WSSU set to hire new basketball coach, sources indicate

Winston-Salem State University (WSSU) appears to be close to naming its new head coach.

Multiple sources indicate that Corey Thompson, a former WSSU forward and current high school coach, is expected to be the new head coach. Shaw University assistant and WSSU alumnus WyKevin Bazemore, a finalist for the job, has been informed that he will not be hired as the head coach.

WSSU officials declined to comment on the matter, but did indicate that a press conference was imminent.

Thompson is currently the head coach at St. Pauls High School in Fayetteville, North Carolina. He has held that position since 2016. Thompson was previously a candidate in the 2018 search that ultimately saw Cleo Hill Jr. get the job.

Thompson was a star big man at Winston-Salem State in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Playing under Rick Duckett, he helped lead WSSU to a 97-25 overall record and back-to-back CIAA conference titles.

He was a member of the UNC Pembroke coaching staff for five years from 2006-11. Thompson helped lead his big men to the seventh-best rebounding margin (+8.0) in the nation during the 2010-11 campaign, as well as the top spot in the Peach Belt Conference in the same category. UNC Pembroke also finished the season 36 ^th in the nation in both field-goal percentage defense (40.9) and blocked shots per game (4.2).  He then spent three seasons as associate head coach at Fayetteville State before taking over at St. Pauls in 2016.

If Thompson is the choice, he has a tough act to follow. Cleo Hill Jr. won 90 games in five seasons at Winston-Salem State University, bringing the CIAA crown back to Winston-Salem in 2020 and 2023 before taking a job at Maryland Eastern Shore . His assistant, Ricky Wilson, was the interim coach and a candidate for the job as well.

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