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GCHS boys basketball coach steps down
Published 3/10/2010 in Prep-Garden City
By JASON ELMQUIST
jelmquist@gctelegram.com
It was an emotional moment Wednesday morning at Garden City High School as boys basketball coach Jeff Tanner announced his resignation after 12 years.
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Brad Nading/Telegram Jeff Tanner holds back the tears as he announces this morning at Garden City High School that he is resigning as the head boys basketball coach. Tanner was in charge of the program for 12 years.
"I just want to start by, 12 years ago, Dave Meadows and Kevin Burr offered me a great opportunity," a teary-eyed Tanner said. "It's one that I never took lightly."
Athletics director Bill Weatherly made a quick statement before Tanner took questions. The last several years, Tanner has been working alongside Weatherly as the assistant athletics director.
"I just want to say that I appreciate the work Jeff has done here as the basketball coach," Weatherly said. "He's done a lot of wonderful things for our kids and I really appreciate his work. This is only concerning his coaching position, not his teaching position at all."
Though the press conference was just about his coaching position, Tanner said he does have some other options that he is looking into for next year.
"There's already some thing in the works," Tanner said. "I'm looking at several things right now, but whether anything comes from that, I don't know. I just know that I want to stay in coaching."
This year the Buffs finished with an 8-13 record (1-7 in Western Athletic Conference play) and lost an 80-50 game to Wichita North in the first round of sub-state. Last year, the Buffaloes finished with a 4-16 record, 1-7 in WAC action.
"Even in the years that we struggled, I had great kids to work with," Tanner said. "That's the thing that sticks with me. ... We've had some good runs. It wasn't always easy and for 12 years I sank my heart and soul not only into this basketball program, but also into this school."
Tanner led Garden City to the state tournament just three years ago in the 2006-2007 season behind two guards who went on to play at the collegiate level Drew Jones and Bobby Wesley. In 2003, Tanner led the Buffaloes to a third-place finish at the state tournament.
"In 2003, I'll never forget," Tanner said. "... We were playing a Wichita North team that everybody had penciled into the state tournament — it was a done deal. And we went in there and we clipped them (in the sub-state finals) and qualified for state.
"At state, we're eating our pregame meal and we're reading about all the teams and they talk about seven of the eight teams — the one team they didn't talk about was Garden City. We were written off. I shared that with the team and they went out that night and beat the second-seeded Maize team by 16. We lost in the semifinals to Wichita Southeast by three and then in the consolation game, we beat a Wichita Northwest team which had two Division I players on it."
The process will begin immediately for Tanner's replacement with Weatherly predicting the replacement to be announced in April. Weatherly said he doesn't plan to be a part of the search, leaving it instead to incoming athletics director Martin Segovia.
"Off the top of my head, we'd like to have a new hire by at least the third week in April," Weatherly said. "I probably won't be a part of this process. We'll let Martin do this whole thing and we'll go from there."
Tanner is the second head coach to resign from GCHS this year. In November, Mike Smith stepped down as the head football coach after eight years. His successor, Brian Hill, was announced in February.
Found 12 comment(s)!
Good Luck
Lets see how well the next coach does. How can GC justify firing a coach when our country is in a financial crisis? Resignation?I think Jeff Tanner was fired!
Posted by: JR on 3/16/2010
great coach/teacher/person
Coach tanner was one heck of a coach. ya sure he had some ups and downs but the point is he knows what hes talking about. Coach tanner is the kind that you do something wrong, he will help u correct it, and if you make a mistake, he will help u learn from it. he had fun with those kids he coached, and im pretty sure the athletes felt the same way about having him as their head coach. Hes the type that sees somebody and smiles for no reason. he would crack a joke when hes in a good mood. And he would always do that right/correct thing. And also he is a wonderful person to be around with and a excellent mentor. just ask future players of his, and they will tell you. He is a great coach, a wonderful teacher, and a tremendous person.
Posted by: Gc on 3/16/2010
Chicken Salad Out of Chicken Poop?
"Fun"? If you wanted to have fun, then you should have gone the intramural route. Coach Tanner is a devoted coach, teacher, and family man. It's amazing that not too long ago, he led a solid Buffs team to a 3rd place finish at state.
So, when a coach wins he has great athletes but when he loses he is a lousy coach, right? WRONG!
Unfortunately, there is some truth to the "lack of effort" post made previously. It's difficult finding dedicated student-athletes, not just in Garden City but in many schools. The fact that 2 head coaches stepped down this year is more of an indicator of what they had to work with (which wasn't much) than their ability to coach.
Perhaps it would serve many of us well to do more reflecting than projecting (blame).
Posted by: SmarterThanYou on 3/14/2010
No athletes
Coach Tanner was an excellent coach, but he lacked the "players" to get the job done, and that falls solely on the student athletes. Students at GCHS don't work hard and put forth effort, and that goes for both sports and academics. Students can't win basketball games or make AYP because most of them: 1) simply don't care, 2) don't know how to work hard and succeed, or 3) have never been forced to work hard due to poor parenting or lack of motivation from those around them. GCHS will never see success in any area until its overall attitude towards achievement changes. Just getting by doesn't cut it!
Posted by: Bob on 3/12/2010
Great person/coach
I have watched coach Tanner's program for the last two years. The kids in his program are better people because of the lessons the he teaches. He holds people accountable for their actions. The leadership of USD 457 should be embarassed for letting him go.
Posted by: GC on 3/12/2010
Coach Tanner is a great leader.
I find it hard to believe that Coach Tanner did not make it fun. All of the players I know matured greatly in his program and enjoyed playing for him very much. They are better individuals for being part of that program. Coach Tanner is a great coach and a great leader. The next school that gets him will be very lucky.
Posted by: GC Basketball on 3/12/2010
Good Coach
Coach Tanner did a great job. He ran a quality program and held his players accountable wich is more that other programs can say. GC is losing a great coach.
Posted by: Buff on 3/11/2010
Poor Decision by Administration?
Coach Tanner did not make it fun. He lost so many good players because of his lack of leadership and poor coaching. Talk to former players they will tell you. Good luck to the new coach he can only be better than we had.
Posted by: old buff fan on 3/11/2010
What about Wrestling BUFF FAN?
To Buff Fan: What about wrestling? A 4th place team finish and 2 State Champions isn't good enough???? A true buff fan follows all the sports not just the popular ones.
Posted by: A TRUE Buff Fan on 3/11/2010
Poor Decision Making by Administration
In a time of financial struggle how can you let a man go who did so much with what he had to work with. The high school is said to be trimming its staff due to financial difficulties so how do you defend hiring someone to come coach when you will be laying other teachers off?!
Posted by: GCHS BUFFALO on 3/11/2010
GCHS
You are 100% correct. Maybe its a good thing the AD is going also. I don't know one sport GCHS is good in.
Posted by: Buff Fan on 3/11/2010
Decision making from Administration
Tanner being forced out is following a pattern of decision making from an administration that is awful quick to point fingers for coaches not succeeding when they are running a school that consistently underachieves in meeting AYP. If you want to hold these coaches to a high standard when it comes to wins and losses, the administration should be looked at in the same regard.
Posted by: GCHS Buffalo on 3/11/2010