Elliot Washington I returning to Southeast High to become school's boys basketball coach

SARASOTA — Elliot Washington I is coming home. Once again.

The former basketball star at Southeast High School, who coached the Seminole basketball team for 14 years, will become the school’s boys basketball coach, athletic director Matt Kitchie said.

Washington will replace LeRon Edwards, who took over the program after head coach Shed Cooper stepped down for personal reasons. After finishing 18-6 in the 2022-23 season and reaching the regional quarterfinals, the Seminoles went 8-15 last season, losing nine of their last 10 games.

The 52-year-old Washington I, whose son, Elliot Washington II, starred in football for Venice High and now is at Penn State, had been a basketball coach at IMG Academy. Before that, the point guard for the Seminole basketball teams coached by Bob Carroll and featuring future NBA first-round pick Clifford Rozier, coached five years at State College of Florida.

When the Southeast job opened up and Washington expressed interest, Kitchie said he was “ecstatic” with the chance of getting the player who averaged 16 points and 10 assists for the Seminoles and remains the program’s single-season and all-time leader in assists and steals.

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“First and foremost,” Kitchie said, “he’s an alumni, and that played a large portion, but also he’s an alumni-coach in that he led the Seminoles for 14 years, he led them to the Final Four a couple of times, so he has a proven track record.” Kitchie said Washington is almost like family _ his wife is a relative of former Southeast football star Peter Warrick, while his dad, Tom, ran the New Manatee Broncos youth football team. “His bloodlines in Manatee County run deep,” Kitchie said. “We had some really good candidates. It’s just hard to pass up the opportunity to get somebody who has the resume he does basketball-wise.

“I respect him immensely, and it was just easy. And the best part is, when you sit down with him, he’s just an impressive human being. I am obsessed with improving Southeast High School. This is a great bridge to the past. He has a basketball pedigree, and what more can you ask for to help our kids at Southeast High School?”

Washington, who will remain on the Southeast campus through the day in a capacity not yet decided, said the decision to return to Southeast was not the result of any dissatisfaction at IMG.

“I had an awesome time there, and I’m still having a great time,” he said. “Nothing to do with anything at IMG. This is going home. Our basketball tradition at Southeast is richer than most. There are not too many people in the area who can boast about the traditions and accolades we have. I’m a proud Southeast alum who feels like the program needs to be back competing and, hopefully, competing for championships.”

Washington remembers fondly helping Carroll put down the gym’s first 3-point line. “We were able to get that sketched out,” he said. “So there’s a lot of history there. There are a lot of accomplishments as a player and a coach.” As a coach, Washington in 2004 earned Coach of the Year honors from the Sarasota Herald-Tribune for leading the Seminoles to a 23-8 record and appearance in the state’s Final Four. “I always had a heart and loyalty to where I came from, which is east Bradenton.

“I will be coming back home.”

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Elliot Washington I returning to Southeast High to become school's boys basketball coach