Kee boys basketball team returns collection of seven letterwinners in large veteran leadership class of seniors for 2021-2022 campaign
2021-2022 Kee boys basketball returning letterwinners ... Left to right - Front row: Tyson Cota, Damon Weber, Brayden Mathis, Landon Reams; Back row: Chance Colsch, Jonah Reinke, Dalton Dibert. Photo courtesy of the Kee High School Yearbook.
The biggest change for the 2021-2022 Kee boys basketball team from last season to this season will be at the very top of the totem pole, as the team returns seven varsity letterwinners as seniors this winter but will be guided by a new head coach after the retirement of Pat Wagner since last season. Jeff Cota will be taking over those head coaching reins this season, but even though he may be new to the position, he is certainly not new to the program or to the charges he inherits.
“I got involved in coaching basketball at the youth level when the current senior class was in fourth grade, and I stayed with them through middle school, along with continuing with other youth teams,” Coach Cota explained. “I was then hired as the JV coach at Kee two years ago and that led to taking over the varsity after Coach Wagner’s retirement after last season. Although this is my first year as a varsity head coach, I am very familiar with our roster as I coached the current seniors in some capacity every year since they began in fourth grade, with the exception of their freshman year. I also coached the current freshman class at the youth level and in some tournaments in seventh grade. I have been with the current sophomores and juniors as the JV coach the last two seasons.”
Two of Cota’s four sons are involved in the Kee basketball program at the high school level, including senior Tyson and freshman Jordan. He and his wife, Melissa, a teacher at Kee Middle School, also have a seventh grader, Trey, and a third grader, Jett. Cota is a 1992 graduate of Waukon High School, where he also played basketball. He is currently employed at Miken Sports in Caledonia, MN.
With four boys and employment in the sports realm as well, the coaching philosophy Cota brings to the court is really no surprise. It’s also an approach that he feels fits his current charges very well.
“I like a fast-paced game, and that fits our current roster, which lacks height but has good quickness and athleticism,” he noted.
For more complete coverage, pick up this week's print edition or subscribe to our e-edition by clicking here.
