(Greenfield) Defense will be a priority for new head coach Jeremy Blake as he takes over the Nodaway Valley boys basketball program.
KSOM/KS95.7 Sports caught up with coach Blake on Thursday of last week when his hiring became official. “I really wasn’t looking to be honest with you, but I saw that Nodaway Valley had an opening which intrigued me.” Blake says, “I did a little bit of research and talked to some coaches that I have a ton of respect for. I talked to my wife who is probably the most important coach I can talk to about that. I went ahead and put my name in the ring. I interviewed and got offered the job. I’m really excited to get going.”
He’s looking forward to taking over a well established program. The Wolverines have been to six state tournaments. “The biggest thing is they have a great culture already in place. Coach (Darrell) Burmeister is a Hall of Fame guy. You don’t get to over 600 wins in your career without doing some really good things. Basketball is important there. Sports are important there.”
Blake has had assistant coaching roles at the high school and college level, most recently in Atlantic where he’s been the past ten years. “I’ve been doing this for about 17 years.” He says, “When I was about 25 I sat down and wrote out some goals and one of them was to be a head coach.”
Blake didn’t hesitate when asked what his points of emphasis will be upon taking over. “I’m a big defensive guy. I love that side of the floor. I know that old adage is defense wins championships. That’s one thing I want to make sure is that the defensive side of the ball we are going to be tough. We got to play them this past year here at Atlantic. I love the way they play on offense. They play fast and spread the floor. I like that style of basketball.”
The coaching change has stirred the pot within the community. Darrell Burmeister, who had over 40 years of experience, was not retained. Burmeister retired from his teaching duties, but had hoped to return to coach.
Jeremy Blake:
Nodaway Valley AD Gerry Miller:
