Chillicothe Coach Gary Kellough Steps Down

[ztpioneers1]

I think we should hire hank24 or the principal at chs since he knows everything. Coach k was the best thing about chillicothe coaching and now he is gone! Chs won't have the same success and it all falls under the big three (school board)like bmv4life mentions and this clueless admin! I listened to veras on wbex. He acts Like chs has been good forever. He has been gone too long, been hit in head to many times because my school was a joke before this coaching staff took over the helm nearly 8 years ago. I hope they tried everything they could to keep this staff and if not the community needs to get these guys out!

[buckcraze]

WOW!!!! This thread has become really interesting! The first thing I would like to do is say goodbye to Coach Kellough. Whether you like the man or the coach or not, anyone willing to give the amount of time it takes to coach, spend time with our young people, put up with fans that love you and fans that hate you, watch film, get up at 6:00 a.m. on Saturday morning after getting home well after midnight from a Friday night game to prepare for a game Saturday afternoon or Saturday night, and many other countless and sometimes thankless duties that the general public knows nothing about or ever sees, deserves our thanks as Cavalier fans. It seems there has never been an in between with Coach Kellough and Cavalier fans; either you really liked him or carried quite a bit of disdain for him. Regardless of where you fall on that teeter-totter, I personally liked some things about Coach Kellough and did not like some things about him, Coach Kellough deserves our thanks for giving Cavalier Basketbal the last eight years of his life!! Thank you Coach Kellough from this Cavalier!!!

As far as the predictions, wish lists, poison pens being used concerning the next Cavalier Basketball coach, their are plenty of viable candidates, some may want the job and some may not. But the personal attacks on specific individuals, prospective coaches and fellow posters alike, is not a productive way to discuss this topic. I have known a few of the possible candidates that are being discussed, some of them since they were in middle school, and I feel like they all would be excellent choices. I am not in favor of one over the other, but to disparage anyone of these fellows character is unfair. Coach Combs would do just fine at Chillicothe, as would Lisath, or Roberstson. The Logan Elm coach is one I do not know personally, but having watched him coach, I believe he would do fine as well. The one thing everyone has to keep in mind is that one or more of these fellows may not want to leave their current situation. We must be carefull about bashing any one of them, even if another poster makes us mad, because the one we bash may still end up being our coach.

[buckcraze]

Well DUDE, I graduated from CHS in '76 and have been on the cavalier bandwagon since '63 when my dad starting taking me to cavalier games.

How many games did you attend in the 90's or before the move the DII?

You have never said one good thing on here about the cavaliers.

That is not true. I was very complimentary during the Cavaliers tournament run. In fact, I was in Value City Arena watching the games against Poland Seminary and Toledo Libbey. Also, my wife taped the Toledo Libbey game for me, and I watch it when I got home and expressed my admiration for the game in which the Cavs played. After being down, what?, 17 or so, and to battle back to send the game into OT, and eventually win, was truly remarkable.

So get over yourself

Like I said, I have a finely tuned perception of myself, I do not let the judgmental acts of others, arguments without facts, claims without base, or idiotic or nonsensical ramblings of others to define me, or influence my perception of reality. You should try it sometime.

Being the massive fan of M*A*SH* I am finely tuned to the general perception that, although he is my favorite character, Hawkeye Pierce was extremely arrogant and shot off his mouth many times without knowing the whole picture and in the process offending people when it was otherwise not neccessary to offend. So let us clarify: the '90's were not a loss of a decade in Cavalier Basketball history even while still in the OCC. Two groups were very competitive during this time frame, finishing in the OCC a couple of times-Doc. Holiday, Brandon Grubb, Tony Johnson, and a group led by Shannon Brown, Kevin Brown, Matt Rockhold, the post player that played at Quincy and Cory Cox. This group of kids played through most of the first half of the decade and was very competitive with more than one district finals appearance. Secondly, Chillicothe City Schools is LOSING four hundred students per year to open enrollment. The analogy that Chillicothe has six surrounding schools that feed it talent is farcical. Even the "real" Hawkeye Pierce was regularly given a big bowl of humulity, maybe some could be used to soften the rhetoric here. Intelligence is always blackened by arrogance.

