ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, April 5, 1996 TAG: 9604050088
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BOB TEITLEBAUM STAFF WRITER
The Henry County school board has voted to replace the head basketball coach at Bassett High School despite requests from students and supporters to keep Bobby Martin on the job.
Martin had coached the Bengals basketball team for four years. Two years ago he was forced to give up the dual position of head coach in both football and basketball, and he decided to stick with basketball.
Martin, 29, graduated from Laurel Park and was a linebacker and defensive end on the Virginia Tech football team in the late 1980s. He will retain his posts as an assistant football coach and head track coach for the Bengals.
Martin was unavailable for comment Thursday. His removal has been brewing for nearly a month and was put on hold until the school board could listen to arguments for not making a change.
Tom Fitzgibbons, the first-year principal at Bassett, stuck by his decision to make a change but refused to elaborate on the reasons for the switch.
``I made the recommendation there should be a change,'' said Fitzgibbons. ``There were students upset, and I hope they understand I have to make the best decision for the school.
``It's not always popular, but I think we've made several changes for the positive [at Bassett]. I hope they'll continue to trust me to do so, though I know Coach Martin is a very popular coach.''
David Martin, superintendent of Henry County schools, said there were several students and numerous community supporters present who were heard before the board went into executive session and decided to approve Fitzgibbons' recommendation.
In four years, Bassett had a 36-48 record under Martin, though the Bengals improved greatly the past two years. His best mark came two seasons ago when Bassett went 13-9. This past year the Bengals dropped back to 9-9 in a season that was plagued by postponements and many interruptions in the schedule.
Fitzgibbons said the job to replace Martin will be advertised in the near future. Bassett, a Region III team, will join other Piedmont District teams into moving to Region IV next season.
The coaching change at Bassett will be the fifth in Timesland since January. Other schools that have lost or changed basketball coaches are Patrick Henry, William Fleming, Cave Spring and Staunton River.
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