It was a mere 16 months ago that the Vashon High boys basketball team was one victory away from winning a USA Today national championship. It was only four months ago that the Wolverines were celebrating its 10th state title under Hall of Fame coach Floyd Irons.
Now, Irons is without the coaching job that made him an area coaching legend over the course of four decades. During his 33 years, Irons led the Wolverines to 10 state titles while bringing the basketball program to national prominence. He was removed from that post last week by the St. Louis Public School Board.
Irons and his community supporters have vowed to fight the school board’s ruling with all of their resources in hopes of getting him back on the sidelines for a 34th season. Protests and rallies have already started to take place. If Irons is successful, it will be business as usual as the Wolverines are once again loaded for another run at an 11th state title in 2007.
However, if this is indeed the end of the Floyd Irons era at Vashon, what’s next for the program? It’s hard to fathom such a thought because Irons, despite being a controversial figure, is an institution in the city.
However, I was hounded with that question more than any other as I spent much of the last week watching hoops at area high school summer leagues during the week and the Anthony Bonner River City Pro-Am League over the weekend.
A program that was on the verge of the national championship now faces an uncertain future. That future will be determined by which direction the school board decides to trek. The possible options raise a multitude of questions in my mind, such as:
*Would a replacement come from within the Vashon coaching family? There is no shortage of quality people. Steve Hall, a former Vashon point guard (Class of ’87) has been at Irons side as an assistant for the past several years. He knows the players and the system inside-out. He would seem to be a quality choice because he is a good coach who is capable of keeping the program at its present lofty level.
There are also former Vashon players such as Randy Reed (Class of ’79) and Gerald “Dinky” Jones (Class of ’86), who are making their marks as head coaches in the Ferguson-Florissant School District where I happen to reside. Reed is doing an excellent job at McCluer North while Jones has the McCluer South-Berkeley program on the upswing. Both have aspirations of getting to the Final Four next season. However, will either of these two get a phone call. Another former player, Russell Arms (Class of ’83) coached the Wolverines briefly in 1996 when Irons retired. He has been Vashon’s athletic director for the past few years.
However, would a former player consider the job in order to preserve the Vashon and Irons legacy, or just leave it alone out of respect to their former coach?
*Would a new coach come from outside the Vashon family tree? If so, who on earth will they find to step into this pressure cooker? Honestly, I was unable to come up with anybody who could, or would want to get in that hot seat. However, it would be a great challenge to take over a storied program and put your own personal stamp on it.
*If a new coach is hired from the outside (the Vashon family or St. Louis for that matter), what will become of the team members? Do families pick up and transfer or will they stick it out under new and unfamiliar leadership.
*Does the Public High League become more competitive. Gateway Tech, Beaumont and Career Academy have excellent programs as well, but all have been one cut below Vashon. Would this change in the future?
*What would be the next move for Coach Irons? Over the course of four decades, he has made numerous connections at the high school, collegiate and professional levels.
*Does he wait for another opportunity to coach in the area at the high school level?
*Does he try to take a shot at the big time and hopefully move to the Division I coaching ranks? He turned down opportunities to be a major college assistant coach in the past to remain at Vashon.
*Would he make a move down the street and take over the men’s basketball program at Harris Stowe State University? Dr. Henry Givens has made quite a splash in increasing the profile of the school. A high-profile hire of this magnitude could turn the Hornets into a potential small-college national power in short order. That would be interesting.
*Would he be interested at taking another stab at the professional ranks? The newly-formed St. Louis Stunners of the American Basketball Association will begin play next season. The man responsible for bringing the Stunners to St. Louis is former Vashon High great Anthony Bonner, who led Irons’ 1986 team to his third state championship. Irons did coach the St. Louis Skyhawks of the United States Basketball League a few years back.
The possibilities are endless. Many of us are anxiously awaiting the outcome of these scenarios. The landscape of basketball in the St. Louis area could change with how this final drama is played out.
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-“It’s hard to fathom such a thought because Irons, despite being a controversial figure, is an institution in the city.”