SCOTTSVILLE – The Allen County-Scottsville girls’ basketball team will have a hall of famer back in charge next season.

Gary DeWitt was announced as the head coach on Monday, replacing Greg Dunn who stepped down last month. The 2018 Allen County-Scottsville Athletic Hall of Fame inductee has served as an assistant for the Lady Patriots, but will now begin his third stint as head coach next season.

In his previous two stints DeWitt went 127-101 with three straight region titles from 1999-2001.

DeWitt said his relationship with the current roster led to his decision to come back as head coach.

“I got extremely close to these players,” DeWitt said. “It came open and really I had not thought about it, but when it came open I was like. ‘You know, I am here every day. Why not just be the head coach again?’ That way I have the reins and I’ve always been the kind of guy that likes the reins.”

DeWitt, who stepped away from coaching previously due to health issues, said he had to have a discussion with his wife Mary Jo when he decided to apply.

“When I told her that I was going to put my name in we had to talk about it a little bit,” DeWitt said. “She agreed that she is all in too. My family is all in. They love for me to be the head coach of the Lady Patriots. I wouldn’t do this if it was not agreed upon, but she did. She agreed wholeheartedly.”

He added that his heart has never left Lady Patriot basketball and the endorsement of returning players really helped him make this decision.

“They know my coaching style and they know exactly what we are going to do,” DeWitt said. “They are the ones that came to me and asked me, ‘Will you put your name in for our next coach.’ I kept telling them no, but something changed and I decided I was. The girls are very excited.”

DeWitt inherits a team that finished 15-13 last season, the program’s first winning season since 2018-19.

The Lady Patriots return six seniors and a talented junior class that includes one of the top players in the region in Avery Morris.

“Avery Morris is an outstanding player,” DeWitt said. “She’s that way because she works, works, works at it. Somebody doesn’t just get out of bed today and think, well I am going to win a championship. It doesn’t happen that way. You have to earn that every day. And I am telling you these Lady Patriots are going to earn it every day. I’m not promising a championship, but I am promising a championship effort.”

DeWitt said he is eager to get going, expecting the biggest transition to be his approach as a head coach compared to his approach as an assistant.

“I do think the kids today are not willing to be pushed the way I pushed my first group,” DeWitt said. “I’ve got to get them used to that. They know me as their JV coach. I was the one that as they came out on the sideline I’m patting them on the back and telling them how great they did. I am not going to be able to do that all the time now. Things are going to be just a little different. I still love them all. That won’t change, but I’ve got to push them. I am the one that has to hold their feet to the fire.”

And he is hopeful that accountability will lead to success in a tough District 15 and even tougher Region 4.

“These girls are excited about it,” DeWitt said. “I’m excited about it. We are going to work hard and these girls are going to be ready to play. We are going to be very competitive in the Fourth Region and 15th District.”{&end}