ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, February 15, 1997 TAG: 9702180018
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BOB TEITLEBAUM STAFF WRITER
Northside hired a new girls' basketball coach and Covington finally decided on its football coach Friday.
Northside principal Allen Journell said that Jim Robinson would follow veteran coach Marilyn Bussey as the girls' coach. In Covington, Brad Morton will take over for retiring John Woodzell
Bussey announced in December she was retiring and was the first of three Blue Ridge District coaches to leave their jobs. Lord Botetourt's David Wheat and Salem's Dee Wright announced their retirements after the first of the year.
Robinson has coached a little bit of every sport at two schools. He started his career at Western Albemarle when it opened in 1977 and, as boys' basketball coach, once directed his team against future University of Virginia great Ralph Sampson, who played for Harrisonburg.
``I coached against Ralph and [North Carolina star] Kevin Madden [from Lee],'' said Robinson. ``It was a loaded district.''
The same can be said of the Blue Ridge District in girls' basketball. Two Blue Ridge teams - Lord Botetourt and William Byrd - reached the state semifinals this past season. The Vikings finished third in the district and beat Byrd the first two times the teams played.
Robinson, 48, moved to Northside in 1988, replacing the late Clyde Strutt on the football staff of coach Jim Hickam. At Northside, Robinson has coached boys' and girls' track, girls' cross country, middle school boys' basketball and served as an assistant and junior varsity girls' basketball coach the past four years.
``When I came into the girls' program, I told Marilyn, I'd like to get back into being a head girls' basketball coach. I knew she was getting close to retirement. She and I talked about [being her successor],'' said Robinson.
The new Vikings coach inherits a team with three returning starters headed by All-Blue Ridge District center Crystal Barrett. The junior varsity, coached by Robinson, was 17-3 and should provide some help next year in the tough district race.
Robinson has been coaching the Northside Middle School since Tracy Poff, now athletic director and girls' coach at Shawsville, left in the late 1980s. He coached many of the players that made Billy Pope's boys' program a state semifinalist three of the last four years.
Morton, meanwhile, was named to a job that he had been expected to get all along. As an assistant to Woodzell, it was assumed Morton would take over when Woodzell exited.
Woodzell announced this past season would be his last, but Morton, who is the boys' basketball coach, wasn't officially chosen until a school board meeting Friday. There was no word whether Morton will retain his basketball job.
Morton is in his 18th season coaching basketball. Covington has won seven district titles - one Blue Ridge and six Pioneer - as well as making three trips to the state tournament.
Morton's coaching record is 256-153 at Covington. He was boys' basketball coach at Bassett before taking over the Cougars' program.
LENGTH: Medium: 61 linesby CNB