Lamar Rogers receives Lifetime Achievement honor after 8 state titles, 1,289 wins

CLARKRANGE – Lamar Rogers gave the tour around the Clarkrange gymnasium, stopping at points to tell stories from his 46 years as the school's girls basketball coach.

He stopped at the trophy case, located outside the gymnasium. It displays the schools' eight gold balls for the TSSAA state titles his program has won. He pointed out the name of the floor — Lamar Rogers Court — and how he was surprised when the honor came.

Rogers showed off the locker rooms, pointing to different press clippings. And later discussed the chair by his desk that has been known as the hot seat where players have sat and discussed games, or reporters have sat for postgame interviews.

This has become a home away from home for Rogers, the winningest high school girls basketball coach in TSSAA history, who will enter the National Federation of State High School Associations Hall of Fame on July 1.

And on Wednesday, Rogers will become the 2022 recipient of the Fred Russell Lifetime Achievement Award at the seventh annual Middle Tennessee High School Sports Awards presented by Farm Bureau Health Plans, held at Marathon Music Works.

"We've had good teams," Rogers said. "If we won five games and lost 25 games a year, I wouldn't be sitting her. You know how that is."

The awards show, an ESPY Award-style event honoring the top high school athletes from Middle Tennessee, begins at 7:30 p.m. Players of the year in all TSSAA-sanctioned sports, along with hockey, lacrosse and swimming, will be awarded along with several premier awards including the Kaia Jergenson Courage Award, academic and leadership awards. The event returns to in-person for the first time since 2019.

Rogers holds a 1,289-290 record at Clarkrange, his alma mater. Rogers' teams have made 25 trips to the Class A state tournament.

"I've been in it a long time, but it amazes me how long he's been the coach and continued to have successful teams over the years," said Jackson County girls basketball coach Jim Brown, whose team is a rival of Clarkrange. "His kids are always gritty. You are always going to be in a dogfight going against him."

Rogers, 70, isn't ready to quit just yet. His passion for the game remains and he plans to keep coaching.

"My granddaughter is a freshman and she says I need to keep coaching until she graduates," Rogers said. "Now, the third grader (granddaughter), expects me to be here.

"Who knows."

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Rogers is a Clarkrange alumnus. He played basketball at the school. He still plays pick-up games, but has shortened it to halfcourt games.

"I learned as much from him playing in open gyms than anything," said Stone Memorial girls basketball coach Mike Buck, a former Clarkrange boys basketball standout. "He's had a crew of guys that were just like him. He's got that old-school game and tough to guard.

"He's always thinking strategic. The way he influenced the game no matter what team he had out there."

From 6-on-6 to present

Rogers began coaching in 1977, when girls basketball was played 6-on-6 in Tennessee. Back then, three guards could bring the ball to midcourt where they had to pass it to their forwards. Those forwards were the players permitted to shoot.

"I told my wife when I started that I'd probably do it five years and then do something else," Rogers said. "I really enjoy it and we've had a lot of success.

"Watching the players grow up has been really neat."

Rogers said he didn't have to build a program when he arrived as the coach. There was talent and the team had made its first state tournament appearance in 1976, a year before he took over. But he's been the head coach in every state championship for the program — 1983, 1984, 1985, 1990, 1991, 1995, 2004 and 2009.

"We won our first state championship in 1983 — I don't know if that's the sweetest one," Rogers said. "I still remember our fans carrying a sign that said, 'Now you've heard of Clarkrange.'"

Buck said the community has fully supported the basketball program. A small rural school located in Fentress County, Clarkrange doesn't have a football program. But it supports all of its high school teams, especially the Lady Buffaloes on the basketball court.

"The emphasis he put on girls basketball early really fit the community," Buck said. "He knows the people and knows their mindset. He knows they need something to take pride in.

"It's kind of been a perfect marriage there with the community and their expectations and work ethic."

Reach Tom Kreager at 615-259-8089 or tkreager@tennessean.com and on Twitter @Kreager.