Colleges

Lennard brings in ex-college assistant

By GREG AUMAN AND KEITH NIEBUHR
Published May 25, 2006

Joe Willis, the sports coordinator for the Tampa Bay Sports Commission and a one-time USF graduate assistant, will be the first coach at Lennard High, which opens in August in Ruskin.

Willis, 30, is a former assistant at Saint Leo under Mike Madagan and later coached at Division I High Point. He played basketball for East Lake then for Webber International University.

This will be his first head coaching job.

"I think excited is probably the best word," Willis said. "It's a great opportunity to be with the administration there. They're very sports-minded people."

Willis has accepted a teaching position at the school and will leave his post at the Tampa Bay Sports Commission this summer.

During his two years with the commission, the organization helped Tampa land many marquee events, most notably the ACC and SEC men's basketball tournaments, the NCAA Women's Final Four and the NCAA Frozen Four.

[Last modified May 25, 2006, 00:55:15]