[zeb]

in hiring a new coach, they will have to be careful because some coaches are not ready for,as u call it the "African American Athlete"..do you think Coach Combs a Unioto graduate and Coach for Vinton Co ready for the diversity? Coach K was the best coach I seen to handle the diversity...personally I would love to see Coach Lisath name be in the mix..all speculation right now..

Wow. So now Combs couldn't coach at Chillicothe because he is white and has coached in a predominately white area? It's nice to see close mindedness and reverse racism is still in play.

[bvmv4life]

Well said buckcraze..I will have to admit I've been the one to criticize...and be quick to be negative....my main thing in this coaching matter is that the coaches that being speculated..can that person be willing to be very diverse...like I said in another post Chillicothe is a special school because of it's diversity..basically other than Portsmouth...Chillicothe is the "City School" of Southern Ohio..I have kids in the program so whoever takes helm I'll support them 100% because I'm a very loyal Cavalier Fan!
With that being said whoever comes in will be sitting pretty with talent...the jv lost one game last season,add Zach Johnson and Adam Bixler to the mix,they very well could be winning another District Title... Let the coaching process begin....GO CAVS!!!!!!!

[bvmv4life]

Let's see here zeb...Coach K coached and is from a predominantly white areas too...I wasn't being racist a bit..Hobbs couldn't take the diversity...and u can ask anyone who played under him...

[Rabeanos0512]

Hobbs had no DISCIPLINE that was his problem. Not that he couldnt coach diversity. He knew the X's and O's well, but people walked alllll over him. CHS has alwayssss had talent in the program. In the late 90's early 2000's we just had coaching problems. Take 2002 for instance. Schmeider, Pece(exchange student), Congrove, Beatty, Gilbert, Renner, Bryan Jones, Gossman(a 6'7" player who Hobbs let slip away). Thats one talented team. They went 12-11 maybe and won one game in the tourney? Coaching has EVERYTHING to do with success. The whole "Get the balls out and let them play" is bogus at the highschool level.

[zeb]

Maybe you can explain to me how someone "can't take the diversity." That to me sounds like one is saying that a white coach doesn't like to be around black players. If that's what you are saying, then that is a big statement that you are making about a coach's character.

[bvmv4life]

Agree Rebeanos...dude had no control..those kids if coached would've been successful... the different stories I heard about his practices...lol! My criticism is over,it's a new day and era for Chillicothe Basketball...good luck to the candidates that put in for the job...Cavalier Nation!

[bvmv4life]

It is what it is zeb...not saying any of the candidates are but look where ur at..ur not in the middle of Cincinnati or Columbus..this is Southern Ohio! U can think what I said as being reverse racism if u want but I live it everyday..GO CAVS!

[zeb]

Not only do you live it, but you perpetuate it as well.

[bvmv4life]

Yawn....if you knew me like other posters on this site u wouldn't think that..it's not a problem though it's your OPINION! Have a good d ay!

[buckcraze]

I agree with that sentiment BV. I am, and have always been proud of the diversity that Chillicothe City Schools offers. There are African-Americans, Asians, peoples from Spanish speaking cultures, at times students who's families are from Continental Africa, Native Americans and the list goess on and on and on. My personal experiences prepared me for the diverse world in which I live and work as an adult. The diversity at Chillicothe City Scools is exactly why my children are Cavaliers and not Shermans, or Panthers, or Huntsmen, or Pioneers, or Warriors. My children have always expressed their enjoyment of their experiences at CCS and acknowledged how much it has helped them in learning to deal with a diverse world. I do believe that some people have what it takes to handle diverse situations and some people that do not, particularly in Southearstern Ohio. I believe there are many caucasians in this part of the state that do not understand their own inner short comings when it comes to dealing with a diverse population. I am a caucasian Catholic whose parents raised me to believe in the melting pot that is, and has always been this nation. I do not believe anything BVMV has suggested should be construed as reverse racism, racist undertones, or any other such idea. He is just speaking the truth about some people in Southeastern Ohio. You can argue until you are blue in the face, some white people can handle diverse environments and some cannot. The African-American population in the CCS is not the only diverse population in that school system. Suggesting that BVMV is "perpetuating" racism is a farce.

