East girls hoops job down to two candidates
AD Rouff hopes to make recommendation at next school board meeting
Thursday, May 01, 2008
Lakota East High's search for a new girls basketball coach may finally come to an end soon.
Athletic director Jim Rouff said today, April 30, that former Loveland coach Todd Benzinger and former NBA player Ronnie Grandison will be interviewed Thursday, May 1.
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Rouff said he hopes to make a recommendation at the school board meeting May 12.
"I think they're great candidates," Rouff said. "We're trying to get a coach in place so we can move on with our summer basketball and get the kids ready for next season.
"We've got to get this done."
Rouff thought he had a coach in early April when he offered the job to one of six finalists at the time, but that individual declined.
After that, former Winton Woods coach David Lumpkin inquired about the position, and was to be recommended as the next coach at the board meeting Monday, April 28. But Lumpkin had to pull his name out since he's also an assistant principal at Winton Woods.
"We thought we had it done," Rouff said. "We just had a curveball thrown at us.
"We'll stay as positive as we can," he added. "We want the best fit for our students at Lakota East. We're not going to pick somebody just to pick somebody. They've got a job in front of them. They need to rebuild, and it takes the right person to do that."
Contact this reporter at (513) 755-5113 or smatthews@coxohio.com.
