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SWANSON
BY THE NUMBERS
Some highlights of Bunker Hill girls’ basketball over the last 44 years:
Winning seasons: 31, 11 straight from 1979-80 through 1989-1990; 11 straight from 1992-93 through 2002-2003.
Losing seasons: 13, four straight from 2009-2010 through 2012-2013.
Conference titles: 7, six outright; last in 2020-21.
20-win teams: 16, six straight from 1996-1997 through 2001-2002… most wins in a season 28 in 2001-20021.
Playoff teams: 35, 17 straight from 1978-79 through 1994-95; seven straight from 1996-1997 through 2002-2003.
Playoff bids by head coach: Tommy Edwards 20, Terry Sipe 6, Randy Joines 4, Lee Swanson 3, Shane Compton 1; unknown 1.
Western Regional appearances: 5 – 1988-89 (state 2A runnerup); 1998-99 (lost first round, High Point Central); 2000-2001 (lost first round, Ledford); 2001-2002 (lost final, Ledford); 2020-2021 (lost first round, W. Stokes).
SOURCE: HobbsDailyReport.com research and files.
By CHRIS HOBBS
HobbsDailyReport.com
CLAREMONT – Feeling the tug to spend more time with his family and watch his daughter play basketball, Lee Swanson resigned Friday as head girls’ varsity basketball coach at Bunker Hill High.
School officials announced Swanson’s decision in a press release and said they will begin a search for his replacement immediately.
Swanson coached both varsity boys and girls
at while at Bunker Hill. A former boys’ head coach at South Caldwell, he came to the Bears in 2015-2016 to replace Matt Wilkinson, who left to become head boys’ coach at Newton-Conover.
After four seasons as boys’ coach, Swanson decided to coach the Bears’ varsity girls after Randy Joines retired following the 2018-2019 season.
Overall, Swanson’s Bunker Hill teams went 84-88 over seven seasons, reaching the state playoffs six times.
The Bears’ girls were 43-26 under Swanson with conference finishes of second, first and third and three state playoff bids.
The Bunker Hill boys went 41-63 under Swanson with league finishes of fifth, eighth, tied for third and a tie for second. They made the state playoffs three times.
He has a career coaching record of 114-203 after going 30-114 in six seasons at South Caldwell. Three of his teams had winning records, one went .500 and 10 qualified for the postseason.
Swanson informed his players Friday morning he would not return to coach them, the press release said, and indicated he will continue to teach social studies at Bunker Hill.
“I want the opportunity to teach her those skills,” Swanson said of his daughter.
Swanson encouraged his players to continue their work. The Bears have rebuilt over the past five years after going 4-21 in 2015-2016 and 2-23 in 2016-2017.
“I will do anything to help you guys,” Swanson said in the press release “We’ve accomplished a lot, and if you want to be successful, there is a certain amount of work to be put in, and I’ll help you. If there are skills you want to work on, just get with me.”
Bunker Hill principal Preston Clarke thanked Swanson for his work in the Bears’ basketball program.
JOINES
“We greatly appreciate Coach Swanson and his family for all that he has invested in our student-athletes here at Bunker Hill High School,” Clarke said in the press release. “We’d like to thank Coach Swanson for his contributions, dedication, and sacrifices during his tenure as head basketball coach.”
The school said anyone interested in the open coaching position should contact athletic director James Byrd at james_byrd@catawbaschools.net.
The next girls’ head-coaching hire will be the seventh for Bunker Hill since the late 1970s. They were coached by Terry Sipe for six years, then by Tommy Edwards for 23 years. When Edwards retired, Shane Compton took over for one year.
In 2009-2010, Randys Laws coached the Bears for one season before Joines came in for the next nine years. He retired after the 2018-2019 season.
SWANSON TAKES OVER BUNKER HILL GIRLS: https://hobbsdailyreport.com/bunker-hill/breaking-news-swanson-will-shift-from-coaching-varsity-boys-at-bunker-hill-to-guiding-girls-team/
