Tuesday, November 10, 2009 9:18 AM CST
Marner begins first year at A-L
By MIKE MONAHAN, Staff Writer
mmonahan@jg-tc.com
ARTHUR -- Jenni (Buckler) Marner, a 1998 graduate of Arthur High School, is to begin her first year as head coach of Arthur-Lovington girls’ basketball team with the first game set for Monday as the Lancers are to play host to Meridian in a non-conference contest. Although it is Marner’s first year, she has been an assistant for the past five seasons, including the last four under Jennifer Randall, a 2000 Arthur graduate, who is now an assistant women’s basketball coach at Loras College. The first year was under Jeremy Rodebaugh.
“It definitely helps that I have been in the program for a number of years, especially for the older girls,” said Marner. “Although we are a fairly young team with eight freshmen. We are still getting to know each other the first couple of weeks, and so far things are going really well in the transition.”
Marner is a former first-team all-Little Okaw Valley Conference player for two years and a member of the Journal Gazette-Times-Courier All-Area team her senior year when she helped the Lancers go 27-2 and win the school’s last regional title in girls’ basketball (under current Arthur boys’ basketball coach Dale Schuring). Marner, who received honorable mention all-state academic team her senior year, started her coaching career in Denver.
“I have not had a year with eight freshmen before,” said Marner. “We have always had an even mix or senior heavy or senior and junior heavy. The fact we don’t have any position set has made our competition level great the first week in practice. Everyone is giving it their all and they are really buying into our four things that we want to do; working hard, working smart, working together and from that hopefully we are having some fun. I am seeing some smiles at practice and I like seeing that. I want them to enjoy the game. Hopefully that is what assistant coach Craig Moffett and I instill within them in how we coach the game is to have fun. It is a game and it should be enjoyable to play.”
Moffett, a 2004 graduate of Stewardson-Strasburg was a special mention Illinois Basketball Coaches Association player his senior year for the 16-9 Comets, which was current coach Mike Walker’s first year at the helm. Moffett went on to play baseball collegiately at Kaskaskia and William Woods University.
“He has been great with the girls,” said Marner. “He is a great teaching coach and does a great job keeping up the intensity and energy in practice.”
Three letter winners are back from a 10-18 season, one that finished 7-4 in the Little Okaw Valley Conference. This includes senior Allison Chancellor; junior Myranda Tabb and sophomore Megan Brough. Chancellor, who missed all of last year with a shoulder injury, is out this week recovering from phenomena. She missed four days of school last week, but was back Monday. She is expected to be cleared Nov. 16.
“She is one of the seniors and one of the leaders,” said Marner. “It is a bummer for her to be out for these first few weeks, but she has been at practice when she can be cheering on the team. She is doing a good job leading them vocally.”
Brough and Tabb averaged 1.3 and 0.5 points per game and the squad lost four players from last year including Cortney Rahn, who averaged 10.6 points per game for the Lancers, who won the consolation championship in the LOVC tournament. The team of nine players finished third in the area in defense, allowing just 44 points per game.
As for the strengths of the team Marner said, “We are all working together and working hard. I don’t think we have any standouts, but I think we are going to have enough people who are solid that we are gong to be able to do a few things a little differently. We are not gong to be the tallest team (Chancellor is 5-7), but I do think we will be fairly quick.”
Other players who graduated from last year’s team are Tiffany Beachy, Stacie McMillan and Rose Hopkins all guards. Another player, Carson Day, who is a junior moved.
“Right now we have been running a lot of things,” said Marner. “Everybody is working together. We are just seeing what everybody has. We have a lot of freshmen that I saw in a few games in junior high, but I have not seen what they can do together. Playing time is wide open. We are getting to know what each player brings to our team and what our rolls are going to be defined as. That is what we hope to get instilled this week before our first game and I am sure that will continue throughout the season. We have changed a few things from last year with all of the new players we do have. We are working more at the fundamental base. They don’t change from what we have taught the past number of years by any means, but we are focusing a lot more on that because a lot of them have not seen what we would like to instill. The older players know a little bit more what we are trying to do and they have been very good leaders showing the younger girls what we want to see.”
Defensively, Marner said that is still up in the air as to what they are going to play.
“We are working on seeing what we are going to do the best,” said Marner, who feels Shiloh, Arcola and South Piatt could be among the top teams in the LOVC. “Since we are not very tall a zone might suit us better, but we might be quick too and we can put pressure on the ball and get some transition baskets.”
The roster included 15 players, including two seniors, two juniors and three sophomores. Marner said they are going to start playing both junior varsity and varsity games, but it could change. The other senior is Amber Taylor, who played her freshmen and sophomore years. The other junior is Holly Kauffman.
Contact Mike Monahan at mmonahan@jg-tc.com or 238-6854.
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