— By Bill Cornwell
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — One of West Virginia’s most prestigious boys basketball programs has a new head coach.
The Cabell County Board of Education this week approved the hiring of Lambros Svingos as Huntington High’s new head coach. Svingos is a Huntington High alumnus and most recently worked as an assistant coach at nearby Cabell Midland.
The 33-year old Svingos replaces Ty Holmes, who stepped down as the Highlanders’ coach after leading the team to the Class AAAA semifinal round last season and two of the last three years. Holmes was head coach the last five seasons at HHS.
“There is a lot of talent here,” Svingos said. “Ty did a great job there and I look forward to coming in and getting to work and competing because we want to win state championships.”
Svingos played on Huntington High teams with former NBA players OJ Mayo and Patrick Patterson and was on the Highlander teams that three-seated as Class AAA state champion from 2005-2007. He went on to play at Geneva College.
Barring the loss of transfers, Svingos’ first Huntington team would feature several standout returners, including two players who scored more than 17 points per game last season in guard Wayne Harris and forward Mikey Johnson. Other key returnees could include Jamari Tubbs, Malik McNeely and Avonte Crawford.
Huntington is known for a fast-paced brand of basketball that strives to make the most of its athleticism.
Svingos expects that style to continue moving ahead.
“We’re going to play fast and push the ball,” Svingos said. “We want to find a way to outrun teams, plus we’ll press on defense while being disciplined.”
Cabell Midland is also looking for a new boys head basketball coach after J.J. Martin recently resigned from a job he held since June of 2019.