Walhalla High School has announced a change in leadership with their Varsity Boys Basketball program. Athletic Director Allan Seigler has confirmed that the program has parted ways with Head Coach Jemiah Wimphrie.
The basketball world is a small world indeed, especially when the eventual answer is just down the hallway. Evan Small has been named the new Head Coach. He served as an Assistant under Wimphrie and has been promoted from within.
Over the last couple of weeks, sources close to the situation have told me that this was going on behind the scenes. However, not at any time during that period did I see the job posted anywhere online. Typically, the School District Of Oconee County has vacant jobs posted on its website. This job did not appear there during that time period, it also was not posted to the online jobs board for the SCHSL, which is pretty standard when coaching jobs are open around the state.
I have asked Mr, Seigler to elaborate on if the job was posted publicly? What was the hiring/interview process like, did it include other candidates? If so, how many? I have not gotten responses to those questions, as of this time.
I'll get to my main question, that also has went unanswered in just a second. The Walhalla Boys program is a combined 22-49 (per Max Preps) in the last 3 seasons under Wimphrie. Small served as an Assistant to Wimphrie. That included a 5 win campaign (per Max Preps) this past season, which marked the lowest single season win total for the program in at least the last two decades.
I have a coaching background at the high school and AAU levels. So I am familiar with how the process generally works. What I can't answer and Mr. Seigler hasn't answered, how do you explain it?
How do justify hiring a coach who was an Assistant on a historically bad team after firing the Head Coach? It's very rare to see that happen. I don't know if I can recall that happening around Upstate high school basketball in the years, I've been around it. I have reached out to Mr. Seigler to see what the explanation is? So far, that question hasn't been addressed.
Seigler did release a statement after I asked him to confirm what sources close to the situation were telling me regarding the firing and hiring? Below is that statement.
"We are very grateful for the time and work that Coach Jemiah Wimphrie invested in our boys basketball program over the past 3 years, however after careful thought we did decide to go in a different direction moving forward. We have chosen Evan Small to be our new head boys basketball coach. We are confident that he will do an exemplary job".
According to the athletic department Byron Wimphrie, Jemiah's brother is expected to stay as the Girls Basketball Coach at Walhalla. Byron has led the Girls program to back-to-back State Titles, something no other Girls Coach has ever done there.
It'll be interesting to see how the situation plays out and only time can give us the answers, that we don't have right now.
