QUILCENE — Quilcene High School athletic director Mark Thompson will slide over one seat to take over head boys basketball coaching duties this winter.
He resigned his post as head baseball coach as part of the move, with Joe Whitsett taking over for Thompson on the diamond.
Thompson has been on the Quilcene boys basketball bench for the past four years as an assistant to former head coach Brad Burlingame.
Burlingame (58-35 in four years) led the Rangers to their first state tournament victory in school history last year as the Rangers (20-8 overall) advanced to the consolation quarterfinals at the Class 2B tourney.
Burlingame resigned for personal reasons after the season.
Thompson will have his hands full in trying to repeat last season’s success as seven of the Rangers’ top eight players were lost to graduation.
“We have some talented players coming back, and if we can get some good guard play we can be competitive,” Thompson said.
Quilcene relied on an up tempo offense last season, and Thompson hopes to continue in that style while improving the team’s offensive execution in half-court sets.
The biggest change for the Rangers will be an increased focus on the defensive end of the floor.
“The [introduction of] the 35-second clock is going to change what a lot of teams are doing and we hope to take advantage of that,” Thompson said.
Whitsett will have big shoes to fill replacing Thompson, who guided the Rangers to a state playoff berth two years ago.
Whitsett’s resumé suggests he’s more than capable.
The 1997 Central Kitsap graduate played college baseball at the University of Hawaii.
He went on to coach the Bremerton High School baseball team before heading up the Quilcene girls basketball program last winter.
“He has a great grasp of the game and is a solid choice to lead the team,” Thompson said.
