Opinion: Crestline basketball fails again to find consistency
Zachary Holden
Things haven't exactly been quiet over in Crestline the past couple months.
When boys basketball coach Rob Lisle — now former boys basketball coach Rob Lisle — was informed he wasn't going to be recommended to return, many community members were left scratching their heads.
Lisle had just led the team to an 11-12 record, falling in the sectional semifinal.
Let's take a look at that 11-12 record. It was the team's best record in more than a decade.
The 11 wins were the most the school had this century.
Eleven was the most regular season wins since the 1996-97 season, when Lisle was a senior. They won 12 that year.
It was only the school's sixth double-digit win total in 60 years and just the 24th since 1932, when records and stats for the program began being kept.
Lisle improved his win total from one the first year and five the second to 11 in his third, a progression that usually would ensure a coach's retention.
Anyone who watched this Bulldogs team the year prior or even at the beginning of this season and watched them again toward the end could see the progress Lisle and his varsity assistant Zach Massa were making.
Crestline graduated six seniors from the roster, but only two were starters and the team returns a strong core of players who were featured often the past two seasons.
Well, if they choose to play.
On March 14, rising senior Ty Clark reached out to me and several other outlets in the area with a letter signed by himself, Davon Triplett, Logan Ronk, AJ Watkins, Kaden Ronk and Caleb Hoskins, pleading for their coach's contract to be renewed. The lone player who did not sign his name is the son of a school board member.
The letter read:
For three years now Coach Lisle and Coach Massa have not only turned our basketball program around, but turned young, immature boys into men. They have showed us and taught us what accountability is really about. They have had our backs when times were at their toughest. These two coaches were perfect role models. They've impacted our lives tremendously. We have built a great bond with them, one that cannot be broken. They have rebuilt the program the right way. If their contracts are not renewed, us returning varsity players will not participate in the 2018-19 season.
Clark said the letter was handed in to the athletic director, Matt Wade. When Clark asked about Lisle's non-renewal, Wade did not give him an answer.
In the coach's annual review, Wade cited Lisle's non-renewal coming down to divide within the team and basketball reasons — despite giving him numerous good and excellent marks — bringing up three games in specific he felt the Bulldogs should've won.
The first was a road game against Kidron Central Christian that the team arrived late for and wasn't able to warm-up properly. The second was a home game against Loudonville and the third was a road game against a Mansfield Christian team that finished with a better record than the Bulldogs.
Multiple attempts to reach Wade have been unsuccessful.
Crestline has hired a new coach, Tyler Sanders, formerly a junior varsity coach at Mansfield Christian. Sanders is the Bulldogs' eighth coach since 2000. The school hasn't had a coach last longer than five seasons since 2000.
Under Lisle, the program finally looked to be heading in the right direction after several years of mediocrity. Massa recalls running into Wade's father shortly after he was named AD and telling him, "Matt will be as good as the board allows him to be."
Wade has embraced the AD role since taking over and has been arguably the best the school has had in years.
Maybe Sanders is the fresh face the program needs. A young, eager coach wanting to make his mark and carry on the success Lisle found last year.
There have been some suggestions that certain board members simply didn't like Lisle. If that's true, that's OK — but major decisions should be based on what is best for the students.
Whatever the reason may be, one thing is for sure: Lisle wasn't let go due to basketball reasons.
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Twitter: @Zachary_Holden
