Tim Fagnant is the new Kemmerer High School girls’ basketball coach. Fagnant played basketball for Kemmerer High in the late 1970s. The Lady Rangers open the season at the Bridger Valley Classic this weekend against the Green River Lady Wolves. (GAZETTE PHOTO / Theresa Davis)

Tim Fagnant has taken over as head coach for the Lady Rangers’ basketball team.

Fagnant has 31 years of coaching experience. He has coached basketball teams in Oklahoma and all over the state of Wyoming.

“I never thought I’d be back in Kemmerer — I just kind of ended up here by chance,” Fagnant said.

Fagnant played forward for the Kemmerer Rangers in the late ‘70s. He was part of the Rangers’ 1977 state championship basketball team.

In this Gazette photo from 1977, Tim Fagnant shoots the basketball for the Kemmerer Rangers. Fagnant was part of the KHS 1977 state champion basketball team.

Last year, Fagnant coached the Rangers’ girls middle school basketball team.

Fagnant said his goals for the team are to simply get better with each game.

“Our goal is to be playing our best basketball at the end of the season come tournament time,” Fagnant said.

“Obviously our vision is another banner up there,” Fagnant said as he pointed to the state championship banners hanging in the Kemmerer gym. “It may be hard to see that happen, because this team didn’t win a game last season, but we could get there.”

The Lady Rangers’ first test on the court is this weekend as they compete in the Bridger Valley Classic tournament.

Kemmerer’s first matchup in the tournament is against the Lady Wolves of Green River on Friday, Dec. 8, at 7:00 p.m.

“This will really be like a ‘welcome to the southwest’ game,” Fagnant said.

When asked if he approaches tournaments differently than a stand-alone game, especially for the first test of the season, Fagnant said it’s all the same.

“We take it one game at a time,” Fagnant said. “It would be helpful if I knew something about Green River, but I don’t, so we’ve just got to take care of ourselves and do what we need to do.”

Stevie Moyles is one of three seniors on the Lady Rangers basketball team this season. The other Lady Ranger seniors are Taylor Brunski and Katie Zuniga. The Lady Rangers play in the Bridger Valley Classic this weekend. (FILE PHOTO) 

“I believe in strong fundamentals,” Fagnant said. “I was in middle school programs for a long time, and I know how to build a program.”

Fagnant said his coaching style has changed and developed throughout the years because of his experience.

“You’ve got to allow kids to be kids,” Fagnant said. “If you do that, you enjoy seasons more, you appreciate moments more, and the players play smarter and harder.”