Thursday was already a special day for Lexington head basketball coach Bailey Harris.
His goal before the season was for him to be practicing on this birthday. That goal had been accomplished after Tuesday's win over Conway, a victory which also set a program record for consecutive wins with 29.
Following Thursday's practice, Harris gathered his team in the locker room where a birthday cake was waiting. But before the cake was cut, Harris told his team he is stepping down as the head boys basketball coach after 32 seasons. His current boxscore reads 637 wins and two state championships. That stat line will improve if his team can defeat Berkeley Saturday night in the 5A Lower State finals.
Harris says he has been thinking about this for a year or so and weighed various scenarios as to when to tell his team. Former players Bret Jones at Dutch Fork and Thomas Ryan at Dutch Fork advised the coach to tell the players before the season came to an end and Thursday was the day.
Although Harris made his name as a basketball coach, he will still be working at Lexington High School where he teaches U.S. History and coaches the cross country teams. But in the fall, there will be someone new leading the Lexington program.