New coach settles in

DePoe out! Barber in!

The Hot Springs Savage Heat boys will play for a new coach this season as long-time head man Ricky DePoe has stepped down due to commitments with his other job in the private sector.

DePoe’s brother-in-law Cameron Barber, who was the Hot Springs assistant coach last season, is the Savage Heat’s new main man. Barber has no illusions about what he is stepping into.

“Yes, I have some pretty big shoes to fill following Ricky,” Barber said by email Monday. “Especially since he is my brother-in-law!”

Barber is married to Ricky DePoe’s little sister Matea DePoe. Both DePoes were basketball stars at Hot Springs during their playing days in the Spa City.

Barber will get his first chances to see if Ricky DePoe’s coaching shoes fit this week in the Western C Tip-Off Tournament in Frenchtown. The Heat will play Seeley-Swan Friday and Darby Saturday in Frenchtown.

The senior Tylers – Tyler Carr and Tyler Knudsen – along with juniors Brandon Knudsen and Luke Waterbury and sophomore Kawika Ilac, should be Hot Springs’ prime time players this season.

Freshmen Kyle Lawson and Jack McAllister, who both saw some varsity playing time as eighth graders last year, should also be on Hot Springs’ play-list this season.