A familiar face will be returning to the Suncoast Youth Basketball league this fall when William “B.J.” Ivey joins his father, Bill Ivey, for the upcoming 2018-2019 season.
B.J. Ivey is no stranger to the hardwood. As the head boys’ varsity basketball coach at Sarasota’s Riverview High School for the past 12 seasons, Ivey earned Sarasota Herald Tribune Coach of the Year honors in 2010 and 2011, as well as being named the Florida Association of Basketball Coaches Class 8A Coach of the Year in 2016.
But B.J.’s accolades extend way beyond the basketball court. In addition to his talented coaching resume he was recently named 2017-1028 Sarasota Teacher of the Year, the county’s highest honor in teaching.
In June, Florida Governor Rick Scott honored Ivey with the prestigious Shine Award which is bestowed to teachers who greatly impacted the lives of students in the classroom. This past spring, the Baltimore Orioles also recognized Coach Ivey as their 2018 Community Hero.
The Sarasota native graduated from the University of South Florida with a bachelor’s degree in history. He also earned a master’s degree in education curriculum and instruction from National Louis University in Tampa.
As a 3-time varsity letter winner at Riverview High School, Ivey was the team captain in 2000 and helped lead the Rams to district championships in 1997, 1998 and 2000. He was honored on the 1999 Suncoast Holiday Classic All-Tournament Team and was named WWSB Channel 40 Athlete of the week in 2000. He still holds a school record for most points in a game with 37.
B.J. Ivey has coached both boys’ and girls’ teams at Riverview in addition to his guidance of Nike Team Florida AAU team. He has also been involved with the Suncoast Youth Basketball league for the past eight years and has taught social studies along with International Baccalaureate World History honors classes and Advanced Placement Psychology.
Prior to his return to the Suncoast Youth Basketball league, B.J. Ivey has also directed the Nike Boys Basketball Camp at Riverview High School and was co-director of the Nike Girls Basketball Camp at Lakewood Ranch High School.
B.J. Ivey comes from a family full of educators. His mother, Jo Ivey, a retired district teacher who taught Spanish and coached cheerleading at Riverview was also a past Teacher of the Year at that school as well as a past National Cheerleading Coach of the Year. His wife, Samantha, teaches fifth-grade math and science at Lakewood Elementary and his father Bill has directed the Sarasota Youth Basketball league since 1999.