Keenan High School boys basketball coach Zach Norris was in the crowd but not on the bench for Tuesday afternoon’s game against Byrnes.
Byrnes defeated Keenan, 58-49, as the Raiders dropped to 0-2 on the season. The Raiders will be back in action Wednesday and Friday at the HoopsFest event held at CA Johnson.
It was the second-straight game Norris has missed. He’s expected to be out for several more games this season, stemming from a punishment handed down from the South Carolina High School League.
Assistant coach Alexander Harper is acting as the Raiders’ interim coach.
Norris was in attendance for the game but was sitting on the side and end of the gym that are opposite to the Keenan bench. He told The State he wasn’t allowed to comment on his situation until he is officially back working with the school district .
Norris is technically retired, and the school hasn’t finalized the paperwork to hire him back (that’s expected in December). Rehiring retired employees is commonplace with teachers and coaches.
Once the paperwork is done, Norris will still have to serve what’s left on a 13-game suspension from the S.C. High School League. According to the penalty, he is also banned from coaching in the postseason this year. In addition to that, the school was fined $1,500, and all the Raiders’ playoff games must be on the road.
Keenan also lost three days of practice, played in one preseason scrimmage.
Norris’ punishment stems from an “open-season violation” by the Raiders, meaning a rule was likely broken during the summer weeks in which teams can hold summer practices. What exactly happened wasn’t immediately known.
The 13-game suspension amounts to half of the program’s regular-season games. The school did not appeal the league’s ruling.
According to a source with knowledge of the situation, Keenan administration agreed to the punishment details without consulting with Norris, who has won more than 500 games as head coach and is a member of the S.C. Basketball Hall of Fame and the USC Aiken Athletics Hall of Fame.
Keenan is the defending Class 3A champions and has been a perennial powerhouse, especially under Norris. The Raiders have won 10 state championships, with eight coming with Norris as the head coach. Keenan’s 10 state championships tie them with Calhoun County for second-most all-time behind Great Falls, which has 11.
The Raiders should be contenders this year and began the season ranked No. 3 in Class 3A. They return senior Broderick Anderson and sophomore Antoine Caughman.
Brookland-Cayce football faced similar punishment in the spring after an open-season violation with head coach Louis Clyburn facing a five-game suspension and a postseason ban for the Bearcats. The South Carolina High School League’s appellate panel voted to lift the suspension and reduce the school’s fine from $1,500 to $500.
In B-C’s case, the football team practiced with a player who was not yet enrolled at the school.