Rams AD Todd Gordon takes on girls’ basketball post, eyes future plans

By BRANDON HURLEY

Sports Editor
sports@beeherald.com

@BrandonJHurley

A familiar face will step into the temporary role of resurrector.
Greene County activities director Todd Gordon, owner of more than 200 career victories, will be the next girls’ basketball coach, ushering in a new era of athletics. If all goes according to plan, Gordon’s plan to rebuild will start with him, but certainly not end there. He hopes to only take on this new role for one season before making a permanent hire.
Gordon, who signed on as Greene County’s AD at the tail end of the 2019 academic year, takes over for Tyler Westhoff. Westhoff stepped away after two years at the helm, tallying four victories and the school’s first-ever postseason victory.
Gordon boasts an illustrious basketball resume, having led three different teams to the Iowa High School state tournament in addition to compiling 10 conference championships. Gordon’s career record of 208 wins and 153 losses has led him through stops at Walnut High School (girls), Lisbon (boys), Manning (boys), Nebraska Christian College (mens), Harlan (girls) and as a varsity girls assistant at Treynor.
The hiring process has evolved into a taxing one, which left Gordon with a limited number of options before making the decision to man the sidelines.
“We had two main objectives in hiring a new basketball coach,” Gordon said. “We wanted to hire someone who would honor the current group of seniors and the high school girls by giving them a great experience and improve ourselves on the court during the 2020-21 season.”
Gordon is filling in as Greene County head coach on a temporary basis, pioneering the ship for a year in hopes of inking a top-tier candidate. The school conducted a thorough hiring process, searching for a candidate that would serve the school well. Gordon hinted at wanting to hire a particular coach who was not available this year, but would be in a perfect scenario to take over next winter.
In a sense, Gordon is the interim coach, but one who has visions of building a strong foundation, almost holding the job until the unnamed coaching candidate is free to lead.
“Very late in the process, I began discussions with an experienced and successful teacher and coach, but it did not work out for the move to take place this year,” Gordon said. “I believe we will be able to make that hire less than a year from now, so it became a case of needing someone to take the position for a year and beginning the process of building the program like we want to.”
The coming winter schedule for Greene County girls’ basketball is unique for a myriad of reasons, but mainly for the fact the Rams will commission the school’s first new gymnasium in more than 50 years, complete with a home court on the high school campus. The new Greene County high school, which is being constructed just south of Highway 30, is set to open in time for the new academic year. Both the girls’ and boys’ basketball programs, as well as the wrestling and volleyball teams, had been using the Greene County middle school as its home floor for decades. Now, the Rams will have a state-of-the-art gym at their disposal. That aspect played heavily into Greene County’s search process. A new gym provides a window of opportunity.
“It was also important to hire someone who will come here and build the program from the elementary level through the high school program,” Gordon said.
Gordon powered Nebraska Christian College to the National Christian Collegiate Athletic Association tournament in his first year while he led the Manning boys’ team to the 1994 state tournament in Des Moines. Treynor reached the girls’ state tournament both in 2006 and 2011 when Gordon served as an assistant.
The Greene County girls' basketball program has struggled through a period of minimal success over the last several seasons. The Rams have captured just four victories during the two previous seasons combined, including a single victory in 2018-19, while enduring a 20-game losing streak that spanned an entire calendar year. The Rams lost 41 games total the last two winters though they did secure the program’s first-ever postseason victory as a consolidated school by knocking off Southeast Valley this past February.
Greene County graduated just two seniors from the 2019-20 ball club. Gordon will guide a program searching for its first double-digit win campaign since the 2012-13 winter when they tallied 11 victories.
It’s a tall task, one the new, but veteran coach isn’t afraid to attack.
“I’m excited for the opportunity to teach a game that I love and has provided so many memories to myself and my family,” Gordon said.