SoCalHoops Recruiting News

Vonn Webb Returns To Coach At
Fresno Washington Union--(May 8, 2000)

Saturday's Fresno Bee reported on the return of former Washington Union High School boys head coach Vonn Webb to the head coaching job in Easton.  Vonn had been hired as an assistant at Wyoming this past season, but things didn't work out and he was fired by Wyoming coach Steve McClain.  Leroy Washington, formerly at Oregon State as an assistant under Eddie Payne, was hired at Wyoming ("I'm not Vonn's replacement" Leroy told us in late March.).  For at least the next month or so, the link to the Bee article on Webb's rehiring can be found at this link.   We've also reprinted the story below because after about three weeks, the Bee doesn't archive stuff (at least not that we've been able to find). . .  Be sure to check the online version of the paper, because there are other stories there about DeShawn Stevenson and the Panthers that you won't want to pass up. 

Webb is back in Panthers purple
By Andy Boogaard
The Fresno Bee
(Published May 5, 2000)

The buzz in Easton over DeShawn Stevenson's announcement this week that he's declaring for the NBA draft grew in strength Thursday when it was learned Vonn Webb has been re-hired as the Panthers boys' basketball coach.   "I don't know what to say about this, but I wouldn't want anybody else here but him, really," Panthers junior center Keith Sconiers said. 

He played for Webb, along with Stevenson, as a sophomore during the 1998-99 season when Washington went 27-6 and captured the state's Division 3 championship.  That ended a 110-13 run, with four Central Section titles and two state crowns, for the Panthers under Webb, who then moved on to the University of Wyoming as an assistant.

That proved to be a "bad marriage," said Webb, who was relieved of his duties by Cowboys coach Steve McClain. 

Meanwhile, another marriage found rough waters in Easton, and that, too, resulted in a divorce when Larry Triguiero -- Webb's former assistant -- was removed as the Panthers coach late in the season.  Rumors immediately began to stir that Webb might return. And it became official when he signed his contract at the school Thursday morning.  Principal John Pestorich said the hiring was approved by the Washington Union District school board in a special meeting Wednesday night. 

"First of all, when we lost Vonn a year ago, we were tremendously disappointed to lose a coach we thought was perfect for us," Pestorich said. "But we realized that it was a professional opportunity he had to take advantage of when it presented itself.  The opportunity to rehire him is a tremendous opportunity not only for the basketball program, but the whole community. We're elated that he's back." 

As is Webb, along with his wife, Sincerae; daughter Taylor, 7; and son Taelin, 4.  "Coming back here was a no-brainer if I was to do the high school thing," Webb said. "It was the best place for me before, and it's the best place now. The kids know what I'm all about, and the community knows what I'm all about. I've been welcomed there with open arms."  He then qualified that statement.  "Division 1 basketball is my dream, and it will remain my dream. If another opportunity comes, I will take a serious look at it, but I'll have to be in a situation where I know someone real well, like the man in charge, or I'm offered the head coach. If you're not familiar with people, you're always expendable, and that was the situation in Wyoming. But, I don't want to cast daggers. What happened happened, and I want to put that behind us." 

Needless to say, Webb won't inherit a cast at Washington graced with the likes of Stevenson, the section's career-leading scorer, and DeShawn Anderson, who's also a senior.  "It's going to be a tough one," Webb said. "There's a lot of rebuilding to do. We'll start from scratch." 

But there's not a better man to do it, Pestorich and Sconiers say, who agreed on Webb's best attributes.  "There are two areas of strength when talking about Vonn," said Pestorich, a former state-winning coach at Washington. "First, his technical expertise in practice and on the sideline during a game. There's no questioning his ability there. But what I think separates him from other coaches is his personality and ability to relate to everybody that comes in contract with him. I've never known anybody who elicits response like Vonn. 

"Everybody loves him." Sconiers added. "He connects with you on a personal basis and on the court. Those two together, hey, he does that really well."  Pestorich said Webb's teaching responsibilities haven't been defined, but that he envisions a split assignment with multicultural education for freshmen and physical education. Webb will begin in the fall.

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