‘I’m glad to be back’: Zach Norris will return to coach Keenan boys basketball
Keenan High boys basketball has its leader back.
Longtime coach Zach Norris has been reinstated as boys basketball coach, the school announced Friday on social media. Norris told The State that athletic director Sean Gilley informed him of the news earlier in the day.
Norris didn’t coach in any games this season for the Raiders.
“I am just glad it is all over with. I am glad to be back,” Norris told The State on Friday evening. “I am thrilled to be back. I know I still have something to help the young men. I am just sorry I missed out on the seniors that I had.”
The reinstatement likely means Norris will finish his career as the Raiders’ head coach. The 68-year-old said he will probably coach three or four more years. Next year will be Norris’ 28th as Keenan head coach, and he’s been coaching for more than 40 years with other stops at Newberry, Saluda, Williston-Elko, Glen Hills (Ga.) and at Voorhees College.
Norris’ reinstatement comes a few weeks after a pair of Keenan parents voiced their displeasure at a Richland 1 School Board meeting on March 10, citing lack of transparency around how Norris’ punishment had been handled and how things went this season.
Keenan finished second in the region and lost in the Class 3A Lower State championship.
“We watched our season kind of be sabotaged by decisions that parents weren’t actually a part (of) or made aware of,” said Yolanda Anderson, mother of a Keenan basketball player. “Tonight we are here seeking some sort of accountability. We know we weren’t expecting a decision from the board, but we had to say something. Many of us watched our season be sabotaged by adults that didn’t think about the kids.
“We realized that parents weren’t made aware of any changes. We learned just as any of you learned, throughout the newspaper or online comments. WJ Keenan means something special to a lot of alumni in this area. To watch this season kind of be sabotaged was hurtful.”
Norris wasn’t able to be on the bench in any of the games this season, stemming from violations of South Carolina High School League rules. 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 penalties for the Keenan program were supposed to be a suspension for Norris for the first half of the season (13 games) and him not being allowed to coach in the playoffs. The school could have appealed to try and reduce the SCHSL sanctions against Norris, but the initial penalties were accepted instead.
The school and district didn’t recognize any games served toward the suspension until Norris was officially back as a full-time employee, which didn’t happen until January. Norris was technically retired, and the school didn’t finalize the paperwork to hire him back until after Christmas break.
Once he was back as an employee, Norris was able to run practices but said it wasn’t the same because he wasn’t allowed to coach on game days. He had to watch games in the stands.
In late February, he was sitting in the second level of the Florence Center as he watched Fox Creek defeat the Raiders, 75-69, in the Class 3A Lower State championship. Norris thinks things might have ended differently that day if he had been on the bench instead of acting coach Alex Harper.
Norris said the officials wouldn’t have had such a quick whistle in the game if he had been coaching.
Fox Creek hit 20 of 23 free throws in the fourth quarter and was 37 of 44 for the game from the line. Keenan was 18 of 23 from the free-throw line in the game.
“My staff did a wonderful job, don’t get me wrong. But there would have been a respect factor with me being out there,” Norris said of the officiating. “I don’t mind losing, but not like that.”
Norris thinks that defeat and his being back on the bench will re-energize the players as they head into next season. The Raiders will be moving down to Class 2A and will return most of their players, including all-state selection Antoine Caughman, Bryson Schofield, Zy’ion James, Malik Brunson and Marcus Simpson.
“Kids have been texting me and they are glad I am coming back,” Norris said. “They are going to have a chip on their shoulder and take care of some things.”
