Star-Journbal Editor
Not too long ago, Bethany College forward Nathan Hiebert was a first-team player on the all-KCAC basketball team.
Next season, Hiebert, now a business teacher and assistant boys' coach at Hillsboro High School, will coach the defending Class 3A state champion Lady Trojans basketball team.
At its regular meeting Monday night, the USD 410 board of education approved Hiebert's contract for the job.
"Pretty exciting, huh?" Hiebert said Tuesday. "It's been fun to see how everything has progressed, post-college."
Google the words "Nathan Hiebert, Bethany College" on the Internet and you'll get 271 stories about the 6-foot, 5-inch forward from El Dorado High School.
As a senior in 2002-03, he led the Swedes to a 19-9 record and a No. 3 seed in the NAIA national tournament. And he was named to the all-KCAC first team.
Hiebert credits Hillsboro boys' coach Darrel Knoll preparing him to coach the girls team.
Of course, taking over following a state championship season doesn't hurt, either.
"I thought the timing was right, with some of some great players coming back," Hiebert said.
Hillsboro High principal and out-going girls' coach Dale Honeck helped hand-pick his successor. And Hiebert, who has coached the boys' junior varsity for the past three seasons, has the attributes he was looking for.
"He was in a good basketball program, so he's been coached well," Honeck said. "Nathan is also a very good classroom teacher who has built good relationships with all sorts of kids in our school.
"He's the kind of coach the kids will respect. He's certainly a hard worker."
Honeck's yearlong coaching stint began after the school lost its second girls' basketball coach in two years. He agreed to take the job for one season, until the right coach could be found.
Players and fans soon discovered that Honeck had coached college and high school hoops long ago, but had been hiding his coaching talent under a peach basket.
With plenty of help from cooperative and talented seniors, such as all-state top-five pick JuliAnne Chisholm, Tina Frick, and Lora Andrews, Honeck coached the Lady Trojans all the way to the state tournament.
The Lady Trojans wiped out Garden Plain, 54-39, in the opening round; then stomped unbeaten Neodesha, 57-31, in the semifinal game; and then, in a game for the ages, Hillsboro pounded Salina Sacred Heart, 50-31, for its first state basketball title in 11 years.
The team finished the season with a 23-3 record, and won its last 12 games. After the big pep rally was over, Honeck hung up his whistle for good, he said.
It's a safe bet that Hiebert will have a more laid-back approach than Honeck, who was a fiery coaching presence, especially during games.
"From what I've seen Nathan will be a little bit lower keyed on the bench than I was," Honeck said. "He probably would not be as vocal as I am, I guess."
Honeck, who says basketball is finally out of his system, promised not to second-guess his replacement next season.
"I'm guaranteeing you when next November comes along, I'll be well out of the basketball mode, I think," he said. "But it will be interesting to watch them."
Does Hiebert feel pressure to repeat as state champions next season?
"There's always a pressure to get back to the state championship and that's the expectation that we have," he said. "I don't want to have anything lower than that."
