Huntington St. Joe basketball coach Shannon Lewis walks the sidelines as the Irish take on Wheeling Central in the semifinals of the Class A West Virginia Girls State Basketball Tournament on Friday, March 8, 2019, at the ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä Coliseum & Convention Center.
Huntington St. Joe coach Shannon Lewis, right, consults with an assistant during the Class A Region 4 Section 2 girls basketball tournament championship game on Thursday, Feb. 27, 2020, at Hurricane High School.
Huntington St. Joe head coach Shannon Lewis looks on as the Irish take on Gilmer County in the championship game of the Class A Girls State Basketball Tournament on Saturday, March 12, 2016, at the ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä Civic Center.
Huntington St. Joe basketball coach Shannon Lewis walks the sidelines as the Irish take on Wheeling Central in the semifinals of the Class A West Virginia Girls State Basketball Tournament on Friday, March 8, 2019, at the ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä Coliseum & Convention Center.
Huntington St. Joe coach Shannon Lewis, right, consults with an assistant during the Class A Region 4 Section 2 girls basketball tournament championship game on Thursday, Feb. 27, 2020, at Hurricane High School.
Huntington St. Joe head coach Shannon Lewis looks on as the Irish take on Gilmer County in the championship game of the Class A Girls State Basketball Tournament on Saturday, March 12, 2016, at the ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä Civic Center.
Martin County (Kentucky) was an attractive opportunity, but Hurricane was the right one.
Shannon Lewis, hired as coach of the Cardinals on June 17, resigned to become coach of the Redskins on Wednesday.
"It just made more sense," said Lewis, a Barboursville native who coached Huntington St. Joe to nine state championships. "I battled with it for several days before I made a final decision."
Lewis replaced Emily Sergent, who stepped down after having a baby. Hurricane went 8-15 in Sergent's lone season.
"We lost a few kids," Lewis said of Hurricane graduating some players and seeing some others transfer. "We'll be OK."
Lewis picked up a long-term substitute teaching job in Cabell County. That made the regular drive to Inez, Kentucky, less attractive than the trek to Putnam County.
"Everyone at Martin County was fabulous," Lewis said. "It was tough to leave there. When I got the sub job, it just made more sense. Whoever gets that job has a good young team and can build the program."
Huntington St. Joe and Lakeway Christian (Morristown, Tennessee) won 359 games under Lewis' direction. He took the Irish to 12 state final appearances.
Lewis, who has also coached teams to six AAU national titles, said he's assembling a staff.
Lewis led St. Joe to a No. 22 national ranking in 2019 and a No. 13 nod in 2020. The Irish produced 30 college players under Lewis’ guidance. After leaving Lakeway Christian, Lewis served as an assistant at Cabell Midland and as an official.
Lewis said he looks forward to coaching a public-school program, especially at the Class AAAA level.Â
"Private schools are great," Lewis said. "A public school will be a different challenge. The kids are already there. You know what's coming. It's the same principles and coaching methods. I'm excited to work with the kids."
Hurricane athletic director Jeff Null touted what Lewis brings to his new team.
"We are super excited to have coach Lewis coming onboard at Hurricane," Null said. "He has a very impressive resume and has coached basketball at multiple levels with tremendous success. He is a local guy and has positive ties and connections to Hurricane High and our community, and we feel very fortunate to have him join our Redskin family."
