NORFOLK, Va. — NORFOLK, Va. (WTKR) — After 23 years at Norview High School, Jonathan Wilson is taking a new challenge head on.
Leading the Pilots' girls basketball program for the last eight seasons, the Norview graduate made the move across town to take over the Granby program this offseason.
"My heart is Norview, I graduated from Norview. But coaching is my passion and it's a blessing to be able to instill the same values in a new set of players," Wilson said.
The longtime coach led the Pilots to state tournaments in five years, including the last three in a row, but felt the change needed to happen after last season.
"My staff was in a position to grow and develop, so I was looking to put them in a leadership position and turn the program over to them," Wilson said. "The Granby job came open for me. It was a good fit academic wise, starting a program that needed to be revamp or brought back up."
After years of success in the city, coming over to Granby was a bit of a different vibe for Wilson. During his first practices at the school he noticed that on a wall filled with banners of the Comet's accomplishments across all sports, the girls basketball team was absent.
"That's one of our motivations, to put a banner up, and change the culture," Wilson said.
"Practices were intense. I was like, 'This is a whole new experience, this is going to be a great season,'" said sophomore guard Kharynn Harrell. "Knowing that a coach could help me push my career and get seen, I was definitely excited."
So far, the early returns are promising. The Comets are off to a 3-0 start, including a 44-15 win over Churchland on Friday night.
The team is already halfway to equaling their wins from a season ago.
"I'm already noticing a huge difference. This is probably the first time that we've gone 3-0," Harrell said.
"They're absolutely buying in. We're not where we want to be, but we're making to strides to where we're trying to get to," Wilson said. "Get stronger, understand the system we're trying to install, keep the game fun, and just have fun."
The players are not the only ones investing into the message of their new leader.
"The school is really buying into it. Everybody's really excited whether it's teachers, staff, custodians," Harrell said. "Everybody knows about the girls basketball team now and everyone is coming out to support."
It's a personal mission for Wilson to show he can build another sustained successful program in his hometown. While there's still plenty to work on, he's confident that the process will pay off.
"I embrace challenges and these kids, they want that. They are motivated by accepting the challenge because of the culture of not winning games in the past," Wilson said. "They're leaving everything on the floor."
