Reynolds promoted to head basketball coaching position

The Wills Point HS athletic department has announced two key changes to its coaching lineup for the 2016-’17 school year, including the departure of longtime basketball coach Jimmy Wallace and the promotion of top assistant Jonne Reynolds to take his place.

Athletic director Greg Cranfill explained the move, stating, “Coach Wallace has been transparent through all of this, that he was trying to move closer to his kids and family. I supported him 100 percent because of those things.”

Cranfill continued, “I told him that he made Wills Point a better place and that we were sorry to see that he was going to be leaving. In my opinion, Coach Wallace has done exactly what he came here to do and that’s make Wills Point a better place than when he got here.

“There’s 1,000 things you could say about the expertise of Coach Wallace when it comes to basketball, but I think the most important thing is how he treated kids. Jimmy Wallace is a Christian man that is in this business for the right reasons. He believes that winning is a byproduct of doing things right, and that’s what he’s about. That’s what I think his legacy will be. Not the fact of how many games he won or lost but how he treated the kids and how he gave our kids opportunities to be successful.”

Shortly after Wallace’s departure to take a job at Gary High School became official, Cranfill shifted his attention to filling the coaching vacancy.

“In this business, you always have contingency plans and what direction you would be willing to go for any position that we have. I’ve always kept my eye on Coach Reynolds because I felt like he was a guy that was waiting in the wings and a guy that was ready to go at any point. When it became official and the reality set in, I visited with Mr. Caloss (Superintendent Scott Caloss) and expressed to him that we have a guy on staff that I was 100 percent behind. I spoke to Mr. Caloss and said that opening that up and interviewing guys wouldn’t be fair because what someone could tell me through an interview could not compare to the things that I’ve seen Coach Reynolds do for the past two years that I’ve been here,” said Cranfill. “Someone could tell me that they’re compassionate, but I’ve seen Jonne Reynolds be compassionate. Someone could tell me that they’re a hard worker, but I’ve seen Jonne Reynolds actually do it. Someone could tell me that they care about kids, but I’ve seen how Jonne Reynolds treats these kids in Wills Point. Jonne is a great man. He’s a good leader and someone that these kids trust and believe in and I think, beyond a shadow of a doubt, he’s going to lead this program in the right direction.”

Reynolds, who has been with the district for six years and been one of Wallace’s assistants for the past four years, also spoke about his ascension to the head coaching position.

“I found out that Coach Wallace was leaving sometime after spring break. I let Coach Cranfill know that I wanted the job. Coach Wallace did a great job since he’s been here. He’s had success, been in the playoffs every single year he’s been here, won district championships.”

Reynolds continued, “The things that work, I’m going to keep them. Coach Wallace has been successful here and it wouldn’t be smart to come in and wipe the whole slate clean. This past year we didn’t have the success we wanted to have as a team. We started out kind of slow, or slower than we thought we could. Toward the end of the year, though, we started to play a lot better, especially on the defensive end. Going forward, that’s what were always going to be sticklers on – playing good defense. To keep doing what we want to do offensively we’ve got to get stops.”

Asked his assessment of the program in 2016-’17 and beyond, and what type of changed may be implemented, Reynolds stated, “I’ve been with these kids and they’ve been in this program, so I’m not going to take everything out. Of course I’m going to put my own staple in and what I want my program to be. As time goes on, and if I’m fortunate to be here longer, maybe it will be different. I’m going to keep the things that have been successful, but also have my own way on how those things will look.”

Cranfill added, “I was very honest with him. I did not want a time of transition here. The day we decided he was going to take over, the day we offered him the position, we moved him into fifth period basketball because he was in fifth period football. I said, ‘Go. Don’t ask a bunch of questions unless you need to. Just go, run the program.’ Jonne’s always had a plan. Every coach has a plan for the day that they take over. I’ve told him that your plan just became a reality.”