Lloyd DeLoatch has been hired as the new Head Basketball Coach at Salem High School in Virginia Beach, Athletic Director Mark Harrison announced on Friday.
DeLoatch, 32, comes to Salem after spending the past seven years as an assistant coach at Heritage High School in Lynchburg. He played basketball professionally in Sweden for two seasons following his time at Anderson University, a Division III program in Indiana.
Coincidentally, DeLoatch also played on Oak Hill Academy's team that beat Salem in 2001 during a showcase held at NC State.
"When I saw the opening, my first thought was they were a good team and they won a State Championship that year. I was intrigued and I know the basketball in the 757 area is very strong," DeLoatch told VirginiaPreps.com.
"I've done a little bit of research and saw some highlights of them. I think we have some really good talent, bigs and guards. I'm looking forward to getting them in the gym and grinding."
In 2015-16, Salem finished 12-11 overall and 8-6 in Atlantic Conference play. Their season ended in a 52-44 loss to Green Run in the Conference 9 Tournament semifinals.
At Salem, DeLoatch replaces Justin Parrish, who went 61-78 in six seasons at the helm.
DeLoatch knows the Sun Devils are in a challenging conference with the likes of Green Run, Maury and Norview. But only one senior starter graduated from last season and the cupboard is far from bare.
"Ideally, we'll be up-tempo," he said on what type of style of play to expect. "We're going to pressure on defense and use the talent that we have because I think we have some good athletes. We want to build a good team atmosphere, get them to play together and hopefully we can get some wins."
DeLoatch, 32, comes to Salem after spending the past seven years as an assistant coach at Heritage High School in Lynchburg. He played basketball professionally in Sweden for two seasons following his time at Anderson University, a Division III program in Indiana.
Coincidentally, DeLoatch also played on Oak Hill Academy's team that beat Salem in 2001 during a showcase held at NC State.
"When I saw the opening, my first thought was they were a good team and they won a State Championship that year. I was intrigued and I know the basketball in the 757 area is very strong," DeLoatch told VirginiaPreps.com.
"I've done a little bit of research and saw some highlights of them. I think we have some really good talent, bigs and guards. I'm looking forward to getting them in the gym and grinding."
In 2015-16, Salem finished 12-11 overall and 8-6 in Atlantic Conference play. Their season ended in a 52-44 loss to Green Run in the Conference 9 Tournament semifinals.
At Salem, DeLoatch replaces Justin Parrish, who went 61-78 in six seasons at the helm.
DeLoatch knows the Sun Devils are in a challenging conference with the likes of Green Run, Maury and Norview. But only one senior starter graduated from last season and the cupboard is far from bare.
"Ideally, we'll be up-tempo," he said on what type of style of play to expect. "We're going to pressure on defense and use the talent that we have because I think we have some good athletes. We want to build a good team atmosphere, get them to play together and hopefully we can get some wins."
