Halstead’s Dennis Latimore will be the next coach of LaVar Ball’s son

The next coach in charge of leading the Chino Hills (Calif.) boys basketball team — and coaching LaVar Ball’s youngest son, LaMelo — is Halstead native Dennis Latimore, according to the LA Times.

Latimore was a Kansas Gatorade Player of the Year and Wichita Eagle All-State player in his senior season at Halstead, averaging 24 points and 11 rebounds and leading the Dragons to a Class 3A championship in the 2000-01 season. He played at Arizona before transferring and earning a Masters degree at Notre Dame.

Latimore has been an English teacher at Chino Hills since January and will now take over the coaching duties of the basketball team following the departure of Stephan Gilling, who guided Chino Hills to a 30-3 record during a season where he publicly clashed with LaVar Ball.

Chino Hills returns LaMelo Ball, who scored 92 points in a game last season, for two more seasons.

Joe Gerber, the current principal at Halstead who had Latimore in class, thinks Latimore’s demeanor will allow him to be successful.

“Dennis will approach this position the same way he’s approached everything over the course of his life,” Gerber said. “That’s with the perserverence and the work ethic and the desire to do what is right. He’ll do right by his students and all of his student-athletes, not just one in particular. That’s just who he is. He was a very good student when he was at Halstead High and he was an even better teammate.”

This story was originally published May 9, 2017 at 2:53 PM with the headline "Halstead’s Dennis Latimore will be the next coach of LaVar Ball’s son."