High-profile Kamloops basketball coaches rumoured to be in mix to replace Scott Reeves

Mar 8, 2019 | 4:56 PM

KAMLOOPS — TRU Wolfpack Athletic Director Curtis Atkinson has a decision to make in the next week – hire an interim coach following the firing of veteran women’s basketball Scott Reeves or start an extensive coaching search for his replacement. 

“For the sake of hte players, I really want to move on this quickly and give them certainty moving forward, and the recruits coming in,” said Atkinson. “We definitely have some people in mind.”

The Wolfpack say an interim coach would be able to come in and connect with potential recruits before a full-time coach is hired through an extensive search. 

Rumours are swirling that former TRU Athletic Director Ken Olynyk, a veteran coach who led the Wolfpack women’s team in its inaugural year in 2005 and most recently helped coach the UBC Okanagan men’s team this season, could be the next person to lead the Wolfpack. 

The name Del Komarniski, the head coach of the South Kam senior girls Titans that just finished capturing back-to-back AA provincial titles, has also been circulating behind the scenes. 

“Yeah, I’ve certainly heard the names come up as well and I understand that because they’ve both had great success at the high school level,” noted Atkinson. “Ken obviously at the USPORTS level, recently at UBCO, but before he took that position, at the University of Toronto where he had success. I wouldn’t take anything off the table.”

Reeves was let go on Wednesday following a 4-16 season during which TRU was outscored 73-57 on average over the 20-game season. 

“We just took some time at the end of the season, over the last month or so, to evaluate and look at where the program was going,” said Atkinson. “Scott did an amazing job here for a number of years. We just looked at the last few years and the future and decided that it was perhaps time to get a fresh perspective.”

Atkinson says if the athletic department go ahead with a full search, a coaching staff may not be in place for another 6-8 weeks.