In three seasons, Kohl put Red Raiders in state finals

LINCOLN, Neb. – Erik Kohl will be the first to tell you that a team is only as good as its senior leadership.

In fact, he lauded his two soon-to-be-graduating players immediately after Sidney's loss in Saturday's Class B state basketball championship game.

"Lane Harvey was our floor general all year, and Jared Ross made it through some serious adversity to be playing here at the end of the season," Kohl said. "We're really going to miss those guys."

In Harvey, Kohl had a four-year starter at point guard. Meanwhile, Ross overcame a collapsed lung last month and returned to the court to make a huge impact during the state tournament.

But a Sidney basketball team hadn't made its way onto the state's biggest stage in more than three decades, last playing for a state title 34 years ago when the 1981 team won it all. At least some of the credit for the 2014-'15 campaign has to go to Kohl.

In just his third season as head coach of the Red Raiders, Kohl led them to 22 victories. Sidney won the District B-6 regular-season crown this year, and at one point, reeled off 12 consecutive wins.

Even with all of those accolades, he knew his team wouldn't get the respect it deserved in Lincoln.

"Even though we were the No. 3 seed, I think people realized that we were really the underdog in probably all three of these games," Kohl said. "If Vegas put out a spread, I don't think they would've picked us to win one of them. And probably deservingly so, just because they didn't know our style of play.

"But I think we came out and showed people how we play basketball, and that was a goal," he added. "We wanted to prove ourselves, and I think we did that."

His Red Raiders held a 43-42 lead with six minutes left in the state finals against Elkhorn South on Saturday, before things slipped away.

Curiously, the coach in front of the opposing bench to his left was a former high school classmate.

Kohl and Elkorn South head coach Alex Bahe attended Lincoln Southeast together. Bahe was a manager for the Knights' varsity team when Kohl played on the JV squad. Three years later, Bahe was a volunteer assistant coach when Kohl was a senior on a talented varsity team that went undefeated during the 2000-'01 regular season before losing at state as the top seed.

That loss has been a key component – and motivation for him as a coach.

"That has always been a driving force in my life, whatever it was," Kohl said. "In college, it was giving everything I've got in the classroom. It changed my perception on life, that year. It's kind of weird how one game can have such an influence on you, but it has.

"I always wanted to get to the state tournament as a coach," he continued. "I always hoped we'd win a game at the state tournament and always had hopes that we could play for a state championship and win a state championship."

Following Kohl's graduation from Lincoln Southeast, he spent time in San Antonio, Texas, working odd jobs and taking classes at a community college there. He said he considered becoming a firefighter, a pharmacist and countless other opportunities.

When he finally decided on a career as an educator, he moved back to Nebraska and earned his degree from Peru State in 2009. Soon after, he landed a high school teaching job in Fairbury, a town of nearly 4,000 located about 70 miles southwest of Lincoln. He was also the basketball coach and spent two years there.

In 2012, he relocated to Sidney to take over the basketball program – he succeeded Jay Ehler who became the superintendent of Sidney Public Schools – and to teach math and physical education.

"I like new challenges and new opportunities, and that's how I looked at Sidney," Kohl said.

He led the Red Raiders to a 15-8 record during the 2012-'13 season and a 16-7 mark last year. He stresses team chemistry and confidence, and he's certain that breeds success.

"These guys were so easy to coach because they always had the mentality that, 'We're going to make a play. We're going to get a stop. We're going to score. We're going to find a way to make the plays to win the game,' " Kohl said. "I'm incredibly proud of these guys. It's a special group of kids. It's been a lot of fun.

"What's really cool about this whole thing has been the support from the community. For us as a team, we got not only a taste of a state tournament, but also a taste of what it's like to play in a state championship game. The players know that feeling and will work tremendously hard to come back here."