Coaches

Head Coach- Nathan Faulk

• • Nathan Faulk begins his first season on the sidelines of the Laney High School Buccaneers replacing long time Head Coach Fred Lynch, who served as the Bucs coach for 26 years.  Faulk comes from South View High School in Fayetteville, NC where he guided the 2012 Tiger team to 3rd place finish in the Mid South Conference and 2nd Round Playoff appearance, the first playoff appearance and winning season for the Tigers in 7 seasons.  Prior to South View, Faulk took his first varsity coaching position at South Columbus High School, his alma mater from 2004-2008.  In 2008 he took the stallions to a 2nd round State Playoffs appearance and 2nd place finish in the Waccamaw Conference.  It was the first playoff appearance and winning season for the Stallions in 7 seasons.  Faulk began his coaching career prior to South Columbus at Laney High School in 2000 and served as Head JV Coach and Assistant Varsity under Fred Lynch until 2004.  During Faulk's coaching stints he coached Bryant Edwards (South Columbus) who went on to play at Milligan College and Rian Holland (South View) who has committed to play at Wichita State University.  Faulk will begin his 9th year as a varsity coach this season, a native of Columbus County, he is a graduate of the University of North Carolina Wilmington and Virginia Commonwealth University.

   

Assistant Head Coach- Seneca Redwood-Sawyerr
 

• Seneca Redwood-Sawyerr began coaching at Laney High School in 2001 as a JV Boy's Basketball Assistant Coach under Nathan Faulk until 2004. He continued to coach as an assistant at the JV level under Head Coach Aaron Livengood until 2007. In 2008, Coach Redwood got promoted to Varsity Boy's Basketball assistant under the longtime head coach, Fred Lynch and is entering his 12th season in the basketball program. Redwood is also coaching his 8th season as the Assistant Coach for the Laney Girl's Volleyball team, under legendary Head Coach Ruby Sutton. He is a graduate of The University of North Carolina at Wilmington and was born and raised in Charlotte, NC. Coach Redwood is the son of Chris and Chrstiana Redwood-Sawyerr and has a younger sister named Iris.

Assistant Varsity Coach- Darren T. Dickerson
 

• Darren T. Dickerson attended E. A. Laney High School in Wilmington, NC under coach Fred Lynch.  Dickerson was a two-time all-conference selection and left the school fourth in career points with 1,299.  Dickerson was a member of the National Honor Society as well as Mid-Eastern 4A Player-of-the-Year in 2000.  He attended Old Dominion University in 2000-2001 as a freshman under Coach Jeff Capel.  He played in 14 games and averaged 1.1 points and 0.3 rebounds.  Dickerson then attended UNC-Greensboro in 2001-2002 but did not play basketball. Dickerson attended Southeastern Illinois Community College in Harrisburg, IL under Coach Todd Franklin.  He started 35 games, averaged 10 points and six assists and posted two steals per game as a sophomore.  Dickerson was an all-conference and all-region selection.  He helped lead his team to a final national ranking of Number 2 as well as a seventh-place finish at the NJCAA Tournament with a finish of a 34-2 record.  Dickerson was a member of the winningest class in school history (98-00) and led Laney to the Eastern regional championship in 99' before losing to national powerhouse West Charlotte (ranked #7 in nation).  Dickerson was inducted into the Southeastern Illinois Hall of Fame after recording school records of 34 wins and #2 national ranking along with garnering All-conference and All-region 24 honors.  He earned a degree in Business Administration from the University of North Carolina Wilmington in 2007 and has five years of coaching experience at Laney as an assistant coach to Fred Lynch.  Dickerson is a native of Wilmington, NC; his parents are Cedric and Mary Dickerson and his brother is Marques Dickerson.

Varsity Assistant Coach-  Lee Jones
 

• Lee enters his first season as an Assistant in the Buccaneer program. A former three year starting guard for the Buccaneers under Coach Fred Lynch, Lee was a two-time All-Mideastern 3A/4A Conference Selection, First Team All Area as a Senior and was named Laney's Male Athlete of the Year. Lee was a part of the Wilmington Warriors AAU program coached by Nathan Faulk & Seneca Redwood-Sawyer.  He was also named All Conference as a Shortstop on the baseball diamond. After graduating in 2004, Lee went on to play college ball at Catholic University in Washington, DC.  Quote about Laney Basketball by Lee Jones: "We have great tradition here at Laney that was built by great people.  There is something special about putting on that Laney jersey for the first time.  I am really excited to be a part of the program as a coach and look forward to working with all the players and staff."

Head Junior Varsity Coach- Jacob Valentino
 

• Jake Valentino is beginning his first season as the JV Laney basketball coach.  He has been coaching and teaching for the past five years in Onslow and Pender Counties.  He is a transplant from Ohio who studied at Bowling Green State University.  While living in North Carolina he attended ECU for his Masters Degree.  Coach Valentino is looking forward to working with the coaching staff and students to continue Laney's strong traditions in their basketball program.

Assistant Junior Varsity Coach- George Faulk
 

• George Faulk began his High School coaching career at Laney High School in 2007 as a JV Boys' Basketball Assistant Coach with Aaron Livengood until 2009 where they had an undefeated season their first year.  He continued to coach as an assistant at the JV level with Head Coach David Long through the 2011-2012 season.  Before his tenure with Laney, Coach Faulk coached AAU basketball for 10 years and Recreational League Basketball for 18 years.

Assistant Coach/Consultant- Cedrick Dickerson
 

• Cedric A. Dickerson began his basketball coaching career as a volunteer with youth leagues in 1988, with an extreme focus on the teaching of basic fundamentals.  After a long stint of coaching youth leagues, a desire to elevate these young athletes to a higher level of competition evolved.  He and a small core group of dedicated community volunteers formed Wilmington Team Sports which organized a traveling boys basketball team.  The inception of this team marked the infancy of AAU Basketball in Wilmington, NC.  In 1990 Cedric joined New Hanover County Schools as a staff member in Student Support Services and worked primarily with athletes.  The emphasis of the program was substance abuse awareness and academic accountability.  He and a team of colleagues were instrumental in preparing and receiving a dropout prevention grant with a non-traditional sport, at that time (Lacrosse), being the center piece.  Two Lacrosse teams were formed Noble (Coach Dickerson) and Williston (Coach McCaffray).  With the inception of these teams, Lacrosse was eventually established as a sport countrywide.  In 1993 Mr. Dickerson became a State Farm agent, but his desire to stay connected with boys basketball led him to return to Laney High School, as a volunteer assistant to coach Fred Lynch in 1994 to 2012.  Though Cedric continues to have tremendous passion for coaching, his business and community service commitments have place time constraints on his role as a coach.  His services include: Chairman of the Community Boys and Girls Club, Chair of the Laney Hall of Fame Committee, Board Member of Cape Fear Boy Scouts and Vice Chair of New Hanover County ABC Board.  He is a 1976 graduate of East Carolina University and native of Goldsboro, NC.  He and his wife, Mary, reside in Wilmington, NC.  His sons Marques and Darren Dickerson are former basketball athletes and graduates of Laney High School.