HORACE LANGFORD JR. / PVT Bob Hopkins, the Pahrump Valley High School girls basketball coach for the past 10 seasons and 13 overall, is shown in a familar pose -- pleading with his team to do the right thing. Since the 2000-2001 season, the Lady Trojans were 198-44, winning two state Class 3-A championships and dominating Southern Nevada League opponents. 2000-2008 Year W-L State results • 2000-2001 21-3 L, Semifinals • 2001-2002 24-3 L, Regionals • 2002-2003 19-7 L Semifinals • 2003-2004 32-1 W 3-A title • 2004-2005 29-5 W 3-A title • 2005-2006 18-13 L Regionals • 2006-2007 30-4 L in Finals • 2007-2008 25-8 L Semifinals This decade: 198-44, two championships, one runnerup. Pahrump Valley girls from Class of 2004 won 96, lost 14. • Class of 2005: 104-16 • Class of 2006: 98-26 • Class of 2007: 109-23 • Class of 2008: 102-30 Trojans were 55-23 against Class 4-A or bigger opponents in last seven seasons. Advertisement

The Pahrump Valley High School girls' basketball team will go into its first Class 4-A campaign next year without veteran coach Bob Hopkins in charge.

Hopkins announced Wednesday that he will not coach girls' basketball, but will continue to work as athletics director, "I would like to be able to continue to help Julie (Floyd) with girls golf and coach the boys' golf team," said Hopkins, who has been involved with the PVHS and junior golf programs for more than a decade.

His reason for relinquishing the girls' basketball duties?

"I have been coaching for 32 years, but for 25 years, I have not been able to celebrate Thanksgiving with my family because I am getting a basketball team ready for the next season," said Hopkins, and "at Christmas time, I have teams in holiday tournaments ... we're playing games." Pahrump Valley was 13-17 in six appearances in the prestigious Las Vegas Classic, played at Centennial High School during the Christmas-New Year's break.

In 25 seasons, Hopkins-coached teams were 479-176, which means he leaves the profession 21 wins shy of 500 in his career.

"Coaching basketball has been part of my life for a long time," said Hopkins, who directed a state championship team in Bennett County, S.D., before heading to Nevada. "Now, I am going to be able to devote more time to my family. Like, each summer, we give up being together two, three weeks while we go to (basketball) camps. I run one here ... we have the Shot Doctor come in for another ... then we go to Cedar City (Utah) for a week."

"And," said Hopkins, "I think I will be able to do a better job as athletics director" Hopkins took over as interim AD last fall, after Brian Hug was removed from that job after the completion of an investigation by the Nye County School District into a parental complaint. Because of budget cuts recommended by Nevada Gov. Jim Gibbons, Hopkins will be the AD until further notice.

"I think coaches in all sports have to get more involved in the junior high programs," said Hopkins. "We have Joe Clayton working with the Pop Warner football program and I think we have a good junior high program (at Rosemary Clarke)." Leo Verzilli will coach the PVHS varsity next year, when Trojan football enters the Class 4-A Sunset Region Southwest Division.

Golf has the Pahrump Valley Junior Golf Association as the prime program to aid boys and girls golf. Soccer has the American Youth Soccer Organization; baseball and fast-pitch softball have Little League affiliations, "but all of our coaches are going to have to get more involved in those programs," said Hopkins.

"And," said Hopkins, "the coaches are going to have to get more supportive of each other, urging athletes to get involved in other sports. In the fall, if a boy or girl doesn't play football or volleyball or golf, there is cross country. In the spring, a basketball player who doesn't play baseball or softball could be asked to run track ..."

The 2008-2009 coaching list now includes Jill Harris, who is back as the head of the girls' volleyball program. Gene Smith (boys) and Greg Leseberg (girls) are the soccer coaches and Andy Andersen will direct cross country.

Winter sports coaches include Craig Rieger, whose wrestling team won the state 3-A championship, and Lonnie Shereck (boys basketball).

Spring coaches now are Preston Dockter (fast-pitch softball), Doug Marion (baseball) and Andy Schneider (boys and girls track).

"We have to make sure we have good coaches for every sport," said Hopkins. As for who will replace him, the veteran coach said he will make no recommendations.

History, however, dictates that someone with Hopkins' credentials and intense desire to succeed is hired.

He coached PVHS basketball from 1990 to 1993, winning more than 50 percent of his games before returning to South Dakota. In the seven seasons he was gone, Pahrump Valley's girls' basketball program was in dire straits, once losing 43 games in a row and going 11-60 over a three-year period. The 1996-97 team was 0-24; in one seven-game stretch that season, PVHS was outscored 398-90.