A Cary resident, Patrick Daly had wondered what it would be like to be a girls basketball coach in his community. And when a math position and head coaching position became available at Cary High, Daly thought it was worth a shot even though he does both at Athens Drive.

Cary hired Daly, and the former Jaguars coach won’t even have to leave the Tri-Nine Conference next season as he heads to a school just a few streets away.

“If there was ever an opportunity to teach and coach in Cary, that I would like to at least see if that would work for me,” Daly said. “It’s not an Athens thing at all. It’s just more of a personal decision to teach and coach in the community that I live in and develop relationships there.”

He said he will meet his new team Thursday afternoon.

Daly was 15-34 in two years at Athens Drive, including a 5-20 record this year.

He spent two years prior to that at another Tri-Nine school, Panther Creek, coaching the junior varsity. Running into familiar faces is something he’s gotten used to.

“It’s always kind of an awkward situation, but I already have experience coming from Panther Creek and coaching JV and varsity over there,” Daly said. “It’s great to see people and see how the girls are developing, so it’s a double-edged sword if you will.”

Daly will replace Donald Kent, who was 31-19 over the past two seasons and made the third round of the 4A playoffs this past season.

Blake: 919-460-2606 or twitter.com/JMBpreps