EASLEY — “We have to get back to the old coaching style.”
Those were the words recently of Lamont Wakefield, the new varsity girls basketball coach at Easley High School.
“My number one question is are you committed?” said Wakefield. “If you are committed, that means you are going to grind. Like the girls now, if they skip a workout or don’t go full speed on a drill or if they don’t communicate, then I always point out to them that – you are not just doing it to you, but you are also doing it to the ones who are depending on you. So, I have to hold you accountable because they are going to hold you accountable.”
Continued Coach Wakefield, “Like I told them at the parents meeting, there is no reason why Easley is not being successful when you’ve got a church with three gyms. The rec center has three gyms and you have the (EHS) facility. You can’t say that you can’t find a place to play. That’s what I mean by old school.”
Wakefield said, with several of his basketball players still out in other sports, he has been working with seven girls.
“They are working extremely hard,” he said. “They see the change and I think they are ready for the change. I’m excited about being here. We might go from weightlifting to speed work to basketball in the gym.”
A proven winner, Wakefield has turned around several struggling programs and built them back up. He just nailed down his 400th win last season, which has elevated him into an elite status for South Carolina basketball coaches.
Wakefield took a Southside program that hadn’t won a game in three seasons and then won a state championship in 2010.
Most recently, Wakefield took over a JL Mann program that won only one game in three previous seasons and then he made them into a consistent contender at the Class 5A level.
“When the opportunity came that Easley was looking for a head coach, I felt like it was the best place for me to come,” he said. “I don’t like following successful peoples footsteps because they are big shoes to fill.”
Coach Wakefield has been the Region Coach of the Year five times. He’s had 20 state playoff appearances. He’s been the head coach and the assistant coach of the North/South All-Star Game, he’s piled up seven region championships and the list goes on and on.
You can count on Coach Wakefield building up the Easley girls basketball program. The bigger question is – in the future – how far can Wakefield take the Green Wave girls basketball program?
Leave a Reply