CEDAR BLUFF – For the first time since 1993, two new coaches will be replacing a basketball coaching legend at Cedar Bluff.
Nathan Wehunt and Katie McGinnis begin their first years with the Tiger boys and girls’ programs, taking over for longtime head coach Joe Carpenter. Both Wehunt and McGinnis are Cherokee County natives.
Wehunt was an assistant late last season on the Tiger boys basketball team. He’s also had basketball coaching stints at New Hope, Coosa (Ga.), Ohatchee and Gaylesville. McGinnis is a former Lady Tiger basketball player coached by Carpenter.
Both are anxious to get their seasons started.
“Coach Carpenter did a great job here,” Wehunt said. “I coached against him a bunch when I was at Gaylesville. I hate that I didn’t get to work with him longer than what I did.
“I came in (at Cedar Bluff) with about two weeks of the season left, so I got to know the boys luckily before I got the job. I was at New Hope last year and helped coach the girls. We had a really good team over there, but it’s good to be back in the head coaching role again. I’ve always enjoyed that. I’m excited about it.”
“I miss the man (Carpenter). I really do,” McGinnis said. “He and Coach (Johnny) Amison taught me everything about basketball. It would be cool if (Carpenter) came back and was like ‘I’m proud of what she’s done with the program.’ I want to take it a step up, but that’s going to be hard to do considering how long he was here and all the accomplishments he had.
“I’m definitely excited for the season. I’m excited for the growth. That’s the main thing we’re looking for right now, growth, and taking things one step at a time.”
Wehunt has several players returning from last season’s Tiger boys squad, including junior point guard Bucky Leek.
“We’re going to play a fast-tempo style offense, and he’ll make us go,” Wehunt said. “We’ve got Jabo (Jacob Burleson) and Kade Browning back. Connor Flynt had a good summer. He’s a good outside shooter. Dylan Kinard is back. Caleb Tucker will be someone else who will contribute. We’ve also got some young guys coming in like Eli McFry. We want to take things one game at a time. People are expecting a lot out of us, and I think they’re up for that.”
Wehunt said he’s been pleased with what he’s seen from the Tigers so far, especially during the summer when they played at the Supreme Courts in Guntersville near the end of June.
“We really played pretty well considering we only had 2 ½ weeks of practice under us,” Wehunt said. “With the fast tempo we play, we weren’t in season shape, but I was pretty pleased with the day we had over there. It was a positive end to the summer. I think the boys got excited about it and saw they could compete with some folks doing something a little bit different.
“Kade Browning played really well over there that day. Eli McFry played good for us over there that day. Bucky was Bucky. I left there feeling real good about things. That kind of ended the summer well for us. I think they’re excited.”
Joining Wehunt on the Tiger coaching staff is Ricky Medlock and Cruz Butts. Wehunt coached with Medlock at Coosa.
“He’s been around a lot of good ball, so he’ll help us out a lot,” Wehunt said of Medlock.
Ultimately, Wehunt said, the goal for the Tigers is to “get back to the Cedar Bluff of old.”
“We’d like to get back to where we’re competing for area titles, making runs at Jax State, making runs to Birmingham,” he said. “It’s time to step it back up, and they’re up for the challenge I think. We’re going to do things a little different. We’re going to play that fast style, in-your-face full court. Our guys have got to be up for the challenge because it’s a challenging offense. Hopefully it will be fun to watch and we can put some points on the board.”
Unlike Wehunt’s Tigers, McGinnis’ girls squad isn’t quite as experienced. She said she’s still experimenting with what works best for them.
“We’ve all got a lot to learn, even me. It’s going to be one step at a time,” McGinnis said. “We have one senior in Caitlin Slayton. She’s never played basketball before, but we’re working with her. We have no juniors and we have four sophomores, so we’ve been drills, drills, drills.
“We’ve got Kya Glenn. She used to go here and now she’s back. She’s going to be a decent ball handler. We’re still working with her on some things. Za’niya (Kyle) and Hayden (Cannon) are back. They’re in the 10th grade, so they’ve been a part of the program for a while. Caitlin Slayton is going to be good. She’s aggressive and very, very coachable. We’ve got Chloe Kisor. She didn’t play last year. She’s not new, but she didn’t play last year. She’s going to bring some more ball handling to the program. Caley Bruce is back. She’s going to be a strong post for us. Za’niya is going to be thrown out all over the court like she was last year. Miracle Guzman and Kaylyn Vadon are guards for us.
“We’re young. All we can ask for right now is for girls who are coachable.”
McGinnis, who graduated from Cedar Bluff in 2014, is hoping her girls can relate to her because it wasn’t too long ago when she was where they are before.
“The way I run practice is really similar to how I was taught, how Coach Carpenter ran practice,” she said. “I know the mindset. I remember playing. It’s really easy for them to have a negative mindset. I remember we went through years of struggle too, but I want them to have a positive mindset. I hope to bring that positivity to every practice, to every game, to everything we are part of.”
Joining McGinnis on the Lady Tiger staff is Mandy Walker and Kaylee Brannon.
Both Tiger teams play in Class 1A, Area 13 along with Gaylesville, Skyline, Valley Head and Woodville. The Tiger boys open the season Nov. 22 at the Supreme Courts Thanksgiving Tournament in Guntersville. The Lady Tigers’ first game is scheduled for Nov. 29 at home against Ider.