SPORTS
Saint Jo tabs Blank as coach
By ERIC VICCARO
bnewssports@sbcglobal.net
New Saint Jo head boys basketball coach Brian Blank, pronounced “Blunk,” is part of a family coaching tree here in the state of Texas.
Blank’s father, Donald, won nearly 800 games in 42 seasons at Needville and Yoakum. Blank’s brother, Michael, coaches with both the football and basketball programs at Strait Jesuit, a Conference 6A school in Houston.
Uncle Kelvin Blank is an assistant football and pitching coach at Ennis.
“I hope kids enjoy being taught the way I was taught,” Blank said.
Blank said playing team basketball – especially on offense – is like artwork.
“I was an assistant coach under my dad for the past six years, and my brother is an assistant, so I got to coach with them,” Blank said. “There were some changes made (at Needville). I was ready to start my own program.”
Blank saw the opening for a boys’ basketball coach at Saint Jo on the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches’ website.
He interviewed in late May, and the Saint Jo Independent School District officially hired Blank in June.
Blank will be an assistant football coach, working with the running backs and secondary, and he will also be assisting with the Panthers’ track and field program. He replaces former coach Russell Endress.
In the classroom, Blank will teach seventh-grade Texas history, eighth-grade United States history and seventh-grade health. Read more on this story in the weekend edition of The Bowie News.
Saint Jo Panthers logo. (Logo provided by the Saint Jo Independent School District)
New Saint Jo Boy’s Basketball Coach Terry McLennan said the school’s family atmosphere is what prompted him to join the Panther family.
“This is an opportunity to be an important program but also part of a great community,” McLennan said. “I’ve been looking to get back to a small town environment like the one I grew up in and played ball and this should do that.”
McLennan played basketball in Hubbard outside of Waco. McLennan comes to town after being the assistant girl’s basketball coach in Grand Prairie.
McLennan contends he’s a defensive style of coach but says his team will focus on intensity.
For further details, pick up a copy of Thursday’s Bowie News.
New Saint Jo Boy’s Basketball Coach Terry McLennan said the school’s family atmosphere is what prompted him to join the Panther family.
“This is an opportunity to be an important program but also part of a great community,” McLennan said. “I’ve been looking to get back to a small town environment like the one I grew up in and played ball and this should do that.”
McLennan played basketball in Hubbard outside of Waco. McLennan comes to town after being the assistant girl’s basketball coach in Grand Prairie.
McLennan contends he’s a defensive style of coach but says his team will focus on intensity.
For further details, pick up a copy of Thursday’s Bowie News.
After some coaching time in East Texas, Bret Botard will be the new girl’s basketball coach at Bowie.
Botard said it’s a chance to work with Bowie Athletic Director Tyler Price once again. Price was Botard’s assistant when he coached at Nocona.
“I wanted to get back into the area,” Botard said. “It’s a good community.”
Botard graduated high school in 1995 from Del Valle High School, outside Austin, and went to Texas Tech. He started his coaching career in Lubbock followed by returning to his alma mater where he was an assistant for his high school coach.
For further details, pick up a copy of Thursday’s Bowie News.
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