Millikan high school has found a new boys’ basketball coach, as athletic director Kevin Marchael announced late last week that the Rams have hired Mark Fancher.
Fancher takes over from Chris Francis, who resigned abruptly with a week left in the regular season.
“I’m a local guy, I live in Long Beach, I heard through the grapevine that there was going to be an opening and I was excited about it,” said Fancher. “I think we definitely have an opportunity to be competitive in Division 2A and we want to be one of the teams vying for a Moore League championship.”
Fancher has been a teacher in the past but the East Long Beach resident will be a walk-on coach at Millikan, although both he and Marchael said he will have an every-day presence on campus.
Francis leaves big shoes to fill, having taken over a Millikan team that was 4-22 and going 82-52 the last five seasons, including three 20-win seasons and a CIF semifinals appearance in 2014.
The Rams are coming off a disappointing season finishing 10-17 overall.
“Doing the eyeball test I think we’ve got some promising kids,” said Fancher.
Fancher had a successful run at Rolling Hills Prep as an assistant and as a head coach, leading the Huskies to a 20-7 season in 2011-12 and then a 22-9 season in 2012-13 that included a Division 5A CIF championship; Fancher was named the Division 5A CIF Coach of the Year for that effort.
The following season the Huskies went 13-13 and Fancher hasn’t been the head coach of a high school since, but has been coaching travel ball with the Frogg All-Stars, running a program primarily made up of Long Beach kids.
