27-05-2025
The house that Rhondie built: Coach Ross reflects 22 years at Rutherford
SPRINGFIELD, Fla. (WMBB) – After years of building Rutherford High School into a local basketball powerhouse, head coach Rhondie Ross is stepping down but says his journey with the game is far from over.
The program is coming off its first losing season since 2008 and Ross says it's a bitter-sweet goodbye.
'To be honest, talking about at your core, I knew it was time some time ago,' Ross said. 'But you're fighting ghosts sometimes, like, I want to get it back to where it was and stuff like that. And it's just time.'
Ross first made a name for himself as an assistant coach at his alma mater, Bay High School, where he helped lead the Tornadoes to a Final Four appearance in 2003.
At the time, Rutherford was known for its football dominance. Basketball hadn't seen major success since its 1994 run to the state tournament.
Even then, Ross said he saw the potential.
'When we played them in basketball, Rutherford didn't have the best record, but just the sheer number of people that came out to support was unbelievable,' Ross said. 'And I'm a Bay graduate, but I felt like Rutherford had the most school pride in the city.'
Ross helped spearhead a community-wide push to bring high-level basketball to Springfield. That effort paid off in 2009, when Rutherford opened a new gymnasium that quickly became the mecca of Bay County hoops.
'I got off to a slow start as a head coach. I was in my 30s but young in terms of coaching experience,' he said. 'Once we got that new facility, it felt like the program finally took off.'
The 2010s became a golden era for Rutherford boys basketball. Over an eight-year span, the Rams won 186 games and lost just 42, capturing two regional championships. They developed a reputation for intensity and discipline.
'It didn't matter who we were playing, even if it was fifth graders, they were going to compete at the same level,' Ross said. 'As a coach, that made me proud. We played to a standard every night.'
But everything changed after Hurricane Michael in 2018.
'We were coming off a district championship that year. I had a really good team led by Lorenzo Ferrell,' Ross said. 'When the storm hit in October, we had middle schoolers on campus, our routine was gone. I don't like blaming the storm, but I think we're still dealing with some of it.'
Since the storm, the Rams have struggled to recapture their dominance. The team is now coming off its first losing season since 2008.
Ross says it's time for a new direction but he isn't leaving the sport entirely.
'It's bittersweet, but I'm looking forward to what's next,' he said. 'I've got a lot of basketball left in me, whether it's officiating, training kids, coaching somewhere else. This is definitely not the end. Just a new chapter.'
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