999-00) before transferring to Pfeiffer University, where he played for legendary coach Dave Davis.
He graduated from Pfeiffer in 2003 with a bachelor’s degree in Communications Studies and was commissioned into the United States Air Force.
As an active-duty officer, Darden continued his basketball journey by playing for the All-Air Force team from 2005-08. His teams won the Armed Forces Championship in 2006, 2007 and 2008. He later served as an assistant coach of the 2011 All-Air Force team that also won the Armed Forces Championship.
Lt. Col. Darden is a veteran who continues to serve his country as an IMA reservist assigned to the Air Force Services Center at JBSA-Lackland, Texas.
He is also an ordained Elder and has served in various roles at his church.
Darden holds a master’s degree in Physical Education from UNC Pembroke. He is married to Dr. LaKeshia Darden, and together they have six children: Jada, Brooklyn, Viktoria, Kurtis, Coretta, and Tamika.
