The contract of Chaparral boys basketball coach Damin Lopez has not been renewed by the Scottsdale Unified School District, according to several sources with knowledge of the situation.
Lopez took over the Firebirds on Dec. 7 and went 12-11 in his brief tenure. He left an assistant coaching gig with Pepperdine to coach Chaparral.
Messages left for Lopez, athletic director Sam Messina and principal Gayle Holland were not returned.
It’s the latest hitch in a bumpy few months for the program.
Aaron Windler resigned as the school’s coach a week before the season began. He led the Firebirds to back-to-back state championship appearances the previous two seasons and now coaches Mountain Pointe.
Commander King took over as interim coach and led Chaparral to a 4-2 record before being replaced by Lopez.
The Firebirds went 16-13 this year and lost to Sierra Vista Buena in the first round of the state tournament. Star forward Joe Boyd was injured for much of the year, but the team loses only two seniors to graduation and should be one of the better teams in the East Valley next season.
Reach Kyle Odegard at (480) 898-6834 or kodegard@evtrib.com. Follow his blog at http://blogs.evtrib.com/varsityxtra, or find him on Twitter @Kyle_Odegard.
chandlerbb posted at 10:55 pm on Thu, Apr 26, 2012.
Anyone taking this job is foolish. Eight coaches in ten years is my estimate. Now they are in the highest division like they should have been all the time. Parents won't get that they will not dominate against the big schools.