Al Poynter enters his 11th season as an Assistant Coach with the Macomb Women’s Basketball program in 2023-24. A former player at Harper Woods High School under current Macomb Head Coach Jay Ritchie, Poynter has cultivated a diverse and extensive basketball background over the past 32-plus seasons, one that includes a wealth of experience across the NCAA, NJCAA, high school and AAU levels in multiple capacities on both sides of the sport (female and male).
In his 10 seasons at Macomb, Poynter has assisted the program to an impressive 205-65 (.759) record overall and a 116-33 (.779) mark in MCCAA conference play, records that include the program’s back-to-back undefeated seasons in 2019-20 (32-0) and the COVID-shortened 2020-21 campaign (11-0). Poynter has been on staff for conference championships in 2014-15, 2016-17, 2019-20, and 2020-21, as well as the program’s two MCCAA Championships (formerly known as State Championships) in 2014-15 and 2019-20. On top of the conference and MCCAA titles, Poynter’s efforts have also assisted in the program earning NJCAA National Championship berths in 2016-17, 2019-20 and 2020-21.
In the player development department, Poynter has assisted in coaching three NJCAA All-Americans (Dayshia Vance, 2014-15; Sade Lemons, 2016-17; Emily Swiercz, 2020-21) as well as a host of All-Region, All-MCCAA and All-Conference selections. The longtime assistant also served as Interim Head Coach for a stretch during the 2014-15 season and helped the team to a 3-3 record over that span.
In addition to coaching at Macomb, Poynter is also in his 22nd year (26th overall) as a high school social studies teacher at Oxford High School. As part of a diverse resume, Poynter has also coached in various capacities on the male side at Valparaiso University, Winthrop University, Berkley High School and Troy High School, and on the female side at Oxford High School and Rochester High School.
Poynter currently lives in Lake Orion with his wife, Jenn, and their three kids.
