Craner's adaptability led Flames to historic season, NJ Classic coaching nod
MANSFIELD — When it comes to coaching, Cary Craner has no room for ego.
Not with his players, coaching staff or even his own.
So, when he saw what kind of boys basketball roster he had going into the 2023-24 season, as he does every year, he took his coaching ego and threw it out the window. He had a point guard in Amarr Davis coming back who was on the cusp of breaking the program scoring record. He had a big senior group who played a ton of basketball and two extremely talented freshmen in Davion Mack and D'Andre Martin who could really take the Flames to the next level if Craner would let them.
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And he absolutely did.
"As a coach, you have to adapt to what you have and the first three years, we ran everything around Amarr and this year, we brought in to very good freshmen who could play," Craner said. "After my seniors worked hard during the offseason, we were just a completely different team."
Not just a completely different team than his first three seasons, but a completely different team than any in program history. The Flames went 18-4 during the regular season tying the 1990-91 team for the program record for most wins in a regular season. The 2023-24 Flames finished with a 20-5 record after winning two tournament games and falling in the district semifinals to Colonel Crawford.
The Flames scored 1,608 points averaging 73.1 per game during the regular season which is good for the third highest scoring average in program history behind the 1989-90 team (81.6) and 1973-74 (77.5) teams. They finished the season with 1,826 points including tournament play averaging out to 73 per game, again, third most in program history and the most in 24 years.
"Our motto was to play at an uncomfortable pace," Craner said. "Our goal was to get a defensive rebound or a made bucket out of bounds, I wanted the ball across half court in three seconds. That was huge for us. We did everything we could to just run people and we had eight guys who bought into that idea and it was a major factor in our success."
But it couldn't have happened without his team buying in first. Craner played at Mansfield Christian under legendary coach Keith Clark, the program's all-time winningest coach with 179 victories, from 1985-88. Clark was a traditional coach back then who won with discipline and ball control.
Under Craner, the Flames played with a little more freedom and given his roster, it was easy for Craner to implement his style.
"I coach AAU and that is how I like to play," Craner said. "I would love to get 75 possessions a game if we could. It was not hard at all to adapt. When I played at Mansfield Christian, I played under Keith Clark and it was disciplined with sets and a traditional offense so I can coach both ways, but I prefer to play fast and let the boys play."
Still, he took a lot from his time under Clark, who has the court at Mansfield Christian named after him. Besides, he is the best coach in school history and one of the best in Richland County's storied history, too.
"I learned a lot from Keith," Craner said. "My dad was just JV coach and I learned what to do and what not to do when I was looking at my coaching philosophies. He was a great coach. I was afraid of him. I had the Keith Clark fear. So, I didn't want that for my players, but I also wanted them to respect the coaching staff and their teammates. Coach Clark instilled that in all of us. It was all about respect."
Craner is 54-40 in his four seasons as head coach improving on their win total every single year winning eight games in his first season, 11 in his second, 15 in his third and 20 in his fourth. The 20-win season is just the third such in program history joining the 1990-91 (20-3) and 1973-74 (21-2) teams.
And on Friday night, he will hope to win one more as head coach of the South team for the 45th News Journal All-Star Classic where he will have a loaded roster full of talented players who will get out and run.
Which could lead to another historic night for Craner.
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If you go
When: March 29
Where: Lexington High School
What: News Journal All-Star Classic Alumni Game at 6 p.m. and 45th News Journal All-Star Classic North-South charity basketball game at 7:30 p.m.
Cost: $5 per ticket.
How to get tickets: Tickets are currently on sale at Catalyst Life Services locates at 270 Sterkel Boulevard in Mansfield. Cash, card and check will be accepted Monday-Thursday, 7 a.m.-6 p.m. and Friday 7 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Tickets will remain on sale there until the day of the game.
You can also purchase tickets during the all-star practices on March 26 and 27 from 6 p.m.-8 p.m. and March 28 from 5 p.m.-6 p.m. Practices are open to the public and will be held at Lexington High School. This will be a cash or check-only option.
And finally, you can purchase your tickets at the door the night of the game. Tickets are $5 apiece.
Why: 100% of the proceeds from the 45th News Journal All-Star Classic will be donated to Catalyst Life Services and will benefit the Child and Adolescent Mental Health and Crisis Services department. Over the last 44 years, the News Journal had donated nearly one million dollars.
For any questions, please contact Mansfield News Journal Sports Reporter Jake Furr via email at jfurr@gannett.com or via text at 740-244-9934.
This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Craner's adaptability led Flames to historic season, NJ Classic coaching nod
