Redd resigns after five years as Silver Bluff girls basketball head coach

           Aiken – After a strong 5-season run, Chasen Redd has resigned as the girls basketball head coach of Silver Bluff High School.

          Redd confirmed to High School Sports Report that he stepped down after the Bulldogs were eliminated from the AA state playoffs with a quarterfinal loss to Gray Collegiate Academy. Redd chose not to comment on his reasons for the resignation.

         Redd was 82-21 in his five seasons at SBHS. Silver Bluff won four consecutive region titles under his guidance, including this season when it went 22-2 overall and 8-0 in Region 3. He guided the Bulldogs to the AA state championship game in 2022.

        After splitting its first two games of the season, SBHS won 21 straight games and was ranked No. 1 in the High School Sports Report AA poll for most of the season. Silver Bluff lost 60-32 to Gray Collegiate, which was the defending state champion.

        “The season went great,” Redd said. “It didn’t end the way we wanted it to, but we played a tough team in Gray, and we didn’t play our game. I’m proud of the team and the way we played all year. It was a good season. I’m proud of them and their accomplishments.”

        The Bulldogs were led by two seniors who were selected to play in the North-South All-Star Game in Krystal Johnson and Ahminah Taylor.

        Johnson was also an All-State selection by the South Carolina Basketball Coaches Association. She averaged a double-double of 19.4 points per game to go with 12.0 rebounds. She also averaged 3.8 steals, 1.7 blocked shots and 1.4 assists.

       Taylor averaged 15.8 points and 3.7 rebounds while leading SBHS in assists at 3.8 and steals at 4.1.

      They were joined on the All-Region team by senior Makya Bing, junior Trinity Wilson and sophomore Zy Lewis.

      Bing averaged 7.7 points, 4.4 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 2.5 steals, while Wilson averaged 4.5  points, 7.2 rebounds and 2.0 steals. Lewis averaged 3.6 points and 2.3 steals.

PRANDY PLEASED WITH FIRST YEAR AS BOYS HEAD COACH

           The Silver Bluff boys went 11-13 overall and finished 4-4 and in third place in Region 3. They suffered an 89-79 overtime loss to Abbeville in the first round of the state playoffs.

          “I thought the season was a good start to building a strong foundation for our future at the Bluff, creating a culture for success with multiple-sport athletes and competing at a higher level,” said head coach Michael Prandy, who was in his first year after coming from South Aiken. “We were 11-13 this year and 10 of the 13 losses were 10 points or less. Now we need to learn to close out those close games and convert them into wins.”

          Seniors Justin Perry and Jaydon Eason were Silver Bluff’s two All-Region players. Perry led the Bulldogs in scoring at 10.8 points to go with 5.3 rebounds. Eason averaged 9.6 points and 5.7 rebounds.

         Silver Bluff had nine seniors, many of whom played in most of the games. The other seniors are Terrell Williams (5.7 ppg, 4.6 rpg), Gerald Lark Jr. (4.6 ppg, team high 6.0 rpg, team high 1.4 blocked shots), Dresean Germany, Desjuan McCorkle, Raymond Solomon, Keyvon Wiley and Jayden Fuller.

    Despite all of those losses, Prandy is excited about what lays ahead for Silver Bluff.

  “I  truly believe the future looks really bright for the Bluff, We had a very competitive season at the junior varsity level in learning a new system with new coaches, along with those returning from the varsity, I think we have a chance to be competitive in our new AAA region next year.

BRYANT LEAVES SILVER BLUFF FOR GRAY COLLEGIATE

          Silver Bluff is also searching for a new football coach after De’Angelo Bryant stepped down to become the head coach at Gray Collegiate.

          Bryant was 38-28 in six seasons at his alma mater. He led SBHS to the AA title game in 2021.

The Bulldogs went 9-4 this past season, reaching the third round of the state playoffs.