‘Bigger and better’: Dion Bethea has high hopes for second stint with Gray basketball
Dion Bethea is hoping the sequel at Gray Collegiate will be better than the original, although it won’t be easy.
Bethea is back for his second stint as Gray Collegiate boys basketball coach and was officially introduced at a press conference on Thursday. Hours before the press conference, he also put a hype video on social media dubbed “The Return” for his second go-round with the War Eagles.
“Not only what we built here and what we have coming, it is going to be even better,” Bethea said. “I made a vow to myself that I want to be bigger and better than we were the first time.”
Bethea replaces Carlos Powell, who the school said submitted his resignation after one season.
Bethea, a Columbia native, was the program’s first coach, dating back to before they were in the South Carolina High School League and turned the War Eagles into a powerhouse program.
Under Bethea, the War Eagles won 20 or more games in six of his last eight years as head coach. He won 273 games, six Class 2A titles, including three in a row from 2022-24.
But Bethea left last spring to try his hand in the college ranks, taking an assistant coaching job at Georgia Southern. At GSU he was reunited with two of his former players Avantae Parker and Braylhan Thomas who are on the Eagles’ roster.
Bethea talked glowingly of his one year in the college game and how he learned how to be a better coach. He also said he didn’t regret leaving Gray.
But there were drawbacks, namely being apart from his family. Bethea’s wife and two daughters never permanently moved to Georgia, making the transition tougher. Plus, there was his love that he had for Gray Collegiate and the program he built.
“Georgia Southern was great. Coach (Charlie) Henry and his staff were great,” Bethea said. “But the thing for me, my wife and kids weren’t there every day. So it was a little difficult.
“I didn’t know what I was going to do. I was going to come back. I had some other opportunities and places. But this presented itself to me. Me and Dr. Newsome (Gray principal) talked about it and you know I’m back.”
There will be some changes for Bethea the second time around. His staff will be a little different. He plans to add former War Eagle guard Khalil Robinson to his staff as well as Zam Frederick, a former SC Mr. Basketball who went on to play at Georgia Tech and South Carolina.
Gray Collegiate also will be in its second year of playing in Class 4A after making the jump from 2A because of the multiplier rule implemented in the South Carolina High School League. The War Eagles made it to third round of the 4A playoffs this season.
Gray could go up to 5A in the next realignment with the school building a satellite campus in Irmo.
Then, there is the one-time transfer rule that was approved Wednesday and goes into effect next year — something that Gray Collegiate has lobbied for over the last few years.
Under the rule, students can have one penalty-free transfer during the first six semesters after their initial high school enrollment — essentially their freshman, sophomore or junior years — as long as the transfer happens on or before the start of practice date of the sports season.
“The one-time transfer is good. Kids and families get to make decisions without getting penalized,” Bethea said. “There are a lot of great coaches all over the state. Kids and parents want to get developed, recruited and playing for winning programs. So the one-time transfer is a beautiful thing.”
Bethea was one of four new hires introduced by Gray on Thursday. Others were Katie Nunnery (competitive cheerleading), Erik Schwager (Director of Strength and Conditioning) and Katie Clampitt (Collegiate Academic and Athletic Liaison).
This story was originally published March 20, 2025 at 5:00 PM.
