July 2, 2015 at 5:23 p.m.
Coach will be hard to replace
Rays of Insight
Wednesday was a bad day for Jay County basketball.
Actually, “bad” isn’t a strong enough word. But then it’s difficult to put into words what losing the man who has led the Patriots for nearly two decades means to the program.
Huntington County Community School Board on Wednesday approved Craig Teagle as the next coach at Huntington North High School. His days at Jay County are over.
That’s a mammoth triumph for the county-wide school corporation to the northwest. But it’s terrible news for the Patriots.
Teagle will be tremendously difficult to replace.
Many fans, observers and coaches watch a lot of basketball. Teagle studies a lot of basketball, right down to the minute details. The game is his life.
When Jay County played two games on the same day to close the 2011 regular season, that decision came partially because of the time Teagle and his staff had already invested getting ready to take on Bellmont and Norwell. The coach estimated about 50 hours of scouting and preparation work for each.
That may seem like an exaggeration. But anyone who has seen one of Teagle’s scouting reports or heard him discuss the intricacies of an upcoming opponent certainly wouldn’t doubt the number.
It wasn’t unusual for Teagle to be in his office hours before school began or for hours after games breaking down game film. Or for him to sleep in his office after a Friday night game if his team was to play again on Saturday.
That’s dedication.
It’s hard to imagine there is any coach in the state who spends more time studying, and thus any team in the state that is better prepared for each game.
That work, and a generation’s worth of athletes who have strived to match that effort and bought into his system, produced tremendous results.
With Teagle leading the way, the Patriots won six tournament games in 2006 — two in overtime — to reach the Class 3A state championship game. That run came during a stretch in which his teams won four sectional titles in a five-year span and played in regional championship games twice. It also led to him being selected as Jay County’s citizen of the year.
His JCHS teams averaged 14.7 wins per season. Over the Patriots’ current streak of 14 straight winning campaigns, that number is 16, including 20-win efforts in both 2006 and 2013.
He won more than three times as many games as any other coach in school history, finishing with an even 250. Mike Lederman is second on the list with 81.
Teagle is so well thought of among his coaching peers that he was selected to coach what many felt was the best Indiana All-Star team of all time. That group included Gary Harris (Denver Nuggets), Glenn Robinson III (Philadelphia 76ers), Yogi Ferrell (Indiana University), Austin Burgett (University of Notre Dame), R.J. Hunter (Georgia State University) and Kellen Dunham (Butler University). Some called the group Indiana high school’s version of the Dream Team.
Hunter, who is now famous for his game-winning 3-pointer in March that lifted his 14th-seeded Panthers over third-seeded Baylor in the NCAA Tournament, talked about Teagle at the conclusion of all-star week.
“It’s been great,” he said. “I’d love to play for him in school ball. He’s real disciplined. … He’s a good guy too. He’s cool off the court, and I love him.”
That’s a ringing endorsement from a player whose father is now his coach at GSU.
It will be difficult for JCHS to ever find a coach who will rise to Teagle’s level in terms of work ethic, preparation and knowledge of the game. In those areas, he has few peers.
It’s really as simple as this:
Teagle is the best coach I’ve ever been around.
I hope Jay County fans understand that isn’t hyperbole. It’s just the truth.
And I hope I speak for the Patriot fan base in saying the following:
Coach,
We truly appreciate everything you’ve done — all of the hours and time spent away from family in an effort to make the Patriots the best they could be. You’ve shown a level of dedication we could not have expected when you were hired in 1998.
You’ve meant so much to Jay County boys basketball over the last 17 years, providing memories we will never forget. And we will miss the sight of you walking the sideline in your bright red and blue sport coats.
Many of us, right now, are struggling to imagine what the Patriots will be like without you. It’s a situation we hoped we wouldn’t have to face until your retirement.
We’re sad that you’re leaving. But we understand these things happen, and we wish you the best of luck with the Vikings.
Thank you Craig.
Actually, “bad” isn’t a strong enough word. But then it’s difficult to put into words what losing the man who has led the Patriots for nearly two decades means to the program.
Huntington County Community School Board on Wednesday approved Craig Teagle as the next coach at Huntington North High School. His days at Jay County are over.
That’s a mammoth triumph for the county-wide school corporation to the northwest. But it’s terrible news for the Patriots.
Teagle will be tremendously difficult to replace.
Many fans, observers and coaches watch a lot of basketball. Teagle studies a lot of basketball, right down to the minute details. The game is his life.
When Jay County played two games on the same day to close the 2011 regular season, that decision came partially because of the time Teagle and his staff had already invested getting ready to take on Bellmont and Norwell. The coach estimated about 50 hours of scouting and preparation work for each.
That may seem like an exaggeration. But anyone who has seen one of Teagle’s scouting reports or heard him discuss the intricacies of an upcoming opponent certainly wouldn’t doubt the number.
It wasn’t unusual for Teagle to be in his office hours before school began or for hours after games breaking down game film. Or for him to sleep in his office after a Friday night game if his team was to play again on Saturday.
That’s dedication.
It’s hard to imagine there is any coach in the state who spends more time studying, and thus any team in the state that is better prepared for each game.
That work, and a generation’s worth of athletes who have strived to match that effort and bought into his system, produced tremendous results.
With Teagle leading the way, the Patriots won six tournament games in 2006 — two in overtime — to reach the Class 3A state championship game. That run came during a stretch in which his teams won four sectional titles in a five-year span and played in regional championship games twice. It also led to him being selected as Jay County’s citizen of the year.
His JCHS teams averaged 14.7 wins per season. Over the Patriots’ current streak of 14 straight winning campaigns, that number is 16, including 20-win efforts in both 2006 and 2013.
He won more than three times as many games as any other coach in school history, finishing with an even 250. Mike Lederman is second on the list with 81.
Teagle is so well thought of among his coaching peers that he was selected to coach what many felt was the best Indiana All-Star team of all time. That group included Gary Harris (Denver Nuggets), Glenn Robinson III (Philadelphia 76ers), Yogi Ferrell (Indiana University), Austin Burgett (University of Notre Dame), R.J. Hunter (Georgia State University) and Kellen Dunham (Butler University). Some called the group Indiana high school’s version of the Dream Team.
Hunter, who is now famous for his game-winning 3-pointer in March that lifted his 14th-seeded Panthers over third-seeded Baylor in the NCAA Tournament, talked about Teagle at the conclusion of all-star week.
“It’s been great,” he said. “I’d love to play for him in school ball. He’s real disciplined. … He’s a good guy too. He’s cool off the court, and I love him.”
That’s a ringing endorsement from a player whose father is now his coach at GSU.
It will be difficult for JCHS to ever find a coach who will rise to Teagle’s level in terms of work ethic, preparation and knowledge of the game. In those areas, he has few peers.
It’s really as simple as this:
Teagle is the best coach I’ve ever been around.
I hope Jay County fans understand that isn’t hyperbole. It’s just the truth.
And I hope I speak for the Patriot fan base in saying the following:
Coach,
We truly appreciate everything you’ve done — all of the hours and time spent away from family in an effort to make the Patriots the best they could be. You’ve shown a level of dedication we could not have expected when you were hired in 1998.
You’ve meant so much to Jay County boys basketball over the last 17 years, providing memories we will never forget. And we will miss the sight of you walking the sideline in your bright red and blue sport coats.
Many of us, right now, are struggling to imagine what the Patriots will be like without you. It’s a situation we hoped we wouldn’t have to face until your retirement.
We’re sad that you’re leaving. But we understand these things happen, and we wish you the best of luck with the Vikings.
Thank you Craig.
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