Derek 'Yogi' Edwards once played basketball for the Lake Taylor Titans in Norfolk. He's served as the Head Coach of the junior varsity squad and been a varsity assistant in recent seasons. Now, he gets to move up to the main chair.

On Wednesday, Lake Taylor Principal Latesha N. Wade-Jenkins announced Edwards will take over as the Head Boys Basketball Coach of the varsity program for the Titans.

"It means the world to me to be a Head Coach at Lake Taylor," Edwards stated.

Lake Taylor's previous Head Coach, Kenny Brown, announced his retirement after 18 seasons at the helm in late May. Brown publicly endorsed Edwards to be his successor.

"I think he's ready," Brown told VirginiaPreps.com at the time. "He has a lot of young energy, has been a real asset to us and should be doing it for a long time."

Brown went 255-177 overall with the Titans, guiding them to their first ever State Championship in March of 2018 with Edwards on the bench.

Over the years, Edwards has been instrumental in the development of Lake Taylor's young players and has also coached on the travel circuit, directing the Norfolk Titans AAU program.

"First off, I played for Coach Brown and then coached with him for several seasons. I learned patience from Coach Brown and trusting the process. He was good with that," Edwards noted.

"It was an honor being Coach Brown's assistant for years and now he's leaving the program in my hands."

Expectations will be high for Lake Taylor this coming winter as they look to make their fourth State Tournament appearance in five years, yet will face stiff competition in a Class 4 field that features King's Fork, Churchland along with capable newcomers to the division in Menchville and Hampton.

As long as the Titans stick to the basics and their principles, particularly causing opponents problems with their high-pressure defense, they ought to remain in the Championship hunt.

"Moving forward, I want the program to be known for being a hard-working bunch," Edwards said.

The Titans should be well-equipped to another deep playoff run with the talent slated to return, headlined by guard Zyrail Mitchell, the Eastern District Player of the Year and Region 4A Player of the Year who put up 23.7 points per game and upped it to 30.5PPG during the postseason.

Matthew Hatfield serves as Publisher for VirginiaPreps.com, part of the Rivals.com Network, and is a regular contributor to the ACC Sports Journal. Check out Hatfield’s Twitter page for more sports related updates, and you can also read his work in the Suffolk News Herald. To contact Matthew, please e-mail hatfieldsports2k4@yahoo.com, and don’t forget to listen to him weeknights from 6-7 PM on The 757 at 6 as well as every Saturday at 10 AM to Noon on ESPN Radio 94.1.