We were able to get in contact today, with Mr. Harold Cone, the new head boys basketball coach at Shining Light Academy…SLA/Shining Light Academy, on West Wendover Avenue, here in Greenboro, N.C.
1)How did you end up at Shining Light Academy?
Coach Harold Cone:Pastor Blalock at the Shining Light Baptist Church, and the administrator for the Shining Light Academy, reached out to me…I had been looking to do this earlier, but I wasn’t quite ready. I was very impressed with Pastor Blalock…
2)What attracted you to SLA?
HC:Again, it was Pastor Blalock, and this is a great opportunity….We have a chance to make it bigger than it was before…I was here back in 2008, coaching the middle school team, and something like what we have here now, is needed in the community..It it is needed in the state. We will be ministry-minded, with a Christian flavor…We want to establish high academic standards, with a chance for a quality education, based on integrity…
3)Tell us about your previous coaching experiences?
HC:I was in charge of the middle school program here at Shining Light back in 2008, and I have coached the Team Loaded AAU team for several years…Team Loaded is an Adias team, we recently had young men like Dean Reiber(Northwest Guilford HS/Rutgers) and Carter Whitt(Raleigh Leesville Road HS/committed to Wake Forest)…
4)What will it take to make Shining Light a powerhouse?
HC:We must become competitive every day/night/game…If we are competitive, we will win ball games…We beat Northwest Guilford a week or so back, but we have to be able to do that, night-in, night-out…We need games…Got to play a lot of games..We have 30-plus games on our schedule right now, and we could use more…We need to face tough competition…Some teams won’t play us. We have to find more schools that are willing to play us…Our season will start on November 9 and run through March…
5)You put your guys on the court today, who would be in your starting five?
HC:Alex Hogsett, from Northern Guilford HS, Will Rhodes, from East Forsyth HS, Nasir Gibbs, from WS Reynolds HS(he is our leading scorer right now for Fall Ball), Cameron Roberts, from Ledford HS, and Joshua Johnson, from Piedmont Classical School…..
6)What do you love about the game of basketball?
HC:You get the opportunity to reach kids. You are able to be a part of teachable moments. You are able to help the kids learn Life Lessons, and you are able to teach and reach young athletes and help them how to learn to keep on fighting…They have to learn how to compete…”You can roll a basketball out anywhere, and you have the chance to reach kids”…..
7)Tell us about your sports background, as a player?
HC:I played college basketball for Coach Bob McEvoy, at UNCG. I played in the old Moore Gym, and the old Coleman Gym, at UNCG…I never made it to the current Fleming Gym.
8)What makes your sons so successful in football and basketball?
HC:We have a very competitive household. My sons have to be strong and they have to constantly work on their strength. I teach and train them to compete. My sons are small. They have to work harder…Must be the ones to turn the lights on, and then be the last ones to leave, and cut the lights off/out…My son Madison, is at Madison, Wisconsin(University of Wisconsin) and he plays football…Madison is 5’8 1/3…My son Jalen, is at Virginia Tech, and he plays basketball…He is the point guard in Blacksburg, at 5’8 3/4’s…Son Drew is home training and he is 5’4…My daughter Joy Cone, is at Shining Light Academy and she plays basketball, and Joy is 5’5 1/2…My children are not tall at all, in fact they are small…My wife is small, and they got their height from their mom…But my kids must know how to compete at the highest level, and that is how they were/are trained….
9)How helpful has SLA/Shining Light Academy athletic director Danny Robinson been to you?
HC:Danny has been incredible…He has always been there to help. Going back to 2008, when I was at SLA, Danny has been there/here…Things have changed since 2008, but Danny Robinson hasn’t changed. He has always been there to help.
10)Let’s look at Private School coaching vs. Public School coaching, is there a difference? Is the satisfaction the same?
HC:In the private schools, there is more freedom, we can run the show….In the public schools, there is too much red tape. Private School kids can re-class. In the Private Schools, we can work with kids from all schools, not just the kids from Shining Light…With the re-class process, we can take and lead the kids through the college recruiting process twice…That gives them more experience in the overall recruiting process, and increases their chances of getting the very best college opportunity….
+++++++++++We thank Coach Harold Cone for his time today, and we hope you enjoy our Q&A session with him….++++++++++
Interesting hire for someone who Hasn’t been a HC on any HS level! Danny Robinson has known him 4 years but still a very questionable hire!