Bethesda's new basketball coach reveals plan to uphold the program's excellent standard
Clyde Wormley, an assistant basketball coach with the Savannah State men's team since 2007, has been hired as the basketball coach at Bethesda Academy.
Wormley replaces Clevan Thompson, the coach of the Blazer program since 2010, leading the team to a GISA state championship in 2012 and a SCISA state crown in 2015.
"Coach Thompson decided to go in a different direction, and we appreciate everything he has done here," Bethesda Athletic Director Antwain Turner said. "We think Coach Wormley is going to be a great fit with our program and at our school. His basketball IQ was amazing as we talked with him during the interview process, and he has such great experience with his time coaching at Savannah State. We think he can take us to the next level."
Wormley, 42, has basketball in his blood. He played at Spencer High School in Columbus and earned a scholarship to play at The Citadel, where he was a standout playing for the Bulldogs. He graduated in 2003 with a business degree and played a year professionally in Mexico. He came back to his alma mater as an assistant coach for two years before joining Horace Broadnax's staff at SSU as an assistant.
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"I learned a lot from working with Coach Broadnax. He's an old school type of coach having played for John Thompson back in the 1980s at Georgetown and winning a national title," Wormley said. "He always talked about staying true to your identity and what you want to accomplish.
"For me, that's going to be playing hard-nosed defense with a lot of energy. And then we'll working on putting our guys in the position to succeed offensively. I want our identity to be as the top defensive team in SCISA., and as a team that always defends its home court."
Wormley said his experience at The Citadel helped build him into the man he is today, and he thinks Bethesda is the same kind of school with its focus on academics, leadership and discipline. He inherits a team with some talented players, including seniors Ashton Wright and Jacari McKay, along with junior Israel Wright.
The Bethesda program has an excellent history with 12 Final Four appearances, eight state finals appearances and the two state titles. Wormley is focused on building on that, while also having an impact on his players lives.
"I learned at The Citadel and from working with Coach Broadnax that it's not always about basketball," Wormley said. "It's also about building the character within the young men from Bethesda, and that will be a big part of my job."
Dennis Knight covers sports for the Savannah Morning News. Contact him at Dknight@savannahnow.com. Twitter: @DennisKnightSMN
This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Bethesda basketball hires Savannah State assistant Clyde Wormley
