Mendota lands cage coach

MENDOTA — Mendota High School went to great lengths, or rather great heights, to finds its new head varsity boys’ basketball coach.

The BCR has learned that Jan Thompson was named Wednesday as the Trojans new hoop coach. Thompson, a 6-foot-11 center on Eastern Illinois University’s NCAA team in 2001, has been the head basketball coach at Okawville Valley High School in Bethany, outside of Decatur, for two seasons.

Thompson is a native of Waterloo, Ind., where he played at DeKalb High School.

He succeeds Eric Law-son, who left Mendota after two seasons to become dean of students and athletic director at Galva. Mendota sources told the BCR, however, that Lawson, has since accepted the athletic director’s job at Bureau Valley, whose hire is expected to be approved at Monday’s board meeting.

Lawson, who lives in Walnut was an all-stater basketb all player at Sherrard and formerly coached at Annawan.

The BV A.D. job opened when newly hired Andy Berlinski accepted the assistant principal job at Princeton High School. Berlinski will also be the receiver’s coach for new Tiger head football coach Dave Moore, who also came over from Bureau Valley last month.