Boys basketball: Marengo hires alum Jeremy Burke as head coach

Jeremy Burke played on legendary Marengo boys basketball coach Bill Barry’s last team, in 1997, and was on the court when Barry got his 700th victory.

Gerry Burke, Jeremy’s late father, played on Barry’s first team, in 1969, as the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Famer started building a Class A dynasty in northern Illinois.

It has long been Jeremy Burke’s goal to someday occupy the same seat as the man for whom Marengo’s gymnasium is named.

That day has come.

Burke, 44, was recently named the Indians’ head coach, succeeding Adam Webb, who was hired as St. Edward’s head coach.

“My goal when I started coaching was to hopefully one day become the head boys basketball coach at Marengo. There is a deep basketball tradition at Marengo and it is my hope to continue to live up to its winning ways.”

—  Jeremy Burke, Marengo boys basketball coach

“This is a tremendous opportunity. My goal when I started coaching was to hopefully one day become the head boys basketball coach at Marengo,” said Burke, a 1997 grad. “There is a deep basketball tradition at Marengo and it is my hope to continue to live up to its winning ways.

“It means a lot. Coach Barry and coach Roger Cannon were my coaches in high school. They taught me and helped fuel my love for the game of basketball. It brings me great joy to be able to carry on the basketball tradition at Marengo that they started.”

Burke has taught middle school P.E. in District 165 for 22 years. He and his wife Kelly have two daughters – Alyssa (senior-to-be) and Ashley (eighth grade).

Burke spent the past five seasons as Harvest Christian’s girls varsity head coach. Before that, he was on the Marengo staff with former coaches Dave Pettit and Nate Wright, worked on former Hampshire coach Ben Whitehouse’s staff and had one season with former Huntley coach Will Benson.

“We are very excited for coach Burke to take over our boys basketball program,” Marengo athletic director Dwain Nance said. “This is a position that one day he hoped for. He will do a fantastic job.

“He knows our program as he played here and has taught many of our student-athletes in middle school. Coach Burke will be building a staff that will put our student-athletes in the best position to be successful. His enthusiasm for Marengo Community High School athletics and basketball is evident. We feel confident in his plan to take our program back to where we expect it to be.”

Following high school, Burke earned his associate’s degree from McHenry County College and then received his bachelor’s degree in P.E. from Northern Illinois University.

The Indians were 5-58 over the past two seasons.

“My vision for the program is to get back to its winning tradition and be a source of pride in the school, students and the community,” Burke said. “We will get back to the fundamentals and work toward getting better each day. Our goal is to be better today than we were yesterday.

“My goal is to not only produce great basketball players, but more importantly produce upstanding men with high character and great work ethic.”