THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, May 12, 1995 TAG: 9505120615
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C4 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY RICH RADFORD, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Short : 48 lines
Lonnie Blow, an assistant coach at Maury High for 11 years, was named Granby High's new boys basketball coach late Thursday.
Blow, a Division III All-American during his career at Virginia Wesleyan College, called the Granby job ``a great opportunity.''
``It's a tough act to follow the 20-3 record they had this year,'' said Blow, 35, who also attended Frederick Military Academy. ``But I'm looking forward to the chance for a long run there.''
Blow takes over a program coming off its best season in 20 years.
Granby won the Eastern District regular-season and tournament titles behind the play of Tidewater player of the year Shawn Hobson and power forward Toweh Ketter. Both graduate this year.
``But they'll have several players returning, including some good perimeter players,'' Blow said.
The Granby position became vacant when coach Jim Harvey was suspended in midseason. Harvey was relieved of his coaching duties after the season following an investigation involving unspecified reasons unrelated to the basketball team. Granby assistant principal Tim Sweeney coached the team the final month of the season.
``We are very happy to get Lonnie Blow,'' Granby principal Michael Caprio said. ``We feel we've gotten ourselves a quality coach.''
Blow had also applied for the Booker T. Washington position, which became vacant when Barry Hamler was named head coach at Elizabeth City State University two weeks ago.
``I was debating whether to wait and see what happened with the Booker T. job,'' Blow said. ``But the more I went back and forth, the more attractive the Granby job became.''
The Granby position is the first of many vacant area boys basketball jobs to be filled. In addition to Booker T. Washington's, there are also openings at Princess Anne, Wilson, Nansemond-Suffolk Academy and Norfolk Collegiate.
Any unattractiveness in the Granby program rests in plans for a complete school renovation. The Comets basketball teams may be forced to operate out of the old Norfolk Catholic gymnasium the next two years while the school undergoes a multimillion-dollar face-lift.
``But in two seasons, Granby will be playing in one of the nicer gyms around,'' Blow said. by CNB