McDonough, La Plata hire new hoops coaches
Flowers named McDonough girls hoops coach, Way hired as La Plata boys hoops coach
After spending the past season as an assistant coach for the McDonough High School girls basketball team, Stephanie Flowers has been named the Rams varsity coach for the upcoming 2018-19 season.
Flowers, who graduated from Oxon Hill High School, Webster University and the University of Maryland Eastern Shore, is eager to take over the reins from Deshawn Kelly. McDonough graduated Jordan McDuffie, who scored over 1,000 points during her career with the Rams, and Lorell Davis transferred to Wise High School in Prince George’s County, but the cupboard is not bare.
In fact, Flowers will still have three starters back, including rising senior Reed Butler and rising sophomores Iris Golden and Ainsley Kidwell. Having this corps groups of returning starters to build around will help the Rams remain competitive in the Southern Maryland Athletic Conference in which they are only one of two schools in the Class 1A classification.
“Jordan did a lot of really good
things during her career at McDonough, but now it’s up to the returning players to fill the void,” Flowers said. “Reed Butler was our leading rebounder last year, so we’re going to need her presence inside. Iris and Ainsley both got a lot of playing time last season as freshmen. We’re expecting to have some incoming freshmen
from Henson Middle School that can also have an immediate impact for us.”
McDonough High School athletic director Pam Thornton was pleased to announce Flowers as the new girls head coach. Thornton was impressed with the way Flowers worked with the girls and coach Kelly last winter and viewed the assistant coach as the ideal successor.
“Coach Stephanie came
into our program last year as a calm yet strong presence on staff and built great relationships with the girls,” Thornton said. “Having that foundation moving forward made her the best candidate for our program.”
Also shortly before the 2017-18 school year ended, La Plata High School athletic director Rich Paoule confirmed that Spencer Way has been named as the Warriors boys basketball coach for the upcoming 2018-19 campaign.
Way, a 2002 Gwynn Park High School and 2007 St. Mary’s College of Maryland graduate, is looking to turn the program around in the near future.
“I’m hoping to come in there and just change the culture,” Way said. “I have not had the chance to meet the kids yet, but the administration has been very welcoming. I can’t wait to meet the kids. I know a lot of them play sports in the fall and then sports in the spring. With schools in Prince George’s County, the basketball players just tend to play basketball.”
Way had been the assistant boys basketball coach at Gwynn Park for the past 10 years, but longtime Yellow Jackets coach Mike Glick recently accepted the same position at Meade High School in Anne Arundel County and Way admitted this was his chance to make the transition to La Plata where he has also accepted a fulltime position in addition to being the boys coach.
“There have always been a lot of good programs in the SMAC,” Way said. “I think it will be a great opportunity for me to coach in that league. But mainly I look forward to working with the kids and the parents at La Plata and helping to change the culture with the boys basketball program.”