[Stardust]

Stoll has big shoes to fill at Newport Central Catholic


It’s not entirely akin to Joe B. Hall replacing Adolph Rupp or Gene Bartow replacing John Wooden or even Mike Davis replacing Bob Knight, but on the local high school basketball level, George Stoll knows he’s stepping into some big shoes when he replaces Ron Dawn as Newport Central Catholic girls’ basketball coach.

Dawn announced his retirement at the team’s banquet Sunday and the 24-year-old Stoll was named as his replacement.

Stoll is a 2006 NewCath graduate and coached with Dawn for four years.

“I know I have big shoes to fill, but I’m more excited than anything else,” said Stoll, who played at NewCath for current athletic director Rob Detzel. “It doesn’t scare me, because I know with the administration everyone’s in my corner with it. Mr. Dawn and Mr. Detzel really pulled for me.”

Stoll began his coaching career his first year in college at Northern Kentucky University as eighth-grade coach at St. Joseph’s Cold Spring.

“I fell in love with it,” he said. “That’s when I knew I wanted to keep on going in this direction, and didn’t know if it would take me in the direction of girls or boys.”

Stoll is finishing his teaching certification, which he expects to do before next school year and will allow him to teach at the middle school levelhttp://nky.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/AB/20120312/SPT0302/303120165/