With boys basketball preseason practice set to tip off in a little over a month, the Capital Cougars are searching for a new coach after Matt Greene announced his resignation Monday evening.
Greene took over the position in 2015, replacing Carl Clark. Greene is the son of veteran George Washington coach Rick Greene.
Under Matt Greene, Capital accumulated more than 130 victories, three trips to the Class AAA state tournament and an appearance in one state final, in 2017.
Greene guided Capital to three straight Mountain State Athletic Conference titles, from 2016-18.
He was recognized as the 2016 All-Kanawha Valley Coach of the Year after going 22-4 in his first season.
“I’ve made the difficult decision to pursue a new opportunity that has been offered to me within the last few weeks,†Greene said in a statement. “Unfortunately, with opportunity comes change. This opportunity will not allow me to dedicate the necessary time and effort to our program, which deserves my full commitment.â€
Capital Principal Larry Bailey applauded Greene’s time.
“Capital High School wants to thank coach Matt Greene for his years of service to our school,†Bailey said. “We appreciate everything that he’s done for us and wish him the best of luck in the future.â€
Greene saw back-to-back 20-plus-win seasons in his first two campaigns, going 22-4 his first season, then 23-5 in 2016-17.
“[Coaching at Capital] meant a lot to me,†Greene said. “I’ve been involved with Capital for almost 20 years as far as being a teacher, dating all the way back to my student teaching at Capital.
“Capital is who I identify with. I was obviously more than happy to get the job and be the head coach.
“I was able to have some really good players and was surrounded by good coaches as well. It’s a lot of great memories and a lot of good wins. We had some tough losses as well. We definitely had more wins and highs than we did the lows.â€
Capital had won two state titles before Greene got the position, coming in 2000 and 2001.
The Cougars’ best shot since those two state championships came in 2017, when Capital reached the state final but lost to Huntington, 50-42.
“We did everything you could except win the state championship,†Greene said. “That was the one piece we couldn’t quite get. I wish the best for Capital and [for them to] bring somebody in that can achieve that and bring a state title back to Capital.â€
That 2016-17 season was Greene’s second at the helm.
The Cougars went into the Class AAA state tournament with a record of 21-4, winning their sectional and regional title games by double digits.
The Cougars saw two players make either a Class AAA all-state first or second team, including Leondre’ Rogers, who was named captain of the first team.
“They were extremely talented and very tough,†Greene said. “Leondre’ Rogers was a big leader on that team. He’s one of the toughest players I’ve ever coached at any level. Everybody fell in line. Everybody was happy to play and do the best they could at their role. They realized by doing that, it would make us the best team that we could be. They’ll always have a special memory with me.
“I can still remember those guys, when I was first announced as the head coach, showed up in my classroom the next day and were ready to go with everything.â€
The job at Capital was Greene’s first stint as a head coach at any level.
He did have coaching experience as an assistant at West Virginia State University, his alma mater, and the University of ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä.
Greene saw himself grow throughout his nine years roaming the sidelines with the Cougars.
“You’re constantly growing, evaluating and making changes,†Greene said. “That was part of the fun in coaching. Each team was a little bit different. You might have an expectation that a team is going to be a certain way, and you have to adjust on the fly.â€
Greene also taught at Capital. He saw that being in the building during the school day helped him build better relationships with his players.
“It’s important to be in the hallways with them and help with any difficulties they may be having within the classroom or building,†Greene said. “Things have changed a lot, even in just a few years that I’ve been a coach there. I left Capital teaching-wise to come down to the middle school this past year. It was to try to help combat some of the recruiting that goes on with our players.
“I wanted to get into the middle school and hopefully build a stronger relationship with them at a younger age.â€
