High School Sports
Email
Print
King is head basketball coach at North Davidson
He was an assistant under West at both Reynolds and Reagan
ADVERTISEMENT
Published: July 9, 2008
Kevin King, a longtime assistant coach under Howard West at two Forsyth County high schools, has been hired as the boys basketball coach at North Davidson.
King will replace Fredrick Hurt, who coached North for 10 seasons before resigning in May. Hurt led the Black Knights to eight straight winning seasons, but they slipped to 8-17 last season.
King was the head coach at Wilkes Central for two seasons before resigning in 2005, and has spent 16 seasons as an assistant to West -- 13 at Reynolds and the past three at Reagan.
King said that at 38, he was ready to become a head coach again and that North Davidson, which competes against Reynolds in the Central Piedmont 4-A, offers the kind of atmosphere he likes.
"I told them first thing in the interview, from being an outsider all those years at Reynolds and Reagan, the biggest thing I saw was the community support," said King, a son of Ron King, a former North Surry coach. "They have fans in the stands. It reminds me a lot of growing up (at North Surry). The gyms were always packed, and the whole community was there, so that was one of the big things."
Athletics Director Tanya Burcham of North Davidson said that King -- a social-studies teacher -- was the only candidate interviewed.
"We felt that he was highly qualified, and we were very pleased to have him as an applicant and that he would fill the need that we had," Burcham said. "We were very familiar with Kevin because of his working with Howard West at Reynolds and of course at Reagan. We knew what kind of person he was, and he is really interested in coming to a place that has strong community ties, which we do, and we feel really fortunate to have him coming to North Davidson. I am sure he will do a wonderful job."
King said he knows that North's league, the Central Piedmont 4-A, will always provide tough competition.
"You could have a really good team and finish fourth in that league easily," he said. "It's just a tough league. Since 1994, when I started at Reynolds, the state-championship teams and Division I basketball players that have gone through that conference, it's a pretty big list. You know what you are up against. You will play some of the best teams in the state on a nightly basis, and you have to be ready to play every night
"That's what I have wanted to do since I was 10, 11 years old is coach basketball. I enjoyed it here at Reagan, and it was a tough decision because this is a great place, it really is. But it's like Mr. (Stan) Elrod (Reagan's principal) told me, if what I wanted to be was a head coach, it's an opportunity I couldn't turn down."
King, who was 25-28 in his two seasons at Wilkes Central, attended Surry Community College and Appalachian State and received his degree in social studies from Winston-Salem State. He said he was going to get the first look at his new team in an open gym workout last night.
Also, a former North Davidson football coach has landed his next job. Tasker Fleming, who resigned this spring after two seasons, has been hired as the new coach at North Rowan.
■ Mason Linker can be reached at 727-7324 or at mlinker@wsjournal.com.
Email
Print
ADVERTISEMENT
N.C. Politics
Federal Politics
Advertisement
