Why isn’t Zach Norris coaching yet for Keenan basketball? Here’s what we know
Zach Norris is yet to coach the Keenan boys basketball team in a game this season. There’s a possibility that will change soon.
Some parents and fans of the Keenan High boys program were expected to speak up on Norris’ behalf Tuesday night during the public portion of the Richland 1 school board meeting, according to a source with knowledge of the planned show of support. They hope that will be enough to get him back on the court for at least the rest of the regular season.
Norris has been at practice but hasn’t coached a game this season as he’s held out because of S.C. High School League sanctions that followed a rules violation over the summer.
The penalties for the Keenan program was a suspension for Norris for the first half of the season (13 games) and him not being allowed to coach in the playoffs.
Keenan has played 22 of its 26 regular-season games and is well past the halfway point in the season. So why hasn’t Norris been allowed to coach in a game?
The State requested, but was denied, interviews with Keenan principal Jabar Hankins and Richland 1 district athletic director Bob Matz.
District spokesperson Karen York also declined to answer whether Norris would coach for Keenan this school year, instead saying through a statement that Richland 1 is “complying with the directives issued” by the S.C. High School League.
“We have a coaching staff in place to continue leading the team for upcoming games this season,” York said as part of the district’s statement.
It’s possible the school and district didn’t recognize any games served toward the suspension until Norris was officially back as a full-time employee. Norris was technically retired, and the school didn’t finalize the paperwork to hire him back until after Christmas break.
Keenan is 16-6 and is second in Region 4-3A after a win over Newberry on Friday. Assistant coach Alex Harper has led the Raiders through all 22 of those games.
“ I am trying to hold it in the road for him until he gets back,” Harper said after a recent game. “Trying to do the best we can to keep everything together. Everything that he implemented is still in place.”
The summertime violations occurred when a player who wasn’t enrolled yet at Keenan and didn’t live in the attendance zone practiced with the team seven times, the SCHSL said in a letter to the Keenan principal that was obtained by The State with an open records request.
The school could have appealed to try and reduce the SCHSL sanctions against Norris but chose to accept the initial penalties instead. Brookland-Cayce’s football program and head coach faced similar sanctions in 2025 and had most of them reduced or eliminated after an appeal.
Norris has been a fixture at Keenan since he took over for Ben Trapp before the 1999-2000 season. He built the Raiders into one of the top programs in South Carolina, winning seven state championships.
Norris returned to the school in January and is currently teaching driver’s education classes. He is allowed to be at Keenan’s practice but just can’t coach games or sit on the bench.
Perhaps that could change, at least for the few final regular-season games remaining, after Tuesday’s planned public show of support at the Richland 1 board meeting.
“We are just trying to hold it in the road and keep the players together,” Harper said. “The players are close to him. It’s affected a lot of us.”
This story was originally published January 26, 2026 at 8:00 AM.
