Hoberecht hired as new Runnin' Rangers coach
By CHRIS CRADDOCK Special to the News Herald

HOBERECHT

The search is over for the successor to the Kilgore College men's basketball program.

Brian Hoberecht has accepted the position and will be named as the next coach of the Runnin' Rangers, replacing Scott Schumacher, who tendered his resignation last month following the conclusion of the 2007-08 season.

Hoberecht, who was chosen from a field of good candidates for the position, has been head coach at Dodge City Community College in Dodge City, Kan., since 2000.

Dodge City plays in Kansas' Jayhawk West Conference, known nationally as one of the nation's toughest junior college basketball conferences.

In the last 15 seasons, Hoberecht has coached 14 players who have moved on to play professionally, 25 All-Conference players and 14 All-Region players. Dodge City won back-to-back conference championships in 2006 and 2007, and Hoberecht is one of only three coaches in his region who have made four appearances in the Region VI Final Four in the last eight years.

"Player development has been the cornerstone of my program," Hoberecht said. "I believe in the relationships built during the recruiting process and the influence is has for a lifetime."

He has also implemented an academic program at Dodge City which boasts a 100 percent player graduation rate for the last 11 years.

"I understand high expectations. I also know how to win and maintain success," Hoberecht said. "We have built a great program here in Dodge City, and I am thrilled to have the opportunity to move that success to Kilgore."

Hoberecht's career record at Dodge City is 156-95, and his teams have made the playoffs seven of the last eight years. He is originally from Enid, Okla, and graduated with his bachelor's degree from Southwestern College in Winfield, Kan. He has three children: a daughter Alyx, and two sons, Brendon and Isaac.

He received his master's degree from Emporia State University in Emporia, Kan., in 1995, and coached there as an assistant from 1995-1997. He was as- sistant at Dodge City from 1997-2000, and has also served as assistant coach in his spare time for the Dodge City Legend, a professional summerleague team that plays in the United States Basketball League, from 2003-2006.

Schumacher left KC to take the head coaching job at North Dakota State College of Science, a two-year community college in Wahpeton, N.D. Schumacher coached the Rangers for 13 seasons.

Hoberecht inherits a good group of players, a lot of returning players, from Schumacher's final season. The Runnin' Rangers had few sophomores last year (only four) and bring back leading scorer Ridge McKeither of Danville, Va., as well as Nick Walls of Memphis, and La'Marshall Corbett of Reidsville, NC.