vonn webb leaves

socalogo.gif (8739 bytes)
SoCalHoops Recruiting News

Vonn Webb Gets U of Wyoming Asst. Job;
DeShawn To Follow?--(June 23, 1999)

In a not entirely unexpected move, Vonn Webb, the coach of Fresno Easton Washington High School, who led the Panthers to two state titles in four years, is making the jump to college. Perhaps the only unexpected thing about the announcment, published today (or at least speculated by Andy Katz today in the Fresno Bee, but as yet unconfirmed) is the timing of the move, since most people expected that Vonn would move either with or after DeShawn Stevenson (6'-5" Sr. SG/SF) left Fresno.

According to the Bee story, Vonn will be named an assistant at the University of Wyoming on Monday, and the 35-year-old Webb, who has coached Chris Jeffries (Arkansas) and widely touted DeShawn Stevenson (6'-5" Sr. SG/SF), will be supposedly be introduced at a press conference in Laramie, Wyoming next week. However, according to the Bee, "Webb and Wyoming coach Steve McClain both declined comment Tuesday."

Webb reportedly met with McClain last Tuesday in Laramie, and sources told Katz that Webb was the frontrunner for the position vacated when Tony Barbee left to rejoin Bruiser Flint's staff at Massachusetts. Katz' source said Webb's candidacy was "aided by an impromptu phone call from Kansas coach Roy Williams, who endorsed Webb as a rising star in coaching." And according to Katz, Williams is recruiting DeShawn Stevenson, so any props he can spread Vonn's way will surely be apprecitated by DeShawn. According to the Bee, "Last month, Webb told The Bee he wanted to pursue a Division 1 coaching job this summer instead of waiting until Stevenson graduated. Webb interviewed for a similar position at San Diego State last month."

Webb also told us here at SoCalHoops the same thing several times during the year and most recently when we saw him at the adidas EBO/EA Hoop Summit last month. We also had heard that Vonn interviewed with Steve Fisher, but were unaware of the Wyoming connection or any interest on Vonn's part in heading up that way.

Here's the rest of Andy Katz' article, unabridged:

Webb was 110-13 in four years at Washington, and won the 1996 and '99 state titles. His departure ends speculation he would accompany Stevenson to a Division 1 school, something that may have been hard to do with Stevenson's list, according to his stepfather, down to UCLA, Duke, Kansas, Stanford and Fresno State.

"I feel all right about it," said Stevenson, who met with Webb on Tuesday morning. "I've only got one more year, and I understand he's got to do what's best for his family. Everybody thought he would go to the same place I would, and now I'm glad they allowed him to go somewhere where it was just about him and his coaching."

Like a number of other players, Stevenson followed Webb from Clovis to Easton. Webb started as the coach at Clark Intermediate in Clovis before becoming an assistant at Clovis High. Webb became a Fresno-area pied piper of sorts as Stevenson, Chris Jefferies, Alonzo Robinson, Darius Welch, Bryant Jefferies, Coupe Taylor, DeShawn Anderson, Carvell Wafter and Maurice Moore all transferred to Washington the past four years from other area schools. Seven of Webb's former players signed with Division 1 schools, and Stevenson and Anderson likely will make it nine.

"He meant a lot to me," said Stevenson, adding he will remain at Washington for his senior season. "He got me where I am today. He worked on my game and has been my coach since seventh grade. He helped me even more with the mental and physical part of my game."

Webb did say the Panthers are still invited to two national tournaments in Delaware and Hawaii next season, and are looking to add a third. Whoever replaces Webb takes over another potential state title team. Potential candidates could include former Panthers player and current Sacramento Natomas High coach Marc Jones, Fresno High coach Johnny Sharpe and longtime Fresno City College assistant Don Slade. Regardless, the next coach will receive phone calls from Webb. He's expected to recruit Stevenson for the Cowboys, even though he didn't have to guarantee he would get him to land the Wyoming job.

Wyoming could challenge UNLV and New Mexico as the second best team in the new Mountain West Conference, behind Utah, although there is speculation that no one will be able really to challenge UNLV (at least that's Clark Francis' opinion as expressed in HoopScoop's Daily News yesterday, wherein Clark ranked UNLV as the second best recruiting class in the nation this year. Most people know that the Cowboys, who finished 18-10 in 1998-99, losing to Oregon in the second round of the National Invitational Tournament, will be good, but the consensus is that perhaps New Mexico, UNLV and Utah will probably be just a shade better. But if Wyoming gets Stevenson, which would be incredibly shocking but not completely out of the picture, watch out in two years.