Walking Away

In his second year as New Knoxville's girls basketball coach, Tim Hegemier took the Rangers to the state championship game. Fifteen years later, in his final game, he made it back.

New Knoxville lost both games, but Hegemier, after 19 years with the program and 17 years as head coach, has left his mark.

"He really prepares us well for these (big games)," Carsyn Henschen said before the title game. "I think just the trust we have in Tim to lead us there is something important that we can build off."

Unlike his brother Dan, a boys basketball coach who has taken the helm for several schools, Tim Hegemier was a dairy farmer in New Knoxville before he got talked into becoming the JV girls coach.

Two years later, the head coaching position opened up and Hegemier stepped in. The Rangers had only won the Midwest Athletic Conference once to that point, but they went 19-2 and 8-1 in the conference to split the crown in his first season at the helm.

"As soon as the cows left the farm, I had people knocking on my door, wanting me to coach the JVs," he said last week. "So I said, 'Well, I don't have anything to do during the winter, since I farm.' So I did that for two years, and the previous coach decided to step down and they wanted me to come in and coach, and that's where I am today."

With a big laugh, he added, "I think it was a good move."

A year later, after going 16-4 and finishing second in the MAC, the Rangers won the fifth sectional championship in school history and kept going. New Knoxville pulled out a two-point win over Fort Recovery for its first district title, then blasted Cincinnati Seven Hills in the regional final to reach the state tournament for the first time.

The Rangers snuck into the title game with a one-point win over Bedford St. Peter Chanel before running up against 26-1 Columbus Africentric, ranked No. 1 in Division IV. They went home with a 17-point loss.

As Hegemier instilled a reputation for relentless defense, New Knoxville got another MAC title in 2012-13 and picked up district titles in 2011-12 and 2013-14, with 25 wins in 2011-12 and 22 two years later.

"I've had a lot of great athletes over the years," Hegemier said after the Rangers beat New Bremen 43-18 in his final game at the Barn. "We've had some great success here. Great administration, great parents - never had any problem with parents - and again, great athletes. They put the time in, and you know, if they put the time in, we can always compete.

"So every year I come out and said, 'Well, we need to compete.' Even if we weren't as great as what we were tonight, we always want to compete."

More recently, the Rangers couldn't get as far as regionals. For three straight years, New Knoxville ran into Minster teams with an eye on a state title, and each time it went home in the district finals.

Hegemier once noted that a district final run was a good season, and that he didn't start every year looking to go farther. But this season, with a loaded senior class and Minster losing two top scorers, a clear path appeared.

New Knoxville took a 40-37 loss to St. Marys in its third game of the season and didn't lose again until Jan. 25, when the Rangers fell 44-39 to defending state champion Fort Loramie. That was the game that convinced Hegemier his team had a chance to make a run.

"Our shooting percentage wasn't that great. That's where it kind of triggered me," Hegemier said. "I said, 'Hey, all we've got to do is shoot the ball a little bit better, and we'll be right there with the best of them.'"

This time, when New Knoxville met Minster in the district semifinal, the Rangers won by 30. Against Marion Local in the district final, they won by 16.

As the Rangers knocked out local rivals, they picked up more fans on an already crowded bandwagon.

"New Knoxville, whenever there's great success, they'll follow," Hegemier said after the state semifinal. "We've got, what, 900 people in the community, and there's probably 1200, 1400 out there. We draw from other communities too, as our tournament keeps going."

A 49-43 win over Toledo Christian gave Hegemier and the Rangers their second regional title, and a 36-25 win over Cincinnati Country Day, Hegemier's 278th victory and the 528th in school history, brought them back to the state title game.

But less than seven weeks after Hegemier realized that all they needed to compete with the best teams in the state was to shoot a little better, the Rangers shot 20.9% from the field and only scored 26 points. New Knoxville watched Waterford lift the trophy, and Hegemier retired with two state runner-up trophies but no title.

"Would've been a nice way to go out, but it is what it is," Hegemier said. "I love them to death. I wouldn't trade them for anything in the world."

Hegemier said he'd miss teaching the girls basketball, but after 19 years of coaching and 30 years of farming, he's ready to spend some time with his grandchildren.

"I'm 67 years old," he said. "I have family that lives in Chicago, Michigan, Columbus, and they have grandkids, and I need to spend more time with my family. They're starting to play sports, so I want to go watch them play."

New Knoxville is left with big shoes to fill, both on the sideline and on the court. All six players to appear in the state title game were seniors, and there's no telling when the Rangers will get another shot at a run.

"People got to realize that New Knoxville is one of the smallest public schools in the state of Ohio, and what they did today and what they did last fall is so remarkable," Hegemier said. "So remarkable.

"You know we're going to go through some rough times down the road, but there's going to come times when we're going to get a nice group through here again and hopefully be back here."