Payson Roundup

Payson High School will soon have a new boys basketball coach at the helm of the program.

PHS Athletic Director Rob Varner headed a selection committee that on July 14 interviewed four candidates for the position. A selection has been made, and it is former Kearny-Ray coach Bill Goodwin, but Varner will not officially announce the name until the Payson Unified School District board OKs the hire later this week.

Goodwin replaces Jared Swanson, who was the Longhorns’ head coach for just one season.

He resigned last spring to accept a graduate assistant position at Boise State University where he plans on working on his master’s degree. The move also gives his wife the chance to earn her college degree.

“It was too good an opportunity to pass up,” Swanson said upon his resignation.

The basketball program has experienced ups and downs the past several seasons, reaching the state championship game under former coaches Chuck Hardt and Kenny Hayes, but struggling last season mostly due to a myriad of injuries that forced Swanson to play young, untested players including freshmen Tanner Hintze and Chase Walden.

Playing those younger players obviously was a disadvantage, but could pay big dividends for Goodwin, as he will have a solid nucleus of experienced players to build the foundation of the 2010-2011 team.