Former Gamecock Lucas stepping down at Richland Northeast

Aaron Lucas is out after four seasons as Richland Northeast’s boys basketball coach.

RNE athletic director Gary Fulmer said the school received Lucas’ resignation Tuesday.

Lucas led the Cavaliers to three straight playoff appearances but never had a winning season in that span and was just 35-52 at RNE. The Cavaliers, who lost point guard Alex Caldwell (transfer to Wilson) and Marquise Riley for half the year, were 8-13 this season, including 5-5 in Region 4-3A.

RNE lost to Wren in the first round of the playoffs.

“It is the nature of the business. You got to win.” Lucas said. “It is the best move for both parties. Northeast has a tradition and I was part of starting that. I would like to see it get back to that high level. No negatives. I wanted to do something special there and wasn’t able to do it.”

Lucas said he definitely plans to coach again somewhere.

Lucas was a Nike All-American at RNE and is the school’s all-time leading scorer. The point guard played at South Carolina in college, is fourth on the Gamecocks’ all-time assist list with 454 and scored more than 1,000 points in his career.

Lucas played in Europe from 2002-07 and also worked in the USC athletic department.

Lucas’ departure is the second opening in the Midlands for boys basketball. Dutch Fork’s Matt Brown resigned last month.

This story was originally published March 21, 2017 at 2:27 PM with the headline "Former Gamecock Lucas stepping down at Richland Northeast."