Greg Turcott takes the baton from former South Whidbey High School boys basketball coach Mike Washington, aiming to add to the recent success of the Falcon program.
“We hope to continue the great traditions set by coach Washington and keep it rolling,” Turcott said.
Washington stepped down after last season to accept an assistant principal position at Cascade High School.
He posted a 57-54 record at South Whidbey over five seasons and led the Falcons to the 2018 league championship, their first in 29 years.
Coaching runs through Turcott’s blood. His father, Gary Turcott, coached for more than 40 years, including 19 as the head men’s coach at Carroll College (Helena, Mont.), where he was inducted in the school’s hall of fame.
Greg Turcott grew up in Montana, attending Butte Central High School where he played basketball, baseball and tennis. He later played backup guard on some of Carroll’s best teams.
He noted that his best friend and teammate from high school, Rob O’Neill, went on to fame as the Navy SEAL who took down Osama Bin Laden.
Turcott comes to South Whidbey after coaching at the high school and community college levels.
“We had some fun years at Shoreline Community College and led the nation in scoring two years in a row (112 and 106 points per game),” Turcott said.
His assistant at Shoreline was Bo Kimble, who played college ball at the University of Southern California and Loyola Marymount and later professionally for the Los Angeles Clippers and New York Knicks. While at Loyola Marymount, he led the nation in scoring on the country’s top-scoring team.
Turcott fell in love with Whidbey Island when he moved here two years ago; therefore, the Falcon job was a good fit.
“South Whidbey is a great school and I am very excited for the opportunity,” he said.
Turcott hopes his athletes “have a great experience playing basketball in our program, (and) that they will make their school proud, win some games and be better for having the experience.”
“High school hoops is one of those experiences you only get to do once,” he added.
Turcott is looking to have “a great first year” and to build relationships with the players and their families.
He wants the team to be as successful as possible and for his players to reach their potential.
Beyond the court, he will stress that his players be good members of the school, leaders in the classroom and involved in the community.
Turcott said he and assistant coach Randy Bottorff love the game of basketball, believe in the South Whidbey community and want to “provide a great basketball program for the school.”
The Falcons kick off the regular season with four home games, beginning with Chimacum at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 4.
