Marty Gordon
RADFORD – Rick Cormany is a legend in the high school coaching ranks with 773 wins, good for the second most all-time wins in Virginia High School League history.
He stepped down from Radford High School last year after 29 years at the school. The legend continued this past week when the school unveiled the naming of the court where he coached to be “Cormany Court.”
The 773 wins puts Cormany in some elite company with the likes of Bluestone’s George Lancaster (724 wins), former Maury head man Jack Baker (746 wins) along with retired coaches Bill Littlepage from Hopewell (755 wins) and Robert E. Lee-Staunton legendary sideline boss Paul Hatcher (897 victories).
Cormany just finished his 30th season at Radford and over 560 of his wins have come for the Bobcats.
Radford won 21 of the last 22 regular season championships in the Three Rivers District, 16 of 17 tournament championships, the last four Conference 45 championships, four Region C championships (2001, 2002, 2004, 2013), three Region 1A West Championships (2014, 2016, 2017), two Region 2C Championships (2018, 2019), three state runner ups, nine state Final-4’s and state champions in six of the last 12 years.
Last week, players from those different eras and championship teams gathered to watch the unveiling of the court’s new name.
Cormany thanked the crowd and said he was blessed to have coached at Radford for so long. Of course, his biggest memories were the championships and how the community responded to each of them.
“I had great support from the administration, players, coaches and the community,” he told onlookers.
Many of the current Radford coaches played for him during his time at the school.
“I’m proud of what we accomplished,” Cormany said. “I want every player and every coach that they had something to do with this to know they’re appreciated for everything they gave me.”
The naming of the basketball court came after a special request to the Radford City School Board to add the special touch. A committee was formed to work on the proper terminology while finding funding from the RHS Foundation.
Approximately $35,000 was raised to sand down the floor and add the special touch. The venture became a partnership between the Radford High School Foundation and the Radford City Schools Partners for Excellence Foundation.
Cormany was also honored with a special proclamation from earlier in the year by the Virginia General Assembly, recognizing him for his outstanding record not at Radford High School but also Rocky Gap, where he started his coaching career.
