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Kim dismissed as Rustin coach

After the most successful season in West Chester Rustin girls' basketball history, Leah Kim has been let go as head coach.

After the most successful season in West Chester Rustin girls' basketball history, Leah Kim has been let go as head coach.

Rustin athletic director Chris Lunardi cited "off-the-court issues" as the reason for Kim's termination, adding that the school became aware of the issues after the basketball season.

Lunardi said the firing was "unrelated to basketball" and had nothing to do with inappropriate behavior toward any students.

"She's an awesome basketball coach, and unfortunately we decided to not bring her back," Lunardi said, adding that the decision was based on actions that "compromised her ability to lead the program." He declined to elaborate.

Kim, he added, "is an incredibly hard worker who put everything she had into the program for two years," Lunardi said.

Kim declined comment.

Lunardi met with Kim and Rustin's assistant coaches on April 13, and then e-mailed the players and their parents before meeting with the players in school the next day.

The Golden Knights earned unprecedented success in Kim's two-year tenure, going 49-15 in that span. Rustin won consecutive Ches-Mont League American Division titles - a program first - and finished fourth in the District 1 Class AAAA tournament both years.

The Knights qualified for the state tournament for the first time last year and advanced to the semifinals of the PIAA state playoffs this year, before losing to Cumberland Valley, which went on to win the state championship.

Kim, then known as Leah Shumoski, graduated from Marple Newtown in 2001 and went on to play at the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia, before becoming an assistant coach at Episcopal Academy.

A forward, she scored more than 1,900 points, grabbed more than 1,000 rebounds, and had 280-plus assists at Sciences.

"We wish Leah all the best wherever she lands," Lunardi said.