DATE: Wednesday, July 16, 1997              TAG: 9707160472

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B8   EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA 

SOURCE: BY JEFF ZEIGLER, CORRESPONDENT 

DATELINE: EDENTON                           LENGTH:   37 lines

NEW BASKETBALL COACH NO STRANGER TO EDENTON ACES

Edenton-Holmes High School will stick with someone it knows to coach its boys basketball team next season.

Ed Thornton, an assistant coach for the Aces for five years, will take over the reins of the boys basketball program this fall, said Tom Bass, athletic director at Edenton-Holmes.

Thornton, also the offensive coordinator for the football team and a social studies teacher, replaces Robert Woodley. Woodley will leave Edenton-Holmes Aug. 1 to become athletic director at Currituck County High School.

Thornton is already familiar with the players at Edenton and took them to a basketball camp at Catawba College in June.

``I'm excited about the season,'' Thornton said. ``I'm real excited about the group of boys we have. They are talented and a real good bunch of kids. It could be a very exciting season - we have kids that have some talent. It depends on how well we come together.''

Thornton will have his work cut out for him. The restructured Northeastern Conference, now a 1A-2A-3A league, will have just one playoff spot among the three 2A schools. The other 2A schools, Currituck and Plymouth, both were playoff teams last season. Thornton said there will be some changes to Edenton's style of play.

``I think I like to trap and press a little more than Robert did,'' Thornton said. ``Depending on who we play, we will do a lot of different things. We'll play whatever we find that works. We may be a little faster paced than we have been. We will probably also play more zone than in the past.''

Thornton said he will wait for the football season to end before he starts basketball practice.

``Many of the basketball players also play football,'' he said. ``We stress that you're in the sport until the season's over.'

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