The Norview Pilots decided to stay within to hire its new Head Boys Basketball Coach. Replacing Jonathan Wilson, who has moved over to the Head Girls Basketball Coach, will be his longtime assistant Ricardo Foster.
Foster, 33, spent the past eight seasons as an assistant coach on Wilson's staff. That included the past two years when Norview reached the Group 5A State Tournament.
"Being under Coach Jonathan, I learned so much. It would be foolish to completely re-invent the wheel, so we're not going to change a lot and keep players accustomed to things," Foster told VirginiaPreps.com on Tuesday.
"Jonathan did a wonderful job with the program. I got to follow him around on the AAU circuit with the Tidewater Wildcats and asked him if I could help out. I'm just thankful the opportunity he's given me."
Foster began his playing career under Lonnie Blow, now the Head Coach at Virginia State, when he was at Granby for two years. He then transferred to Coastal Christian and played for Walt Webb.
"I learned a lot from Walt and Lonnie Blow. Those guys were the ones who instilled the qualities and the passion for the game of basketball in me," Foster noted. "They inspired me to be a coach."
In nine seasons under Wilson, the Pilots posted a record of 133-92. They went 17-11 overall this past season and 10-4 in the Atlantic Conference 9, upending Bethel in the opening round of the 5A-South Region Tournament to secure a second straight State Playoff berth.
The cupboard is far from bare for a Norview program that has gone 59-23 over the past three seasons, highlighted by a trip to the 5A State Championship game in 2015. They'll be returning a pair of junior guards in William Steger and Keyontae Johnson, who has blown up on the AAU circuit with Boo Williams' 16-Under program as he has recently pulled in offers from Providence and Virginia Tech.
"Losing guys like Lamont Steward and Jaylen Frazier is definitely going to hurt. But it is kind of like how we lost the Damion Madison's, Greg Heckstall's and Daevon Brown's the year before. We're just trying to make sure we have a guy that can back fill that position," Foster said.
"He may not be that caliber of the guy that we lost, but as long as we have someone in position to help take over that leadership role, I look for us to be competing right there on that state level like we have the past couple years. It's definitely a tough conference with Green Run, Maury, Salem and even Princess Anne, who's one of my sleeper teams."
Foster, 33, spent the past eight seasons as an assistant coach on Wilson's staff. That included the past two years when Norview reached the Group 5A State Tournament.
"Being under Coach Jonathan, I learned so much. It would be foolish to completely re-invent the wheel, so we're not going to change a lot and keep players accustomed to things," Foster told VirginiaPreps.com on Tuesday.
"Jonathan did a wonderful job with the program. I got to follow him around on the AAU circuit with the Tidewater Wildcats and asked him if I could help out. I'm just thankful the opportunity he's given me."
Foster began his playing career under Lonnie Blow, now the Head Coach at Virginia State, when he was at Granby for two years. He then transferred to Coastal Christian and played for Walt Webb.
"I learned a lot from Walt and Lonnie Blow. Those guys were the ones who instilled the qualities and the passion for the game of basketball in me," Foster noted. "They inspired me to be a coach."
In nine seasons under Wilson, the Pilots posted a record of 133-92. They went 17-11 overall this past season and 10-4 in the Atlantic Conference 9, upending Bethel in the opening round of the 5A-South Region Tournament to secure a second straight State Playoff berth.
The cupboard is far from bare for a Norview program that has gone 59-23 over the past three seasons, highlighted by a trip to the 5A State Championship game in 2015. They'll be returning a pair of junior guards in William Steger and Keyontae Johnson, who has blown up on the AAU circuit with Boo Williams' 16-Under program as he has recently pulled in offers from Providence and Virginia Tech.
"Losing guys like Lamont Steward and Jaylen Frazier is definitely going to hurt. But it is kind of like how we lost the Damion Madison's, Greg Heckstall's and Daevon Brown's the year before. We're just trying to make sure we have a guy that can back fill that position," Foster said.
"He may not be that caliber of the guy that we lost, but as long as we have someone in position to help take over that leadership role, I look for us to be competing right there on that state level like we have the past couple years. It's definitely a tough conference with Green Run, Maury, Salem and even Princess Anne, who's one of my sleeper teams."
