Questions didn’t take long to begin Saturday night after Clarkrange lost 56-51 to Van Buren County in the Girls Sectional Basketball Championship at CHS.
Unfortunately, the Lady Buffaloes could not come out on top. Every offense they tried could not be sustained, and their defense, usually the team’s backbone, couldn’t stop VBCHS well enough.
But the Lady Buffaloes finished the season 22-12, taking home the regional championship.
But don’t worry. Plans are already being made for the 2025-’26 season. The biggest question has been answered … Head Coach Lamar Rogers said he is coming back for his 49th season the bench.
“I am planning on coming back. Coaching is still a lot of fun for me,” Rogers said. “I enjoy the competitive part of basketball.”
Rogers has been quite successful. He’s won 1,351 games heading into the 2025-’26 season and is a member of the Basketball Coaches Association of Tennessee and the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association hall of fames. He is the winningest coach in the state and currently third nationally.
Rogers was inducted into the National Federation of State High Schools Association Hall of Fame in 2022. He’s won eight state championships with the Lady Buffs and has had 52 players sign college scholarships.
Coach Rogers just coached one of his granddaughters — Chloe Rogers — through her career this season. He also has another one who is a sixth grader.
“It hurt this year,” Coach Rogers said. “I really wanted to have Chloe have the chance to play in the state championship.”
Coach Rogers’ future on the court was in question this year because of his recent heart surgery.
Earlier this year, he had triple bypass surgery.
“I had a stress test last year, and they called me to tell me they didn’t like what they saw. They wanted me to come in for more tests. I said I couldn’t because I had ballgames,” Coach Rogers laughed as he recalled.
“I ended up going in, and I had 99% blockage in one artery and 95% in two others. They said it would not be if I have a heart attack, but when.”
Coach Rogers said he will be resting for a while now that basketball is over. He will probably hold tryouts, he said, on the last day of school. That will be the launching point for the Lady Buffaloes to jump into their summer tour circuit.
Coach Rogers said he’s taking it slow, and will probably work around the farm and get some jobs done he didn’t get to during the season.
And, you can bet, he’s probably already planning new offensive and defensive strategies next year.