ROCKINGHAM — A little more than 20 years ago, Donald “Bootsie” Pettigrew and the Richmond Senior boys basketball team missed out on their chance — for the second consecutive time — to win a state championship.
That team, its chemistry and its sacrifices, Pettigrew says, was like something he’d never experienced before. So not being able to capitalize on either of those title-game apperances still doesn’t sit well with him.
But thanks to many years of diligent work as an assistant coach at his former school, Pettigrew will finally get the opportunity to finish what he started nearly two decades ago.
On Wednesday afternoon, Pettigrew was officially hired as Richmond’s head basketball coach. He spent 16 years as an assistant varsity coach at the school, splitting the time evenly between former head coaches David Laton and David May.
“It’s a blessing and it means a lot. I want to finish what I started, which means winning a state championship,” Pettigrew said. “I know it’s not going to be easy…but I’m ready for the challenge.”
The newly named head coach thought he was ready when May stepped down in the summer of 2009, but said he appreciates the last eight seasons he spent under Laton — who quietly retired from his position a few months ago.
Laton compiled a 140-66 overall record, according to MaxPreps.com, during his time at Richmond. He never lost more than 10 games in a season, two conference regular season championships, one tournament championship (2016) and had two 20-win seasons.
Pettigrew called Laton “a good friend” and said the former coach taught him how to be patient.
“He’s going to be truly missed,” Pettigrew added.
Now that the basketball program is entering a new era, it will depart from “The System” that it ran for the last two years. With the addition of A.J. Isaac and Pettigrew’s son, Xavier, the Raiders’ main focus will be getting the ball in the paint.
Richmond may be leaving behind the style of play that allowed it to lead the nation in scoring and break multiple school and state records this past season, but it will still play fast when necessary. Pettigrew says he’s going to get his guys to play with a lot of energy on both offense and defense.
Pairing the “true post-up guys” with the team’s six returning guards — Jamel Baldwin, Darius Butler, Malik Flowers, Rod Newton, Carl McNeal, Da’Shaun Wallace — should balance out the spacing on the floor.
“We’re going to run when we need to, but for the majority of the time, we’re going to pound it inside. Play bully ball a little bit,” Pettigrew said.
The most exciting thing about taking over the program, for Pettigrew, is getting the opportunity to go up against the coaches in the soon-to-be Sandhills Athletic Conference. Hoke County’s Quame Patterson was who Pettigrew singled out by name, calling the 2017 SEC Coach of the Year one “heck of a coach.”
Before thinking too much about next season’s conference play, however, Richmond basketball will devote its time to what is planned for the summer. The Raiders travel to Apex next week for a two-day tournament, Greensboro for the Powerade State Games (June 23-25) and then to Jacksonville for the East Coast Invitational — which will feature all of the state championship teams from this past season.
Pettigrew’s main objective over the next few months will be getting the guys who haven’t played varsity basketball acclimated to the competition and speed of game.
“I’m here for the long haul. I’m trying to win a state championship and make sure some of these kids can go play at the next level,” Pettigrew said. “I want to give a big thanks to coach (Ricky) Young, Mr. (Jim) Butler and Dr. (Cindy) Goodman for believing in me and giving me the opportunity. I’m very appreciative of that.”
Reach sports editor Leon Hargrove Jr. at 910-817-2673 and follow the sports section on Twitter @RCDailySports.
Richmond Senior’s Donald Pettigrew was officially hired as the school’s next head basketball coach Wednesday afternoon. Pettigrew, who spent 16 seasons as an assistant coach under former coaches David Laton and David May, was a member of Richmond’s 1996 and 1997 basketball teams that appeared in back-to-back state championship games.