LOOGOOTEE — When the Loogootee Lions open the 2008-09 basketball season in November, the coaching career of Mike Wagoner will come full circle as the Loogootee native, former Lion player and longtime Lion assistant coaches his first game as Loogootee head coach.

By a 5-0 vote on Monday, the Loogootee School Board handed Wagoner the keys to one of the Cadillacs of high school basketball in Indiana by naming him the new Lion head coach.

It’s something Wagoner, a 1977 Loogootee graduate and currently a health and physical education teacher at Loogootee, has aspired to for a long time, since his days as a college player at Averett College in Danville, Va., where Wagoner ended his playing days as the school’s all-time leading scorer.

“I’ve been waiting for this for a long time. It’s what I always wanted to do. I had a great experience at Loogootee playing both baseball an. When I went to college I knew I wanted to come back here,” Wagoner said by phone Monday evening after the school board vote.

Wagoner will get his shot at running the Lions hoops program after a long tenure as a Loogootee assistant, including a combined 181-74 record, five Blue Chip Conference titles, four tournament championships and an undefeated (18-0) season in 2003-04 during two stints as LHS junior varsity coach.

In addition, Wagoner — a standout baseball player in high school — is currently in his 21st year as Lion head baseball coach, where he has compiled a 279-238 record with seven sectional crowns and three Blue Chip Conference titles. But Wagoner indicated on Monday he will give up baseball after this season to focus solely on basketball. “I really hate to give up baseball, but I want to totally concentrate on turning this (basketball) program around,” said Wagoner.

Wagoner replaces Steve Brett, who resigned last month after six seasons as Lion coach. Brett had a record of 92-52 at Loogootee, including a trip to the Class A state title game in 2005, but the Lions were 4-18 this past season and haven’t won a sectional title since 2005.

Loogootee Superintendent Larry Weitkamp praised both Brett and Wagoner during the meeting.

“Steve Brett worked well in our program, was a disciplined coach, had the best interest of the team and served Loogootee well,” said Weitkamp. “He had lots of success in his early years. He had a tough last year.

“Mike Waggoner is a long-time assistant and filled that role well. He interviewed well,” said Weitkamp. “He’s enthusiastic, presented a master plan for his way of coaching and rebuilding our varsity basketball program back to its winning ways.”

Brett and Wagoner both vied for the same job six years ago when Indiana’s winningest coach — and Brett and Wagoner’s high school coach at Loogootee — Jack Butcher retired after a hall of fame career. Brett was named coach over Wagoner in a decision that threatened to tear the community apart, but Wagoner agreed to remain on staff in a move that helped heal the fracture in Lion Nation.

“I have a lot of respect for Steve Brett. Not that coach Butcher wasn’t organized, but I’ve never coached with a guy more organized than Steve,” said Wagoner. “He’s been very kind to me and my family. It was kind of bad timing (six years ago). I never once considered not coaching with him.”

Loogootee will lose five seniors off this season’s team, but Wagoner says Loogootee has a “really good core” coming back for 2008-09.

“The thing about it is, our motto will be ‘Keep it simple,’” said Wagoner. “We’re going to work on fundamentals. We’re going to hit the summer program hard. I’m looking forward to getting started.”

And should Wagoner need some advice, he knows where he’ll be able to turn.