Rick Lewis approved as Greencastle boys hoops coach
Rick Lewis knows Greencastle-Antrim boys basketball inside and out.
And that's a good thing, because after the resignation of successful six-year head coach Gary Martin, the Blue Devils need someone who can easily swoop in and fill those shoes.
Lewis was approved as the 2016-17 boys basketball coach at Thursday's school board meeting.
"I like expectations," Lewis said. "I'd rather have people expect us to be good, rather than the other way around. It's definitely not a rebuilding situation."
Coming off a 15-8 season and an appearance in the District 3 Class AAAA playoffs, the Blue Devils will now work under Lewis, who brings plenty of experience to the table.
In addition to a slew of previous coaching jobs, Lewis has also served as the eighth-grade and ninth-grade coach at G-A. He was also head coach for the varsity summer league this year. Lewis has also done some color commentating at the varsity games for GameTimePA.com and midpennbroadcasting.com.
"I do know the boys pretty well," Lewis said. "I've coached a lot of them all the way through, and through announcing, I've gotten to go to almost all of their games the last couple of years as well. I think that familiarity is a benefit. They know me, and they know my expectations. I try to be consistent, so hopefully that will increase the learning curve right off the bat."
Lewis was also an JV and assistant varsity coach at Bishop McDevitt as well as the head men's coach at Central Penn Business. He also played at Cedar Cliff.
That experience certainly should help, as Greencastle is expected to return four of its five starters from last year's squad. Lewis is ready to pick up right where that team left off.
"Coach Martin did a great job, as did Garon Gembe before him, so we've had very good coaches," Lewis said. "We've been very fortunate to have a very strong program for the last 10 years, and I appreciate and understand that responsibility and want to make sure we stay on that path."