After 28 years as Dillard’s boys basketball coach, Darryl Burrows is stepping down. The longtime Panthers coach has retired, Dillard athletic director Kelvin Walker said Thursday.
“I’ve never met a more humble … person who was more concerned with the kids, the school, the tradition, the history and doing things the right way, as far as making sure we present ourselves in a respectable way,” said Walker, who was on Burrows’ coaching staff for more than two decades. “He was able to take the program to unprecedented heights. … Not having him here is going to be a hole, obviously, for the school and the community, but it’s going to be a big hole for me, personally.”
Burrows could not immediately be reached for comment.
Burrows put together a dominant career with the Panthers. He finishes his tenure with a career record of 625-175. Burrows won seven state titles at Dillard, which is second-most in state history behind Chaminade-Madonnna coach Melvin Randall, who won nine titles at Blanche Ely and Deerfield Beach
Burrows, who is a member of the Broward County Sports Hall of Fame, built Dillard into a state powerhouse.
He won his first state championship in 2000, starting a run of dominance. The Panthers won four consecutive titles in Class 6A, which was the state’s largest classification. Only two teams have had longer championship streaks.
“Oh my God, [it was] electric,” Walker said. “Electric.”
Dillard won another title in 2008 and picked up back-to-back championships in 2016 and 2017. Only five programs in Florida have won more state championships than Dillard.
Burrows has earned individual honors for his success at Dillard, including being named Florida Dairy Farmers’ Florida Coach of the Year in 2017.
The program has maintained success in Burrows’ last few seasons. The Panthers haven’t won a state title since 2017, but they reached the title game in 2019 and 2020. In a pandemic-shortened 2020-21 season, Dillard went 9-5 and lost in the regional semifinals.
Walker said the school will take its time to find the right candidate to follow Burrows, hoping for success but not looking to put intense pressure on the new coach.
“We’re going to go through our process of selecting the best individual that’s going to help lead this community, this school and tradition and keep what he’s built alive, keep his passion and his will to win and the way he served this school,” Walker said. “We’re looking for an individual that’s able to accomplish all those things and bring us into that new age … I don’t want to say ‘taking the program to new heights,’ because that would put too much pressure on anyone trying to come in here. I would just say we’re just looking forward to going into uncharted waters with that person.”
Along with the wins and championships, Walker said he’ll remember Burrows’ desire to give to other people most, recalling a trip to Washington, D.C.
“We were at an IHOP, and everyone just stopped and looked. It looked like you had a collegiate team or a pro team walking in there with all those guys, so tall and big walking in there,” Walker said. “It was this kid’s birthday. … The kid was so excited that the mom came over and asked if we would take a picture with her kid. He was so excited, and Darryl was like, ‘That’s no problem.’
“He got all the kids together — RaiQuan Gray, Jordan Wright, all those guys — they picked him up and we took a group picture with that kid. If you’d have seen the look on his face, it was like he met LeBron James or something.”
