‘He will be missed on the sidelines.’ Sweet 16 winning coach Scott Chalk retires.
Paul Laurence Dunbar boys’ basketball coach Scott Chalk, who led the Bulldogs to the 2016 state championship, has stepped down from the program after nine years and is retiring from coaching after more than three decades in the sport.
Chalk helped develop hundreds of 11th Region players over a career that included stints at Frankfort and Franklin County and notably also included Dunbar standout Taveion Hollingsworth’s campaign for Mr. Basketball honors in 2017.
“I had a chance to accomplish just about everything I said I wanted to do when I started this thing,” Chalk told the Herald-Leader on Friday morning after news of his retirement was reported Thursday. “I won a state championship. I coached an all-star team and beat Indiana. I coached a Mr. Basketball in Taveion, … and every place that I went, we started out not very good and ended up doing really well.”
Chalk leaves coaching for a full-time sales opportunity he said he couldn’t turn down. He plans to remain active as the executive director of the Kentucky Association of Basketball Coaches and is looking forward to more time enjoying basketball as a fan.
“Every place I was, I left the program on an up instead of on a down, and I feel good about that,” Chalk said. “Everything I wanted to do, I’ve done, so that made it a little bit easier when I got this opportunity to say, ‘Hey, I need to do this for my family.’”
Chalk’s career at Dunbar ends after having guided the team through a pandemic-marred season that saw the program shut down twice because of COVID-19 protocols but still managed to win the 43rd District title.
“I joked around this season that if I had known how it was going to be, I wouldn’t have done it this year,” Chalk said, laughing. “But I’m glad I was there for this year, really, because this would have been a really trying time for somebody in a first-year situation trying to figure all this (COVID) stuff out and trying to develop relationships with your kids.”
The Bulldogs ended then-No. 1 Lexington Catholic’s undefeated regular season run on March 5 and topped them again two weeks later for Chalk’s third district title with the team.
“He’s a great adversary, a great basketball mind and I can’t say I won’t be happy not to see him on the other side,” Lexington Catholic Coach Brandon Salsman joked. “More importantly, he’s a good friend and someone I have the utmost respect for. So, I’m excited for him. … I wish him the best.”
Playing without any seniors on the roster, Dunbar finished the season 13-6 with a run to the 11th Region semifinals, losing there by a slim 56-55 margin to crosstown rival Frederick Douglass.
“I’ve got an absolutely tremendous group of kids right now. They are just fun to be around every day,” Chalk said. “I know they’ll do well next year, whoever the coach is. I’ll miss that part of it, just because they are good to be around. … The Dunbar community is a good place to be, it’s very diverse, there’s a lot of stability there. It’s been a terrific place to work.”
With talented All-City juniors Tim Hall and Nick Spalding coming back among others, Dunbar’s next coach should have a team likely to be one of the favorites to contend for the 11th Region championship again.
“I’m surprised with the returning team he has coming back, but I also know he has given a lot of his time and efforts to a lot of young men,” said Henry Clay Coach Daniel Brown, commenting on the retirement. “He will be missed on the sidelines.”
Dunbar Athletic Director Jason Howell said Friday that word of mouth about the open position spread rapidly and the job has been posted by Fayette County Public Schools. “I had to charge my phone twice today already,” Howell said.
“The Dunbar family appreciates Scott Chalk and everything he did during his tenure at PLD, and we wish him and his family the best,” Howell added. “He’s always welcome at Paul Laurence Dunbar.”
Chalk’s announcement reveals a coincidental symmetry to his 29-year head coaching career. Chalk came to Dunbar after nine years leading the Franklin County program. He took the Flyers’ job after nine years coaching at Frankfort. Chalk began his coaching career as an assistant to Steve Smith at Oak Hill Academy and took his first head coaching position at Williamstown, leading it for two years before moving to Frankfort.
In all, Chalk compiled a record of 471-416. He went 151-114 with Dunbar with a state championship and an 11th Region title.
“My record could have been a lot better. I could have played a much easier schedule, but we always tried to play everybody that was good, every year,” Chalk said. “You’re not going to win the 11th Region playing the easiest teams you could find. That’s a waste of time. I’d rather play somebody that’s really good, even if I get beat than play somebody I could beat by 30. That’s no fun. That’s not why I’m in this.”
Madison Central’s Allen Feldhaus’ Jr. is the only other 11th Region coach among Chalk’s active contemporaries to win the Boys’ Sweet 16, having done so in 2013.
“We’ve had battles on the court and, truthfully, he’s one of my better friends as far as a coaching colleague is concerned,” Feldhaus said. “If ever something pops up that I don’t know the answer to, he’s always the one I would refer to. I will miss our battles, but it’s the friendship that we’ve developed that I’m going to cherish the most. And I don’t think that will change.”
This story was originally published April 23, 2021 at 6:38 PM.