[bvmv4life]

Thanks buckcraze....there is an article in today's Chillicothe Gazette with some reflection from some players...Anthony "Humpty" Hitchens hit the nail on the head to what I've been trying to say...it takes a special coach to coach some knuckleheads and that's why Coach K was so great,he understood what it took to make a player out of them knuckleheads and some just didn't make it..please read that article!

[danicalifornia]

I'm officially embarrassed to be on this board after reading one of these posts and I'm glad it's gotten ignored to this point.

Coach Kellough did a great job at Chillicothe and I'm not sure how anyone could say differently. Constantly were in position to get to the Final 4, even if it only happened once, they won it when they got there. Lots of talent came through, but many other schools have had a ton of talent and not reached Columbus.

Chillicothe should take their time and find the perfect coach for their situation and plans for the future. IMO, Combs, Lisath, or Stiverson would be a great fit and that's only looking at local coaches, I could see this being a nice get for any HS coach.

[Spartan]

Is the talent level strong for the next 3-4 years? That will be a determining factor. If you judge history, this is not a good job unless there is a lot of talent.

[hawkeyepierce]

Exactly. Very nice post danicalifornia. All I was asking was for posters not to subscribe to group think based on the paradigm that our (school, situation, etc.) is better than yours. Also, do not disparage others based on a preconceived perception of an unproven reality, to wit, my friend Matt. Furthermore, my previous comment was to illustrate the position of head boys' varsity basketball coach at Chillicothe High School should be an highly coveted position for gentlemen (or ladies) who seek such vocation.

[trojandave]

First, let me offer my best wishes to Coach Kellough on his future plans, and congratulations for a great career at Chillicothe High School........he was always very nice to me when we talked, which most recently was in Athens this past season at the regional finals.

Chillicothe basketball will continue to be successful.........the Cavaliers have had a long history of winning, but like anybody else, have had some down periods as well.......but the overall report card is that CHS is one of the top 3-4 programs all-time in the SE District. With close to 1,100 wins all-time, 13 district titles, 3 state appearances, and 1 state championship, Chillicothe has a very impressive resume that many schools would envy.

The new coach, whoever it will be, will have talent available virtually every year, and must realize that the bar has been set HIGH as far as tournament expectations.........this is part to Coach Kellough and also due to the rich history of Chillicothe basketball.

I am an outsider looking in, but with a couple of key players coming back (Johnson and Bixler), a JV team that won the SEOAL, a junior high program that looks good (I saw them play this year), Chillicothe basketball will continue to be very successful, and will make a frequent run to the regionals and very possibly to the state........but make sure the individual hired is indeed the right person for the job.........I have seen in my 40 years of watching high school basketball that talent alone doesn't win most games.......it does take some good coaching along with it, whether it be coaching the talent up or just kind of getting out of their way and not overcoaching them.......but make no mistake about it, who is sitting on that bench will be a very important part of the future of Chillicothe basketball.

[BasketballFan1]

Will be interesting to see who fills the spot. Should be some quality candidates for a high profile job.

[wipala]

As TrojanDave posted,,I am an outsider as well,,but I sure remember the battles PHS has had and will continue to have with our friends from up north..Chilli will always be a great contest for schools that play them..Whomever you end
up hiring they will do okay,,as long as we can still win one now and then..Good luck Chillicothe...
wipala