Brian Looney has stepped down as the head boys basketball coach at Grundy High School, but he will remain a busy man.
He is an optometrist with his practice located on Suffolk Avenue in Richlands.
He was elected to the Buchanan County school board in November.
His oldest son, Cade, plays college basketball and his youngest son, Jonah, will soon embark on a college football career.
“I felt that I would be spreading myself very thin if I was a parent, husband, coach, school board member and full-time optometrist,” Looney said. “To the point I would not be as effective at anything.”
So that is why Looney made the decision to tender his resignation recently after compiling a 123-70 record in eight seasons at the helm of the Golden Wave, a mark that makes him the winningest male hoops coach in school history. Assistant coach Jory Rife is his replacement as Grundy’s basketball boss.
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That’s among several recent shifts on the Southwest Virginia coaching scene as Mike Collins is the leader of Lee High’s boys hoops program after serving in that capacity on an interim basis last season and Allen Trent stepped down as the girls basketball and volleyball coach at Thomas Walker.
It was quite a run of success for the Grundy Golden Wave under the direction of the 53-year-old Looney, who is a 1988 Grundy graduate. The dude everybody calls “Doc” served as the junior varsity coach for two seasons before being elevated to leading the varsity team.
“My time at Grundy was great,” Looney said. “I have an obsessive personality and that’s basically how I approached being the basketball coach. I worked at it year-round and it really paid off. I think we built a program to be proud of and over my time as coach, we put good teams on the court.”
The most memorable season during his tenure was the 2019-2020 campaign when Grundy went 23-4, finished as Region 1D runner-up and advanced to the VHSL Class 1 state semifinals.
A 49-46 quarterfinal win over Parry McCluer was the program’s first state tourney victory since 1946, while the season ended with a 63-51 loss to Auburn in the semifinals just a few days before the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic shut high school sports down for several months.
Looney was selected as the Bristol Herald Courier’s coach of the year at the conclusion of that season.
“That Final Four team and the whole season was the most thrilling athletic experience of my life,” Looney said. “That team was very good on both sides of the court, but we absolutely excelled defensively. The state quarterfinal game against Parry McCluer was probably my best win as a coach. I have rewatched that game a hundred times. Parry McCluer had a 6-foot-10 player [Spencer Hamilton] that would go on to play DI ball and another player [Will Dunlap] who is at [NCAA Division III] Bridgewater College right now, so they had a really good team. The game was their home game. We made a very long trip for that game, and we just took it to them from the opening tip. We had tremendous fan support all season. I remember playing in the regional semis and finals at Southwest Virginia Community College and you couldn’t hear anything from the noise from the standing room only crowds.”
Grundy went 17-8 this past season in winning the Black Diamond District title. The Golden Wave’s season came to a close with a 59-39 loss to Honaker in the semifinals of the Region 1D tournament.
Of course, a coach’s impact goes beyond statistics and the scoreboard.
“The relationships I built with my players is what I am proud of,” Looney said. “I have former players from my very first teams that text me wishing me luck before big games or wish me Happy Birthday when it rolls around. Christian Jackson visited me at home just a month ago and we reminisced about his days playing for me. That’s a really special thing for me. I am proud to have built lasting relationships with my players over the years.”
The top scorer and rebounder on that state semifinalist team was Cade Looney, while Jonah Looney was the catalyst for the squad this past winter.
Cade Looney recently transferred to the University of Pikeville in Kentucky after three seasons at Emory & Henry College, while Jonah Looney will play for the rebooted football program at Roanoke College this fall.
“I want to be able to support Cade and Jonah next season,” Brian Looney said. “Cade will be playing his last year of college basketball at UPike. I plan to attend all games during his season. Most colleges play on Wednesday and Saturday, so when my season begins at Grundy, I’m unable to catch any of his games on Wednesdays as my priority was coaching my team. I also want to make Jonah’s games as well.”
Looney also has his school board duties as he got 51 percent of the vote back in November to take the Rocklick District seat.
“This is a huge responsibility, and I am approaching it with the same focus and passion I poured into coaching,” Looney said. “I want to do a good job as a school board member and make Buchanan County public schools better for our students, faculty, staff, and the residents of Buchanan County.”
Rife, his successor, has spent the last six seasons as Looney’s assistant.
“I’m really excited to see what Jory will do with the program the coming years,” Looney said. “He has been a huge part of what we have been able to accomplish, he’s been my right-hand man so to speak. I’m not totally stepping away, I will still be around to help Jory whenever he needs it. I will be listed as a volunteer on his staff and look forward to helping him anyway I can.”
Rife is a Twin Valley graduate and was a role player for the Panthers during their run to the VHSL Group A state finals in 2006.
He had assistant-coaching stints at Hurley and Twin Valley as well.
“I want to sustain and continue to build on the foundation [Looney] established,” Rife said. “We will have to play a little differently, because of graduation, but we have a good blueprint of how a program can be successful and that’s just a lot of year-round work and to never stop learning. I’ve had the pleasure of being surrounded by, coaching with, or having friendships with many well-respected coaches: Coach Looney, [former Twin Valley and current Richlands boss] Brian Moore, [former Hurley coach] Mark Cooper and [ex-Grundy coach] Greg Rife, all of which I have tried to learn from and absorb as much as I can over the years. I feel I am in a situation where the resource of knowledge is available. … I’m just extremely grateful for the opportunity and appreciative of the support from Grundy High School, our players and the community.”
Meanwhile, Mike Collins took over as Lee’s boss on an interim basis in mid-December, replacing Jamie Hackney as the general of the Generals.
He coached the final 17 games of the season for a team that went 2-20 and finished in last place in the Mountain 7 District.
Collins coached both the JV and varsity teams simultaneously.
One of the most prolific scorers in Southwest Virginia history, Collins amassed 2,124 points from 1986-1990 as he played three seasons at now-defunct Flatwoods and starred during his senior season at Thomas Walker.
“Being head coach is a big responsibility that requires a lot of time and dedication,” Collins said. “I was given the opportunity to step up and help the kids navigate a mid-season change in coaching staff and I accepted the interim position 100 percent for the kids. I truly feel it is a privilege to work with these kids. I watched them improve throughout the last season and I am excited to be asked to continue coaching in this role.”
His first coaching win came against Eastside in a tournament in Wise.
“I would love to have wins, I think that every coach has that goal, but I want to focus on being the hardest playing team and incorporate teamwork as a major factor,” Collins said. “Other items of high importance to me are respect and discipline, as well as sportsmanship on and off the court. I also believe that it is still a priority to enjoy the game of basketball. I feel that once you establish a program that focuses on these things that wins will come.”
Allen Trent has relinquished his jobs as both the girls basketball and volleyball coach at Thomas Walker.
He led the girls basketball squad for three seasons following five years as an assistant and was the Pioneers’ volleyball boss in 2023 after five previous seasons on the staff.
“It was time,” Trent said. “I’ve been at this for eight years, and I feel each program is now in a stable place to continue to succeed, while I direct my attention to other areas that need growth. When I accepted both jobs, we instilled morals and accountability, shunned social media and the me-first mentality, to develop a team-first attitude. This allowed both teams to take a step forward.”
His teams twice came up one win short of the state tournament.
The girls hoops team lost to eventual state champ Honaker in the 2022 Region 1D semifinals, while TW’s volleyball squad lost to Northwood in the Region 1D volleyball semifinals.
“I was extremely blessed with an outpouring of community support in both cases,” Trent said. “We had an amazing run of accomplishments off the court that prepared us to achieve on the court. My motto was treat each player as my own child, and I strived for that.”