Lots of goings on here in Hernando. . .

Hernando is looking for a new boys basketball coach, and Nature Coast has found a new girls coach.

Nature Coast has hired assistant Travis Lamle to replace Jason Montgomery, who has assumed a position as the head women's basketball coach at Volunteer State Community College in Tennessee.

“From day one I told them if I had the right college opportunity, I’d like to get back,” Montgomery said. “I always thought Volunteer State was one of the top two or three jobs in that league.”

Hernando, meanwhile, will look to replace Tony Vasquez, who resigned Wednesday after being arrested for indecent exposure (see blog post below).

The Times spoke with Hernando A.D. Marion Jones Wednesday afternoon. At the time Jones knew that Vasquez resigned, but wasn't aware that he had been arrested.

Jones, a former star at Hernando and a former middle school coach, said his taking over as coach was a possibility. We also spoke with former coach Jeff Laing, who resigned after six seasons. Laing said he didn't think he would end up returning as the school's coach.

As far as Nature Coast goes, leaving  was hard for Montgomery because of how much talent the Sharks are poised to return for the 2007-08season. In four seasons at Nature Coast, Montgomery led the Sharks to an 85-33 record, two district titles and three sweet 16 appearances.

While his teams were successful on the court, Montgomery weathered his share of controversy off the court. Recruiting allegations inspired the Florida High School Athletic Association to slap Nature Coast with three years of administrative probation and a $1,250 fine in 2006. Five hundred of those dollars were paid out of the girls basketball team’s budget.

At Volunteer State, Montgomery has eight players returning from a team that went 15-13 last year. He’s optimistic about his Tennessee squad, but equally positive about Nature Coast’s upcoming season, especially the hiring of Lamle.

Montgomery called Lamle one of the hardest workers he’s met in his life, and said that his assistant of three years was the logical choice to fill the position.

“From the athletics director standpoint, he was athletics director at Fox Chapel for quite some time,” Montgomery said. “He’s had experience. …From a basketball standpoint, he’s a logical choice because you have so much coming back on this team, and we have been so successful.”

--KELLIE DIXON AND DAVID MURPHY

kdixon@sptimes.com or dmurphy@sptimes.com