Pat Harmon followed his former coach Chance Blumhorst from St. Bede to LaMoille.

When Blumhorst resigned from his post as head boys basketball coach at LaMoille this summer to become athletic director at his hometown Mendota, it was only natural that Harmon – a volunteer coach for the Lions – would follow him again as head coach.

“I had a blast playing for him and asked if he needed any help, being it was his first year at LaMollie,” Harmon said of his move to LaMoille three years ago. “I will be taking over the basketball program this upcoming coming season with a lot to prove. I can’t wait to get this thing rolling.

“With Chance going to Mendota and (assistant coach) Blair (Bickett) stepping away to start his family, I have really been preaching to the kids that we can’t lose focus and that you have to be obsessed with the process.

“I believe over those last three years we have built a really strong foundation. We had a really strong summer between playing in the Amboy summer league and workouts at the track. When you lose two 1,000-point scorers (Tyler Billhorn and Brayden Klein), it’s tough. I truly believe we can do some really positive stuff this year. I feel like we will have a more balanced attack offensively this season.”

Blumhorst said Harmon, 21, has paid his dues.

“I couldn’t be more happy and proud of the kid,” Blumhorst said. “I’ve known Pat since he was 14 and said his freshman year when he played for me that he’d be a great coach someday. He’s taken every opportunity in the coaching world and ran with it. From volunteering for three years at LaMoille to coaching a travel team for me, he’s always been hungry for any opportunity.

“You’d be hard pressed to find a young coach more hungry than Pat, and I’m pumped to watch his career at the helm take off.”

Harmon said his junior varsity coach this season will be Claire Roberts, a teacher at the high school, who played basketball at Sandwich High School.

“She is a super bright basketball mind and I’m super excited to get to work with her,” Harmon said.