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Komlanc takes over Warren JFK boys hoops program
Veteran assistant wants to see team basketball
By charles grove
Warren JFK has hired Mark Komlanc as its new boys head basketball coach, the school announced Friday.
Komlanc, a McDonald graduate, was most recently the associate head coach at Warren Harding. He’s also had assistant coaching positions at Mcdonald, Girard and Hubbard spanning over a decade.
The history of the JFK program is one of the first things Komlanc said drew him to the program.
“I grew up with some battles and some really good Kennedy teams from my days at Mcdonald,” Komlanc said. “So I understand a little bit of the history and I want to build on that. I met with the players [Friday] and we talked about that history and we want to make past players and alumni proud of the program.”
As far as expectations, Komlanc isn’t hiding his hand.
“My expectations are that I want to be in the district title game every year,” Komlanc said. “But we’ve got to do it the right way and step one is getting the players to invest and buy into the idea of playing hard, intense basketball.”
After falling in a sectional final in 2013 and 2014, the Eagles won a district title in 2015 before falling in the district semis this past season. Komlanc said that a lot of talent returns for next season and he’s looking forward to implementing his system.
“I’m looking forward to developing that talent and gelling them together to try to get a team chemistry similar to the San Antonio Spurs where you make that one extra pass to move the ball,” Komlanc said.
When asked about style, Komlanc said he’ll bring over a lot he learned from Harding and is looking to have deadly shooters on offense.
“I’m not saying we’re going to go out and try to score 80 points every night but my goal is to develop players and have shot makers,” Komlanc said. “I plan on having that gym open throughout the summer so they can get those game-style shots up.”
From a defensive perspective, it’s not likely to be the constant press Harding fans have seen from the Raiders, but Komlanc made sure to point out he doesn’t want opposing teams feeling comfortable about running their offense.
“I’m not saying we’re going to press all the time but my goal is to make teams uncomfortable through our defense and if that’s pressing that’s what we’ll do and if it’s sitting back in the half court and just getting up into you that’s what we’ll do,” Komlanc said.
“We’re not going to just let teams do whatever they want to us defensively.”
His former boss, Harding head coach Andy Vlajkovich, said Komlanc was a big part of his program’s success the past few years and knew this day was coming eventually.
“You always want to hire a guy as a head coach who has aspirations of being one one day as well,” Vlajkovich said. “There’s a hunger there and a sense of urgency. Mark was co-head coach with me. He didn’t shy away from any of the details whether it was academics or any need of our kids. I’m really happy for Mark and his family. I think he’s going to do a really good job over there.”