Matt Oaks, a former athlete at Bandys High who was an assistant coach last year on the varsity boys’ basketball team, has been named to guide his alma mater next season./BANDYS HIGH PHOTO
By CHRIS HOBBS
HobbsDailyReport.com
CATAWBA – Bandys High has turned to one of its former athletes to coach boys’ varsity basketball next season.
Trojans Athletic Director Brandon Harbinson announced Matt Oaks, an assistant basketball coach last season, will be Bandys’ interim boys’ coach next season.
“Matt is well respected by his players, parents and our community and we are very proud to call him ours,” Harbinson said in an e-mail announcing Oaks’ promotion. “Matt has already done tremendous things in our program and we look forward to watching him continue to build and strength our program even more.”
Oaks, who played multiple sports at Bandys, was not available for comment.
He replaces Adam Dutka, a non-faculty coach who exited after four seasons with a 43-58 record. After a review of the program, school administrators decided to search for a new head coach.
The Trojans went 10-13 last season overall and 5-9 in the South Fork 2A to finish sixth and make the state playoffs in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 2008-09 and 2009-10.
Two years ago, Bandys ended a seven-year stretch of losing seasons by going 15-11.
Wilkes Central and Shelby eliminated the Trojans in the first round of the state 2A playoffs the last two seasons.
The Trojans have not won a state playoff game since 2000-01, and Oaks will be the 12th head coach in the 32 years since the late Bill Bost retired after the 1987-88 season.
Bandys had four head coaches from 1970 through 1993 (23 years) – Bost, the late Mike Matheson, Dee Gibbs and Brian Brown) with 21 straight postseason bids (22 overall), highlighted by state finishes of second, fourth, second and first starting in 1978-79.
Under Bost and Matheson, the Trojans went 417-175 with 18 winning seasons and 20 state playoff bids. Bandys is 203-455 in the 28 seasons since one of them was head coach.
Oaks, who went to the United States Merchant Marine Academy after graduating from Bandys, worked on last year’s coaching staff with Dutka, Stan Parker and Jamie Wilson.
Oaks was a star in football for the Trojans in the early 2000s and is one of six Bandys players with at least two career kick or punt returns for touchdowns.
In 2004, he returned a punt 66 yards for a score against Fred T. Foard. and that was the last punt return TD for the Trojans until Isaiah Talbert’s 59-yarder in last year’s season-opening victory against St. Stephens.
Bandys had 10 seniors on a 15-player roster last season in basketball with three juniors who got into 22 games — Spencer Ledford averaged 6.1 points and 4.7 rebounds, Zackery Wright averaged 5.9 points and 2.5 rebounds and Quentin Maddox added 4.5 points and 2.7 rebounds per game.
The Trojans started last season 4-0, which included beating West Caldwell for the first time (twice) in school history, and they were 4-3 and won three straight games to reach 7-3.
Bandys was 3-9 in its last 12 games, falling 79-66 at Shelby in the opening round of the state 2A playoffs.
BANDYS BOYS BASKETBALL
A look at the head coaches for varsity boys’ basketball since 1970-71 at Bandys High, where former player Matt Oaks will be head coach next season:
Head coach Years First year
Bill Bost 18 1970-71
Mike Matheson 3 1988-89
Dee Gibbs 1 1991-92
Brian Brown 5 1992-93
Aron Gabriel 6 1997-98
Mark Lynch 3 2003-04
James Littlejohn 1 2006-07
Brad Gabriel 4 2007-08
Mark Story 1 2011-12
Scott Stilwell 2 2012-13
Jason Barnes 1 2014-15
Adam Dutka 4 2015-16
SOURCE: HobbsDailyReport.com research and files.
