Bath County News-Outlook
Your Hometown Newspaper
July 28, 2010 • 7
By Brad Laux
News Reporter
charles ,~islemercury.com
It will be a breeze
coaching the Bath County
boys' basketball program
in 2010-11.
Deron Breeze, that-is.
Last season's associ-
ate head coach at Mercer
County and a one-time
head coach at Bracken
County, Breeze was se-
lected in mid-June to lead
the Wildcats. He replaces
Jim Hicks, who guided the
program to three straight
winning seasons and a pair
of regional-tournament ap-
pearances before resigning
at the end of April to take
the .head-coaching job at
Grant County.
In addition to his du-
ties as the boys' basketball
coach, Breeze will be a spe-
cial education collabora-
tion teacher in the math
department at the high
school.
'Tie is a young guy who
brings a lot to the court. He
is a student of the game,"
Bath County Director of
Athletics Arlen McNabb
said. '%Ve are really excited
to find a candidate who can
fill a need as a teacher and
as a basketball coach."
Thirty-one individuals
submitted applications for
the position, but Breeze
had some characteristics
and experiences that sepa-
rated him from the rest,
including a year as a stu-
dent assistant and another
as a graduate assistant at
Western Kentucky Uni-
versity.
"His energy and enthusi-
asm," said McNabb of the
qualities that made Breeze
rise above the other can-
didates. "At Western, he
broke down game film and
that stood out. He also was
at Bracken County, which
is a small school (like Bath
County). and he knows
what he is getting into."
Those watching Bath
County this winter will see
a big change in the coach-
ing style from past Wildcat
teams.
"I take a low-key ap-
proach. The kids have to
be internally motivated. I
am more of a detail, funda-
mentals guy," Breeze said,
contrasting himself to the
animated and out-spoken
method utilized by his pre-
decessor. '%Ve won't have
to instill hard play, com-
petitiveness or discipline.
Coach Hicks did a good job
with that."
Originally from
Maysville, Breeze played
two seasons of high school
basketball for his father
at Cumberland County
before moving to Barren
County, where he gradu-
ated. A four-tune all-dis-
trict pick and a three-time
all-region selection, he led
the state in 3-point shoot-
ing as both a junior and
senior. He went on to play
two years at North Idaho
College.
A 2007 WKU gradu-
ate, Breeze helped tutor
eventual NBA draft picks
Courtney Lee and Jeremy
Evans during the sum-
mers, since the full-time
coaches were unable over-
see those workouts due to
NCAA rules.
The Hilltoppers posted
a 51-18 record during his
two seasons with the club
and advanced all the way
to the Sweet 16 his final
year.
Defense
and rebound-
ing are two
of the hall-
marks of a
Breeze-led
team and
he had the
opportunity
to showcase
that during
his two most
recent coach-
ing stints. •
Last
year Breeze's
Mercer
County
squad
notched a
22-10 re-
cord and advanced to the
12th Region champion-
ship game, before falling to
West Jessamine. Accord-
ing to Breeze, the Titans'
22 wins were a school re-
cord.
At Mercer, Breeze
was in charge of scouting,
individual workouts and
coordinating the defense.
' We were the top
defensive team in the re-
gion and one of the top in
the state," he said.
In 2008-09, Breeze
served as the head coach
of Bracken County, where
the Polar Bears finished
9-20. He said an injury to
the team's best player cur-
tailed its' chances for suc-
cess.
"Rebounding was
big at Bracken. We were
13th or 14th in the state,"
he said. '~re also were sev-
enth or eighth in the state
last year at Mercer."
Yet, the opportu-
nity to get back to East-
ern Kentucky appealed to
Breeze.
"My dad played at
Mason County in the '70s
and my aunt still lives
close," he said. "I liked the
location and the team's
potential. Coach Hicks
did a great job and the
kids know how to win.
"This is a good re-
gion, but there is a chance
to come out of it and go to
the state tournament,"
he added. "The chance to
play in the All 'A' (Clas-
sic) also got my interest."
Breeze hopes to
install confiderice in the
Center for Rural Development's 2010 Rogers Scholars
Bath County High
School student Sherry
Henderson is better pre-
pared to step up into a
leadership role in her
home community after
graduating this summer
The Center for Rural
Development's prestigious
Rogers Scholars program.
