Former Cookeville High Girls Basketball Coach Mindy Odom said the impact and legacy of Clarkrange Coach Lamar Rogers will live on.
Rogers resigned Thursday. Odom competed against Rogers during her own coaching tenure and observed his program’s development during summer camps at Tennessee Tech.
“It was fun to coach against him because he was very animated and I think I was too, probably,” Odom said. “We would just give each other a hard time so it was always fun to go up there and play him, but, you know, just an exceptional coach and a good human being, and obviously, he’s been there for so long, he’s just a legend.”
Odom said Rogers utilized a unique match-up zone defense and a high-pressure style of play that challenged opponents. She said the environment at Clarkrange was notoriously difficult for visiting teams to overcome.
“Going to Clarkrange was super tough,” Odom said. “You know, we always made the statement that you had to be 20 points better to win at Clarkrange. And he just does a good job, you know, and his kids love playing there, and he just I don’t know, he just had what it took to to get the best out of his kids.”
Odom said Rogers earned the respect of his peers through his consistent winning and his ability to prepare his teams. She said she sought opportunities to learn from his extensive basketball knowledge throughout her career.
“I always looked up to him that way,” Odom said. “And then when I had to coach against him, you know, he was a—had a lot of knowledge, and I loved to sit down and talk to him and try to suck in some of that knowledge any any chance I got a chance I got to.”
Odom said the hallmark of the Clarkrange program under Rogers was the ability to remain competitive every single year. She said he successfully developed young players within a small-town setting to maintain a high standard of play.
“I think it’s consistency,” Odom said. “You know, I’ve I’ve never seen him put a team that wasn’t competitive on the floor, and that’s just really hard to do, you know, over the years. And that consistency in a small town to develop that many young kids is I think that’s his legacy is just being able to maintain that excellence that he always has.”