Turnover high among area high school basketball coaches
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The turnover among the area high school basketball coaches, especially among the boys coaches, has been remarkable.
So far, there will be nine new boys coaches and five new girls coaches.
In the Sarasota County public school system, all the coaches in 2022 will be new, except for Booker High’s Andre Johnson, who will begin his second season on the Tornadoes’ bench.
Sarasota High turned over both boys and girls coaching staffs.
A couple of coaches are shifting among area schools, while there are a number of newcomers, especially those from the AAU coaching ranks, who have worked their way to the high school level.
There also have been a number of out-of-state hires.
Still some spots are still vacant.
Here is a list of the new coaches, the former coaches and a brief summary of the moves.
Charlotte: Tom Massolio steps down as Charlotte High boys basketball coach after 25 years
North Port: North Port names Wallace boys basketball coach
Venice: Venice High hires North Port High assistant as new boys hoops coach
Riverview: Riverview High names Ellis as its new boys basketball coach
Braden River: Braden River High names Gilmer its new boys basketball coach
Sarasota: Sarasota names BJ Ivey new boys basketball coach
Cardinal Mooney: Mooney names new girls hoops coach
Sarasota: GIRLS BASKETBALL: Sarasota High hires David Gaulman as its new coach
BOYS BASKETBALL
Charlotte High
In: Mike Williams
Out: Tom Massolio
The skinny: A long-time assistant Williams takes over for Massolio, who won more than 500 games in 25 seasons. Massolio moves into the role of director of athletics, replacing the retired Brian Nolan.
North Port High
In: Bruce Wallace
Out: Ryan Power
The skinny: Wallace comes from North Carolina, where he was the head varsity basketball coach for one season to replace Power, who returned to his alma mater at Jensen Beach High on Florida’s east coast.
Venice High
In: Luke Davis
Out: Mike Montgomery
The skinny: An assistant at North Port High, Davis takes over the Venice program for Montgomery, who stepped down after leading Venice to the district final.
Riverview High
In: Kendall Ellis
Out: Rudy Fraraccio
The skinny: An AAU coach and director, Ellis moves in with the Rams for Fraraccio, who stepped down after three seasons of leading Riverview to the regionals. Ellis will be accompanied by his son Khyre’, a sophomore who played his freshman season with the Port Charlotte High varsity.
Out-of-Door Academy
In: Vacant
Out: B.J. Ivey
The skinny: The Thunder are likely to wait until new director of athletics Andres Parra takes over in July to replace Ivey, who did not go far.
Sarasota High
In: B.J. Ivey
Out: Mike Fields
The skinny: The former long-time Riverview High coach, Ivey returns to the Sarasota County public school system with the Sailors, replacing Fields who stepped down. Ivey had stints at Florida Gulf Coast University and Out-of-Door, where he was for two seasons. Fields was a finalist for at least three area jobs since stepping down at Sarasota.
Braden River High
In: Dwight Gilmer
Out: Jason Mickan
The skinny: Gilmer made the in-county jump from Bayshore High, where he was the varsity coach since 2018. He also was an assistant at Southeast High, his alma mater. A former player at Lakewood Ranch High, Mickan replaced Matt Nesser, who became the Pirates’ director of athletics, in 2014.
Bayshore High
In: Robert Bennett
Out: Dwight Gilmer
The skinny: The Bruins have hired Robert Bennett, who was the coach at Sarasota Military Academy last year and an assistant at Braden River the year before to replace Gilmer, who moved to Braden River High.
Parrish Community High
In: Vacant
Out: Ryan Kardok
The skinny: This is the latest job to open, as Kardok landed the position as Director of Player Development at the University of South Florida last week. Kardok coached the Bulls in two of their three varsity seasons.
Sarasota Military Academy
In: Vacant
Out: Robert Bennett
The skinny: Robert Bennett moved to Bayshore High to replace Dwight Gilmer, who went to Braden River High.
GIRLS BASKETBALL
Cardinal Mooney Catholic
In: Marlon Williams
Out: Rico Antonio
The skinny: After guiding the Cougars the past four seasons, including back-to-back Class 3A state championship appearances the past two seasons, Antonio stepped down. After a long search, Cardinal Mooney grabbed Williams, who coaches AAU ball and trains basketball players in the area.
Sarasota High
In: David Gaulman
Out: Kevin Corwin
The skinny: Gaulman made the jump from Saint Stephen’s, where he had three highly successful seasons including winning the Sunshine State Athletic Conference championship this past season, to the Sailors, who have struggled recently.
Manatee High
In: Latece Luther
Out: Travis Persinger
The skinny: Persinger stepped down after one season in his return to the Hurricanes bench. He led Manatee to the first district title in 37 years in 2019-20. A former softball and basketball standout at Bayshore High, Luther gets her first shot at coaching varsity basketball at Manatee High.
Saint Stephen’s Episcopal
In: Jenn Miller
Out: David Gaulman
The skinny: Saint Stephen’s found Gaulman’s replacement in Miller, a former standout at Charlestown Catholic High School in West Virginia, where she was a two-time USA Today All-American honorable mention. After graduating from Florida State University, Miller got into coaching. In five years at Bartram Trail in Jacksonville, she amassed 100 victories with three district titles and one regional championship.
Bradenton Christian School
In: Jerry Aquino
Out: Eli Lofton
The skinny: To replace Lofton, who coached the Panthers for four seasons, Bradenton Christian promoted Aquino, who recorded more than 300 wins at Mount St. Dominic in Caldwell, New Jersey during a 16-year period. Aquino was the middle school coach and varsity assistant last year.
Dennis Maffezzoli is the deputy sports editor for the Sarasota Herald-Tribune and chief reporter for Sarasota Herald-Tribune and HTpreps covering Sarasota, Manatee and Charlotte counties. Support local journalism by subscribing.
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This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Turnover high among area high school basketball coaches
