Anthony Bonner, retired NBA baller and Vashon High School All-State player, is the frontrunner to be named the Wolverines’ first new coach in more than three decades.
The SportsEYE wonders if this is the best choice for the team or the best choice for the embattled SLPS board of education?
Bonner is truly an inspirational story. A city kid who grew up poor, Bonner turned his basketball skill into a NBA career that paid him a bundle of dollars. He gives back to his community with time and finances and has never turned his back on former coach Floyd Irons.
By hiring Bonner, the school board would silence most critics of Irons’ removal from the position of head coach in July. The fan base would be content. All would be tranquil in the Vashon gymnasium.
Of course, Bonner has never coached high school basketball. In fact, the question remains if he has ever coached any team at any time. He is also not certified to coach in Missouri.
It would not be a bad decision to hire Bonner. But it would not insure that Vashon’s basketball powerhouse would keep clicking on all cylinders. Of course, as a Vashon insider tells the SportsEYE, “it would not be the worst thing for Vashon to have to rely on something more than its basketball team for recognition.”
By the way, official practices can begin in less than six weeks and the state’s premier basketball program has no coach. Of course, that’s so SLPS it’s not funny.
Teams USA are in trouble
We can now officially press the panic button when it comes to the struggles our our American sports teams in international competition. American sports fans have grown accustomed to the recent failures of the USA men’s basketball team, the USA Ryder Cup Golf Team, the USA Baseball team against their world competitiors. It has become old hat.
What folks did not see coming was the demise of the USA Women’s Basketball team at the recent World Championships in Brazil. The lady hoopers had to settle for a bronze medal after being defeated by Russia in the semifinals. It was the only loss suffered by the USA women in nine games, but it was an unexpected turn of events by the normally domiant women’s team.
Now, the USA is really in trouble when the women start losing. We are used to see the men fall on their faces against the World, but not the women. The girls have been getting it done in worldwide competition for years. Whether it is the basketball team with its three consecutive Olympic gold medals, the softball team with its incredible winning streak or the long-time dominance of the soccer team, we can always count on the women to clean up the mess left by their male counterparts.
Hopefully, this loss in Brazil will be just a hiccup for the women, because we need our girls to stay strong and ready to keep the rest of the world at bay.
