By Robert Medley
Managing Editor
Before Friday night’s surprise call to coach, Larry Black had not been on the basketball court as a head coach for high school girls since a state tournament semi-final game in 2001.
Black, 72, who had a long career coaching girls at Okarche, continues to teach social studies part-time in the school district. He has settled in the district and raised his family there over the past two decades.
But an anonymous email on a Sunday turned the storied basketball program and community upside down. Allegations of coaching abuse were made in the email, according to school officials, and girls head coach Haley Mitchel and assistants Kaylene Ullom and Skye Tilley resigned the next day at the Monday, Dec. 11 school board meeting.
Black, who will be 73 years old next week, and David Sanders, who also has a long basketball coaching career to mention, stepped in for the game against Watonga Friday night. They are expected to coach the rest of the season.
“I didn’t know what to expect tonight,” Black said. “I know the kids have practiced hard. But when the ball was thrown up and they looked over there and Haley was not there, but it is two people who they are not used to dealing with.”
The girls lost 52-42.
“They (players) handled it as well as it could be handled and they did everything that was asked of them. They weren’t able to win but things happen. You know what I mean,” Black said.
The Lady Warriors opened strong, and the game was tied at 13 points apiece after the end of the first quarter in Watonga’s gymnasium.
“We knew it was going to be an emotional game tonight, a physical game. And I think you saw a very physical game,” Black said after the loss.
The girls fell to 4-5 on the season.
“We knew the kids were going to come out and play hard. You know.”
The visiting Lady Warriors trailed by a point, 17-16 with 6 minutes and 25 seconds left in the second period. Things started to slip from there.
“We got kind of lost in the transition of the game. We got lost occasionally not being able to execute the offense. Now having said that, I want to give credit to Watonga for creating some issues and not letting us run our offense like we want to,” Black said.
With two minutes to go in the third period, three-point shooting pulled the Lady Warriors to within five points, 36-31.
At the end of three quarters the girls trailed by seven points, 40-33, and they couldn’t catch up in the fourth, dropping the game by ten points.
The team has a break for Christmas before returning Jan. 2. Police are investigating who sent the anonymous email that alleged mental and psychological abuse and threatened a “Kingfisher-type” lawsuit against the district, referring to a football hazing civil case and the reported $5 million settlement that is expected to raise property taxes there.
Mitchel remains an assistant principal at the high school. She was not in attendance Friday in Watonga.
Black expects the team’s focus and better results will return.
“We’re going to get better. We’re going to get better. And still the kids are emotionally trying to get over the situation,” Black said.
Read The Okarche Warrior and follow okarchewarrior.com for updates to local news and sports coverage.
