Plant Basketball

Coach Willis enters his ninth season with the Plant Panthers boys’ basketball program. During his tenure, the Panthers have compiled a 143–75 record and captured three consecutive district championships. He has been named Western Conference Coach of the Year in each of the past two seasons and, in 2024–25, earned the Tampa Bay Basketball Coaches Association Doug Walker Coach of the Year award, the first of his career. The Panthers have also won the Hillsborough County GPA Award twice in his 9 years.

Although this is his ninth year at Plant, it marks his twentieth year as a head coach in Hillsborough County. Before joining the Panthers, Coach Willis led programs at Bloomingdale High School and Lennard High School. At Bloomingdale, he guided the Bulls to their first district title since 1996 and their first regional semifinal appearance since 1994, earning Federal Division Coach of the Year honors that season.

Prior to coaching in the high school ranks, Coach Willis spent several years in collegiate basketball with High Point University (2003–04), Saint Leo University (2001–03), and the University of South Florida (1996–2001).

He played one year of college basketball at Webber College (now Webber International University) and earned All-Pinellas County Honorable Mention as a senior at East Lake High School.

Coach Willis holds a bachelor’s degree in Physical Education from the University of South Florida and a master’s degree in Educational Leadership from Saint Leo University. He lives in Tampa with his wife, Ellen, and their daughters, Maggie and Elise.

Coach Boyd enters his 3rd year on the Plant Panthers coaching staff. Ron brings a wealth of knowledge as a former Plant student and basketball player. Ron was an accomplished basketball player. During Ron's senior year, his team went 23-6 and advanced to the regional quarterfinals. That season, Ron, was a first team all county player and led the team in points, rebounds and assists. After high school, he attended Santa Fe Community to play basketball. Currently, he owns Top Tier Movers and lives with his fiance, Kayln and son, Chosen and daughter, Favor.

Coach Mackey has had a long and illustrious career as a basketball coach. He has been on the Panthers coaching staff for 9 years and has been an advisor and sounding board for Coach Willis for 12seasons. From coaching at 3 different high schools to division 1 colleges, he has been at it for over 40 years. He was most recently head coach at Newsome High School where he lead his players to the Elite Eight in 2010.

Just as he has dedicated himself to basketball, he has dedicated himself to his wife of 27 years, Cheryl and his son, Trent, who played for him at Newsome. His son went on to play division 1 basketball at the University of Louisiana- Monroe and at the University of North Florida. Coach Mackey grins when he shares that Trent finished 5th in the country in 3 point shooting percentage among the division 1 players and participated in a NCAA Tournament with the Ospreys.

Coach Silk is in his third year as a Plant Panther assistant coach. Coach Silk comes to us from Florida State University where he was a student-assistant coach. He was involved in all aspects of the program. His HS playing career was at Pope John Paul II in Boca Raton, FL.

Coach Johnnie Grant is a 2000 graduate of Plant High School and a longtime contributor to Tampa-area basketball. He was a standout player and 1,000 point scorer for the Panthers from 1996-2000. He then continued his playing career at Southereastern University where he won a National Championship, was an All-American and holds the school record for the most points in the season. He began his coaching career as the JV Coach at Jefferson High School from 2008–2012 before returning home to Plant, where he led the Panthers’ JV program from 2013-2017. Coach Grant then became the head coach at Middleton High School, serving as head coach from 2017-2023 season. Coach Grant is married to his wife Britney and is the father to current Plant Basketball player, Johnnie and his other two children, Jaden and Brianna.