BACF: Ohio girls seek triumph
Trending
PARKERSBURG -- Jon Buchanan will be coaching in his second Battle Against Cystic Fibrosis All-Star Classic, this time with his son, Brody, in the building.
"My son's actually playing in the boys game," said Buchanan, who just completed his 15th season as Fairland's girls basketball coach. "I was telling him about the last time I coached in this game and how fun it is and how different it is from other all-star games. It's a really good atmosphere and I had a blast last time."
Buchanan last coached in the BACF game in 2014, a 74-60 win for the Ohio girls.
Needless to say, he'll be keeping an eye on the boys game too this time around.
"It's been an interesting year for me," he said. "Brody getting to play in this is way more fun than me coaching. I might've been more nervous for his games than our games. They won their league and Brody was our conference player of the year. He's going to Rio Grande to play."
Meanwhile, Buchanan guided the Dragons to the Final Four this season where they bowed out to eventual state champion Portsmouth. Under Buchanan, Fairland has turned itself into a powerhouse program for girls basketball in Southeast Ohio.
"We made our fifth state tournament this year," said Buchanan, who is 321-84 all-time as a head coach. "I've obviously been really fortunate to coach a lot of great players. Every year we just reload with really good kids. We have an excellent coaching staff and our community really cares about girls basketball."
He has one more opportunity to coach his latest greatest player in Kamryn Barnitz. Barnitz averaged 12.5 points per game this season and was named third team All-Ohio in Division V. She's signed to play collegiately at West Florida, an NCAA D2 school.
"It's a special opportunity to coach her one more time," Buchanan said.
Buchanan will be joined on the bench by Marietta head man Ryan McClain, who will coach Leigha Lauer, Alyssa Baker and Jacey McKnight for a final time.
"Ryan and I are good friends," Buchanan said. "We kicked their butt last year and they kicked our butt this year. He's the type of guy who you can compete with on the floor and be best buddies off the floor. We're very like-minded in how we want to play."
Both Fairland and Marietta have become known for their fast-paced, uptempo styles.
"Our philosophy (at Fairland) is we don't want the ball dribbled across half court. We want to pass the ball ahead, take early shots and get the tempo up and down. That's the funnest way to play and the funnest way to coach.
"You really want to make sure every kid gets plenty of opportunities. It's easy because they wouldn't be playing in this game if they weren't good players. On the other hand, you definitely want to win. This is going to be a different environment. If we don't come ready to play, it could be a long night."
Representing the Ohio squad along with Barnitz and the Marietta trio will be Fort Frye's Emmie Duskey, Waterford's Avery Wagner and Kendall Sury, Warren's Sarah Pettey, Belpre's Haley Alloway, Nelsonville-York's Alayna Okulich, Federal Hocking's Jaylee Orsborne, River's Kaylee Hagan, South Gallia's Emma Clary, Union Local's Ella Pietranton and Gallia Academy's Kenya Peck.
Buchanan is especially excited to coach Duskey, who was named a first team All-Ohioan in Division VI after leading the Cadets to the Final Four as their only senior.
"I want to see if I can get Emmie to take some quick shots," Buchanan laughed. "At Fort Frye, you know (head coach) Dan (Liedtke), they're going to control the ball. You get down by eight to them in the fourth quarter, you might as well be down by 40. I'm excited to coach Lauer and Baker from Marietta. Those kids will be used to playing fast. Sury and Wagner from Waterford are great defenders and really well coached. We have a great mix of kids who are going to be super competitive and all come from winning programs."
Buchanan attended Fairland High School before going to college at Marshall. After graduating, he spent a few seasons as Fairland's middle school coach before becoming the varsity girls coach at 29 years old. Now, he is approaching Fairland's all-time wins record.
Among all his accomplishments, he takes pride in being asked to coach the BACF game.
"I actually have a relative through marriage that has cystic fibrosis," Buchanan said. "She's probably close to 40 and she's lived with it her whole life. She's battled and lived a productive life and is doing really well. So, I have a little familiarity with it. I think the real neat thing is this game is going to bring awareness. That heightened awareness is really important. It's just really a blessing to coach in this game."
Contact Jordan Holland at jholland@newsandsentinel.com.