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- Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card - Place an Ad Archives Revels Classifieds Real Estate Guide Weather Subscribe Contact Us December 1, 2004 Lathen glad to be back By Jennifer Squires Ashland Daily Tidings Had someone asked Ken Lathen six months ago if he would be coaching the Ashland girls' basketball team this winter, he would have just laughed. In fact, he would have laughed at just the thought of stepping onto a basketball court again. Ashland High girls' basketball coach ken lathen watches a recent Grizzly practice at Mountain Avenue Gym. Lathen retired after a long stint at Grants Pass High. Now, the lifetime coach says he's glad to be blowing the whistle again and is excited about the talent in Ashland. Denise Baratta | Ashland Daily Tidings Lathen, a fixture in the Grants Pass High School gymnasium for more than a decade, stepped down from the girls' head coach position with the Cavers in 2003 after 30-plus years of leading boys' and girls' basketball programs all over the state. "I retired last year and I just assumed I wasn't going to coach anymore," Lathen said. He gave away his coaching gear, right down to his last stat sheet, and was all set to focus on retirement when Ashland High Athletic Director Karl Kemper called. It was early October - just a month before the Grizz practices were slated to begin - and Kemper needed a coach. "We were kind of getting to a point where we were real concerned if we were going to find a qualified coach because the season was starting in a very short amount of time," Kemper said, explaining that searches in the spring and in August failed to find a candidate the school was comfortable with and who would take the job without a teaching position available. "Through all of this, we really tried to keep our standards high." The Grizzlies, who finished 9-5 in the Southern Oregon Conference last year and loped out of the state playoffs in the second round, had been without a head coach since Steve Humann resigned in the spring after two years with the program. Two days after Lathen received the call from Kemper, the retired coach decided to make a comeback. "It just felt so right," Lathen said, admitting it's the last thing he would have predicted. "I coach because I love it. These girls have just been so wonderful to work with." Lathen hasn't coached since the 2002-03 season, when he retired from a three-year tour with the Grants Pass girls' program. Still, switching benches hasn't been to hard on the veteran coach. "I don't see that as being strange," Lathen said. "Red's a different color when you're used to all that blue, but I told the girls the other day in practice that I've come to love red. Your loyalties change." The transition has been about the same for the team as well. A handful of the girls spent years under the tutelage of Humann, some practicing year-round with the same players since elementary school. However, it was the anxiety of not having a coach through the summer and fall that worried the team, not the loss of Humann. "It was frustrating," senior all-star post Abeni Hill said. "We wanted to get things going." With Lathen in place, the program got rolling with tryouts, practices and preseason tournaments. "We couldn't have been more fortunate with how we ended up," Kemper said. "The girls are really excited and they're having a great time. There's just a lot of energy going on right now in the girls' basketball program." Lathen confesses it's taken some time for his sea legs to return. He had to get those stat sheets back and still can't recall all the names, grades and positions of every girl on varsity and JV squads. "It was definitely [difficult] in the sense that my mindset wasn't into coaching," Lathen said. "But for me, personally, it was really fun to be back on the court." A changed team With a new coach and a new group of starters, Lathen's squad is not the team of yesteryear. All-star guard Hilary Huyett transferred to Lincoln High for her senior year when her family moved to Portland. Sophomore post Maddison Thivierge didn't come out for the team this fall and sophomore post Whitney Chase moved to Oregon City with her family. "It's not the same group that was maybe expected to be there," Lathen said. "But we have several solid basketball players. There's talent here." The Grizzlies will rely heavily on their seniors, Hill and senior guard Alysse Carlson, as well as junior guard Jamie Roupp. Hill earned Southern Oregon Conference honorable mention accolades a year ago as a small post. Carlson, a first-team all-conference selection, was second on the team last year behind Huyett in scoring (13.1) and steals (1.6). Roupp is a "dandy guard," according to Lathen and a strong shooter. Juniors Tess Golling and Bailey Hasty will also see substantial playing time. "Obviously, they're well-trained," Lathen said. "They know the fundamentals. Steve did a good job." Though the team doesn't tout a lot of height - Hill stands just over 5-foot-8 at the post position - the depth of the squad will serve the Grizzlies well as the season gets underway. "There's not a bad ballplayer in the bunch," Lathen said. "All the girls look solid in practice." While Lathen hesitates to give up season projections - he won't speak of expectations beyond playing hard and having fun - the girls know what they're aiming for. "We know we'll go to the playoffs," Hill said. "We're going to work really hard." DailyTidings.com Home Page Archives | Revels | Classifieds | Real Estate Guide | Weather | Subscribe | Contact Us Copyright 2005 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers All Rights Reserved Slippers Isotoner Slippers Dsw Shoes Ceramic Piggy Banks Fanny Mae Eloans Calenders 2005 Calender 2005 Accelerate Weight Loss Programs Citibank Student Loans Acs Loan Matchmaking & Dating Scripts Adventure Travel Conference Calls - $50/Month Security Systems student loan consolidation helzberg diamonds Click Here Site Search: .:Advertisements:. RESOURCES - Mail Tribune News - ODOT Road Cams