Petty steps down as basketball coach at Bob Jones
On Wednesday morning, what had been rumored for weeks became official. After six seasons leading the Bob Jones Patriot basketball program, Danny Petty stepped down. It will be his last coaching job as he announced he is retiring from coaching. He is remaining as a teacher at the school.
Aderholt
Bob Jones has been among the most successful programs in the state under Danny Petty. The high point of his six years at the helm was the state championship in 2010. It was the first for the school but the third in Petty’s long career.
His most recent team went most of last season ranked at #1 in the state and started the season winning 22 straight games before losing to Lee on January 21. The season ended in disappointing fashion with an early playoff loss to Decatur in the area tournament.
Petty exits with core group of 7 seniors, 2 of whom started on the state championship team as sophomores. Petty thanked the volunteers in the program such as the Booster Club, videographer, and statistician. His career record is 634-330.
“I’ve enjoyed my time in coaching everywhere I’ve been, especially here at Bob Jones. Making a living at something you enjoy is really special,” Petty said as he introduced his high school coach Jerry Dugan with whom he won a state championship in 1968 as a player at Lee-Huntsville.
Petty
In a ceremony attended by all Bob Jones coaches, Petty said he actually coached one year of football early in his career at Davis Hills Middle School. His basketball career included stops at Johnson High School and Madison Academy. He coached those teams to state championships in 1987 and 2006 respectively.
He has also been inducted into 2 hall of fames, the Madison County Hall of Fame in 1997 and the AHSAA HOF in 2012.
“I think Bob Jones is the best all around school in the state of Alabama when you consider academics and athletics,” Petty said.
In a touching moment, Petty remembered his mother who “loved basketball and she got to see us win the state championship here at Bob Jones. She died the next summer,” he added.
Graham Aderholt, his top assistant for the last 4 years, will assume the duties of head basketball coach effective immediately Bob Jones Principal Robbie Parker announced.
“It starts in the classroom and Graham is an excellent classroom teacher,” Parker said. “Show me a coach that takes shortcuts in the classroom and I’ll show you a coach that takes shortcuts on the court. I have watched his demeanor and his X’s and O’s on the basketball court and we feel very confident that he can represent us in a positive way. It is also very important that we continue to be successful on the basketball court,” Parker added.
Parker said that during the season just completed Petty approached him with the thought that it might be his last. A final decision was not made until after the season ended.
“We knew we had been grooming Coach Aderholt for 4 years. He had taken over more responsibility from Coach Petty from scheduling to drawing up plays, scouting reports, and conducting practice,” said Parker who is at every game. “Coaches here know the commitment we in the adminstration have to basketball”.
Aderholt came to Bob Jones from UAH where he played for 3 years and served as a graduate assistant for 1 year. He is a graduate of Athens High School and then graduated from UAH where he played basketball for Coach Lennie Acuff. He was a sixth man off the bench on the 2006 team that made it to the Division 2 NCAA Tournament.
“I’m looking forward to continuing this great program that Coach Petty has got to where it is today. Whether we won or lost he always handled himself with a lot of character,” Aderholt said of Petty. “He was always consistent in how he handled every situation as far as being a class guy.
“From a basketball perspective he paid attention to every little detail whether it was blocking out to making the pass in transition, he was a detail guy great coach great person.”
Despite being only 28 years old, Aderholt feels he is ready to take over a program like Bob Jones where a lot is expected.
“It is going to be a challenge taking over for a hall-of-fame coach but I look forward to that because I have been able to build that relationship with Coach Petty and I’ve got two great coaches to go to for advice,” Aderholt said.
UAH Coach Lennie Acuff has had a large impact on Aderholt’s life and career. “Coach Acuff is one of the best college coaches in this country no matter what level we are talking about,” Aderholt said.
Aderholt takes over a team hit hard by graduation. Four of the five starters and the top two leading scorers and rebounders graduate. He does however inherit junior starting point guard Travon Landry a nationally rated elite player who has already committed to play in college at the University of Tennessee.
“The guys are going to work extremely hard. I’m going to work extremely hard. I am expecting a lot out of them, not just on the court but in the classroom. How they represent themselves is going to be a big part of this program. I’m going to treat the team like my second family,” Aderholt said.
According to Aderholt the future is bright. “We have some young players that are looking forward to getting started in the program. Our junior varsity team lost only one game last year so if that is any indication we are going to be successful.”
“I feel so blessed to be a part of this great community and this great school,” Aderholt said adding that he wouldn’t want to be anywhere else but Bob Jones.
