Wilson leaving Tigers basketball team

FLORENCE — Bob Wilson knows that when the basketballs are rolled out next October, there will be a part of him that wants to be in the gym.

But it’s that other part — the part that wants to see what else is out there after more than three decades either playing or coaching the game — that he’s more concerned with these days.

And it’s a big reason why Wilson, surprisingly for most, announced Tuesday he is resigning from coaching the boys basketball team at Wilson High School.
Wilson said he will continue to teach at the school.

“I’m sure when the balls start bouncing, I’m going to miss it some,” he said. “But by the same token, am I ready to be there every day? That’s what you have to ask yourself.”

It’s a legitimate question for someone who has been a big part of the Florence basketball community since 1978, his first season as a college player at Francis Marion.

After playing his final game for the Patriots in 1980, Wilson served as an assistant at West Florence, Francis Marion and Wilson and led both the West and Wilson programs.

For the past four seasons, he coached the Tigers, leading them to the Class 3A state championship in 2007 and a 76-31 record in his four seasons. This year’s Wilson team went 22-5 and lost to Battery Creek in the second round of the 3A playoffs.

“I’ve been through 36 straight seasons as either a player or a coach and that’s a long time,” Wilson said. “I had a really nice group of guys to work with this year. The kids that were seniors were ninth-graders when I took over this job.

“There’s never a good time to leave players behind, but there are some really good players coming up. But I never wanted to hang on so long where I found myself at the gym or practice not wanting to be there. I couldn’t handle that.”

Wilson said he had been thinking about his decision for quite a while, but had not discussed it with anyone but his wife. He said his players and Wilson principal Dr. Gerard Edwards were “caught off guard a little bit.”

“But by the same token, I didn’t see any benefit in discussing it ahead of time either,” Wilson said. “I wanted to give (Edwards) and the school plenty of time to find a really good replacement.

“There are some outstanding players coming up and Wilson is going to be very successful again. It’s like I told my players when I met with them: ‘Wilson had plenty of good basketball players long before you or I were ever here and will have plenty of good basketball players long after we’re gone.’”

It’s true the Tigers had plenty of contenders over the years, but Wilson was able to do what no one before him had in leading the school to its first basketball state title two years ago.

And the Tigers made it that much more impressive by doing it as a No. 3 seed out of their region, which means they didn’t get a single playoff game at home.

In a statement released by Florence School District 1, Edwards said he respects Wilson’s decision. Edwards accepted Wilson’s resignation after a conversation with the coach Tuesday morning.

“Coach Wilson and his staff have dedicated many hours in structuring a program that has been managed in a first-class manner, produced outstanding student-athletes and a state championship,” Edwards said.

Edwards said the administration will begin a search for a replacement immediately.

Wilson did not rule out coaching again one day.

“I can’t guarantee anything, but I don’t have any plans on doing that right now,” he said. “Five years down the road, if I’m driving people crazy, who knows?”
As for now?

“Now I can explore some other things,” he said. “One reason I’m stepping away right now is that while I was involved in coaching, there wasn’t any time for anything else.”