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The Washington Hatchets made it official on Tuesday night, as new boys’ basketball coach Bo Burkhart was voted on and formally introduced to the Washington school board during a special school board meeting. The vote was 6-0 in the brief meeting.
Burkhart and his family was introduced to the board and in a short statement he said he was “Ready to get going.” Burkhart is just the third boys Hatchet coach since Dave Omer took over to start the 1994-95 season, with Gene Miiller coming on board to start the 2005-06 season. Burkhart replaces Miiller, who went 17-8 last year and retired after his 50th overall season of coaching, and he inherits a tradition that has won seven state titles in its storied history.
The 29-year-old has spent the last two seasons on the staff of his father Shane Burkhart at Evansville Bosse, a team that has had a lot of success against Washington, having won the last four times they have played the Hatchets. He also has several seasons as an assistant at the college level.
“I'm replacing a legendary Hall of Fame coach. There’s been so much success here at Washington, my first thoughts are just to come in and add to it. I don't really want to rip anything up. I don't want to automatically come in and do things much differently. You know, I would like to add to the success and come in and really focus on the youth and focus on the summer and hitting it hard and just seeing what we can do,” said Burkhart.
“I think they have a good freshman, sophomore and junior class, if I'm being honest, when I was watching film, I was very excited, and after watching some of the JV film and seeing the returners that played a lot for varsity this year, I knowing what I have coming back. I felt like there was an opportunity to really, really make a push in the next couple of years and do something special.
“I'm a defensive minded coach first. I think that having a good defense and understanding defensive IQ can help you really perform when it matters. They were a well-coach team and they understood how to play. You can tell from film, they understand defensive assignments and rotations, and it was very pleasing to watch that on film and know that I don't have to come in and teach that right away.”
Although he has been offered several jobs, he felt that coaching at Washington was the right fit at the right time and he loves the tradition.
“I'll never forget we (Bosse) came in for regional practice (as a player in 2011), and the first thing that I saw when I walked on the floor, I looked up on the backboard, and at the top right corner of the backboard was this huge hand print, and I knew immediately that night that there was no way that I was going to step in the paint with Cody Zeller. I knew that I just had to shoot from the outside that game,” he joked. “I'll never forget that memory, and it was really cool.”
He said his family helped him make the decision that Washington was the right choice.
“My wife's been really wanting to get back to a smaller town. She's from Freeburg, Illinois, about 5,000 people. She was a very successful high school athlete, won a state title in volleyball, played college volleyball, and she wanted for our son and for our family to be in a town like that, and so did I. This is a job where I didn't feel the need to take it and then want something else. I felt like I could come in and grow, and if I do a good job, I can grow and stay here. And that's really important to me, that's really important to my family, and I felt like this was the perfect opportunity to do it.”
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Burkhart and his family was introduced to the board and in a short statement he said he was “Ready to get going.” Burkhart is just the third boys Hatchet coach since Dave Omer took over to start the 1994-95 season, with Gene Miiller coming on board to start the 2005-06 season. Burkhart replaces Miiller, who went 17-8 last year and retired after his 50th overall season of coaching, and he inherits a tradition that has won seven state titles in its storied history.
The 29-year-old has spent the last two seasons on the staff of his father Shane Burkhart at Evansville Bosse, a team that has had a lot of success against Washington, having won the last four times they have played the Hatchets. He also has several seasons as an assistant at the college level.
“I'm replacing a legendary Hall of Fame coach. There’s been so much success here at Washington, my first thoughts are just to come in and add to it. I don't really want to rip anything up. I don't want to automatically come in and do things much differently. You know, I would like to add to the success and come in and really focus on the youth and focus on the summer and hitting it hard and just seeing what we can do,” said Burkhart.
“I think they have a good freshman, sophomore and junior class, if I'm being honest, when I was watching film, I was very excited, and after watching some of the JV film and seeing the returners that played a lot for varsity this year, I knowing what I have coming back. I felt like there was an opportunity to really, really make a push in the next couple of years and do something special.
“I'm a defensive minded coach first. I think that having a good defense and understanding defensive IQ can help you really perform when it matters. They were a well-coach team and they understood how to play. You can tell from film, they understand defensive assignments and rotations, and it was very pleasing to watch that on film and know that I don't have to come in and teach that right away.”
Although he has been offered several jobs, he felt that coaching at Washington was the right fit at the right time and he loves the tradition.
“I'll never forget we (Bosse) came in for regional practice (as a player in 2011), and the first thing that I saw when I walked on the floor, I looked up on the backboard, and at the top right corner of the backboard was this huge hand print, and I knew immediately that night that there was no way that I was going to step in the paint with Cody Zeller. I knew that I just had to shoot from the outside that game,” he joked. “I'll never forget that memory, and it was really cool.”
He said his family helped him make the decision that Washington was the right choice.
“My wife's been really wanting to get back to a smaller town. She's from Freeburg, Illinois, about 5,000 people. She was a very successful high school athlete, won a state title in volleyball, played college volleyball, and she wanted for our son and for our family to be in a town like that, and so did I. This is a job where I didn't feel the need to take it and then want something else. I felt like I could come in and grow, and if I do a good job, I can grow and stay here. And that's really important to me, that's really important to my family, and I felt like this was the perfect opportunity to do it.”
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