GREENWOOD, S.C. — Emerald High School in Greenwood has turned its boys basketball program over to a familiar face. Sammy Robinson, a Vikings assistant since 2020, is the team’s new head coach, replacing John Mark Scruggs, who is leaving the job because of his health.
The change makes permanent a role Robinson already knows. He ran the team as head coach for a long stretch last season while Scruggs was away from the bench.
The two men have worked side by side for years. Before both arrived at Emerald, they shared a bench at Ninety Six High. Scruggs, a Ninety Six graduate, led the Wildcats boys program for six seasons and also served as that school’s athletic director starting in 2017 before he took over at Emerald for the 2020-21 season.
Emerald principal Mack Hite said Robinson’s biggest asset is how well he already knows the Vikings players and Scruggs during a hard time for the program. Hite described Robinson as a hard worker and said he expects the new coach to build on what Scruggs started, with Scruggs staying close by to help with the handoff.
Robinson has coached across the Lakelands over the past decade. Besides basketball at Emerald and Ninety Six, his resume includes softball at Ninety Six, softball at Greenwood High and American Legion softball.
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