Lonnie Lawson, presi-
dent and CEO of The Cen-
ter, presented Henderson
with a certificate recogniz-
ing her completion in the
2010 Rogers Scholars pro-
gram at an awards ceremo-
ny and graduation service
before family and friends
on July 16 at The Center's
main offices in Somerset.
Henderson, 16, a junior,
was among 37 high school
students from across
Southern and Eastern
Kentucky to graduate from
the second session of Rog-
ers Scholars program held
during the week of July 11-
16 on the campus of The
Center.
' i'he Rogers Scholars
program has been an awe-
some experience," Hen-
derson said. ' It has really
taught me a lot. I'm no
longer afraid to speak my
mind in front of people."
Rogers Scholars--The
Center's flagship youth
program--emphasizes the
development of technologi-
cal skills and builds in par-
ticipants a sense of leader-
ship, an entrepreneurial
spirit, and a commitment
to rural Kentucky.
'2 ogers Scholars instills
in young people the desire
to serve their home com-
munities and the region by
assuming a leadership role,
if they haven't already, as
soon as they graduate from
the program," Lawson said.
'q'hese students truly rep-
resent the best and bright-
est minds in our region and
are the next generation of
leaders in Southern and
Eastern Kentucky."
Each graduate will re-
ceive an offer of a college
scholarship from 14 partici-
pating colleges and univer-
sities in Kentucky, and one
university in Tennessee.
'fl]ae Center is honored
to share the Rogers Schol-
ars experience with all 73
of the graduates in both
the first and second sum-
mer ses-
sions rep-
resenting
our largest
group of
partici-
pants in the
b_i tory of
the 12-year
program,"
Jessica
Melton, as-
sociate di-
rector of
leadership and training for
The Center, said. ' ese
students have exemplified
strong leadership skills
and a commitment to our
region."
Henderson is the daugh-
ter of Kathy Fisher and Gary
Henderson of Owingsville.
-30-
The Center for Rural
Development, located in
Somerset, Ky., provides
economic and community
development programs to
residents in a 42-county
service area of Southern
and Eastern Kentucky, and
is home to several state-
wide and national technol-
ogy-based programs. For
more information on pro-
grams available through
The Center, visit www.cen-
tertech.com.
Photo Caption: Lonnie
Lawson, at left, president
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in The Bath County News-Outlook on Wedne,~ay, July, 28, 2010
and CEO of The Center for
Rural Development, pres-
ents 2010 Rogers Scholars
graduate Sherry Hen-
derson, a junior at Bath
County High School, with
a plaque recognizing her
completion of the week-
long program. Henderson,
daughter of Kathy Fisher
and Gary Henderson of
Owingsville, graduated
from the second class
Rogers Scholars at ar
awards and graduation
program held on July
at The Center in Somer.
set.
team and focus on having
an aggressive approach to
playing the game.
'%Ve want to attack at
all times on offense and
defense," he said. 'qWe
want to eliminate the op-
ponents' first
Option and
make them
react. Once
that happens
things tend to
break down."
Sreeze's
self-described
definition of
attacking on
offense means
the Wildcats
likely will try
to put the ball
on the floor
and get to the
rim. He also
• plans on play-
ing an up-tem-
po style.
'%Ve want to
space the floor
and use screens. We want
to put the kids in the
right situations, use mis-
matches and play to our
strengths," he said. "De-
fense will be our focus.
We've got to defend and
rebound."
With the recent depar-
tures of some of the top
scorers in school history,
Breeze realizes there are
8a{[ &Sq-289-6425
challenges ahead.
"Three 1,000-point scor-
ers have graduated from
here over the last three
years," he said. will
need to develop a point
guard and a center. I want
us to get better as the
year goes along, but early
in the year we are going
to struggle. I'd like us to
be good going into,Janu-
ary and see how things
develop. I expect us to be
playing our best basket-
ball by February 1."
Breeze also has bigger
and longer-term goals for
the Wildcats.
"I want to make sure
that the seniors are pre-
pared for college or to
go out in the 'real world'
and get a job," he added.
"I want to keep (the pro-
gram) moving forward
and I want the commu-
nity proud of the team."
Davy Moore and Jere-
mey Booher will return to
the sidelines as assistant
coaches.
Breeze has two
children, Braylon (5) and
Trinton (2).
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