“It’s actually bittersweet,” Hoskins said Wednesday, Aug. 4. “The sweet part is an opportunity to advance my career and work with players who reside in the same community I grew up in. The bitter part is the relationship I developed with my players at Springfield.
“Watching them mature and grow was something I was really proud of,” Hoskins continued. “Those guys were really buying into what I was selling. That’s the most disappointing part of it all.”
Hoskins is a 1993 graduate of Chaminade Julienne and a member of the school’s athletic hall of fame. He was an assistant coach to CJ’s Joe Staley from 2004 through 2009. Prior to that he played eight years of professional basketball in Europe and Australia.
Thurgood Marshall finished 20-5 overall and 8-2 in the Dayton City League in 2010, then lost to rival Dunbar in a Division II regional final. In 2009, the Cougars were the D-II state runner-up, losing to Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary.
Hoskins said the move will allow him to be closer to his family.
“They’ve had tremendous success in the past, but it wasn’t something that attracted me to the job, ” Hoskins said. “It pretty much boiled down to what would be best for my family.”
Hoskins said he’ll miss his players at Springfield. He said the first person to call and congratulate him was Trey DePriest.
“No matter what, I’ll definitely keep up with those kids,” Hoskins said.
Hoskins replaced Bill Slagle, who resigned in July 2009.
The resignation puts Springfield in a similar situation of one year ago. Hoskins was hired on Sept. 22.
“Obviously we’re disappointed that Coach Hoskins is leaving us after one year,” Springfield Superintendent Dr. David Estrop said. “On the other hand, it’s hard for coaches to pass up other opportunities and we understand that.”
Estrop said a community engagement process will be used to hire Hoskins’ replacement. They’ll wait until school starts to begin the search.
“We’ll work through the whole process just as we did the last time,” Estrop said. “It’s a little easier for us to communicate once school is underway.”
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