BUCYRUS — When Scott Gifford resigned last spring after just one season, the Bucyrus basketball program was again in search of a head coach.
The administration didn’t have to look far to get the new head man.
The Bucyrus Board of Education approved Brian Hargis at the May board meeting to be the 46th hoops boss of the Redmen.
While Hargis has never been a head coach, he has deep roots in the Bucyrus system. The 2004 BHS graduate played both basketball and baseball for the Redmen.
He has been a part of the basketball coaching staff for four years. His first two were as eighth grade coach, then a year as a varsity assistant under Barry Egan, and a year as junior varsity coach for Gifford.
Hargis feels both physically and mentally prepared to take on the daunting task of heading up a program that has had spotty success, at best, and has struggled mightily for more than a decade.
Last year’s 6-17 record broke a string of seven consecutive 20+ loss seasons. So, Hargis takes over the reins with eyes wide open, having been part of the program for the last four years and was a member of the last league champion in 2003, now 20 years ago.
“The thing that got me involved was the youth,” Hargis said. “I feel like the youth program is a little behind. We had freshmen coming in that weren’t ready.”
While Hargis is confident that the current group of varsity and junior varsity players can win now, he wants to build a solid feeder program to sustain over the foreseeable future.
“This is my third year with the youth program,” Hargis said. “I know every kid down there. I have a relationship with all of them. We have a lot of talent coming.”
Hargis thinks that the revolving door attached to the coach’s office has contributed to the struggles. To put it in perspective, since David Sheldon — dean of coaches in the Northern 10 Athletic Conference — took over at Colonel Crawford, Bucyrus has had six head coaches, with Hargis as No. 7.
“We’ve had a hard time keeping teams together,” Hargis said. “A lot of that is due to the transition at head coach and the staff. The biggest thing is getting the lower programs rolling. We need consistency.”
One of his frustrations was with key contributors playing through their sophomore and even junior years, then not playing basketball at what should be the pinnacles of their careers.
“Our numbers are lower, but we don’t need an army,” Hargis said. “Just the right players. The kids that stayed on the ship are mentally tough. A lot of kids in that locker room are due for success.”
Hargis recognizes that it will be an uphill battle to return to competing in the N10.
“It’s going to be a tough league — a lot of veteran coaches,” Hargis said. “Wynford, Carey, Mohawk, Upper Sandusky, and Colonel Crawford. That’s where we want to be.”
The new head man believes he has the right material to make the jump from bottom feeder to competitive.
“This school gets a bad rap from the outside,” Hargis said. “But I’m with the kids. I know what they’re capable of.”
Hargis is not looking to reinvent the wheel as far as strategy is concerned, but he does plan to play to the team’s strengths.
“We’ll keep what we had from last year, but we’re going to be versatile,” Hargis said. “We have size and shooters. We need more ball movement. Defensively, cleaning up possessions, not getting killed on the offensive boards.”
The reversal of waters will not happen by just rolling the balls out this fall.
“It starts in practice, it has to be work,” Hargis said. “Games are the fun part. That hasn’t always been the case here.”
Hargis has a personal stake in this for the long term. He and his companion, Katee Ledbetter, have a son, Camden, in the Bucyrus school system.
“We’re going to be competitive, I know that,” Hargis said. “There have been steps already. If we don’t go over .500, I will consider (the coming season) a failure.”
Based on recent results, Hargis has set the bar high for his first year at the helm of the Bucyrus basketball program.