By Terry Boehmker
NKy Tribune sports reporter
Matt Otte is the new boys’ head basketball coach at Conner High School. The hiring was announced Tuesday afternoon in an email from Jim Hicks, the school’s former head coach who resigned last month to become athletic director.
Otte was a junior varsity coach and varsity assistant at Covington Catholic during the last five seasons. Before taking that job, he was an assistant coach at St. Henry and Louisville St. Xavier high schools. He played basketball for St. Henry High School and Bellarmine College in Louisville.
Otte’s father, Dave, was a head basketball coach at two high schools in Northern Kentucky before becoming principal at St. Henry.
The new coach will be taking charge of a Conner team that won the 33rd District championship and made it to the to the semifinals of the 9th Region tournament last season before losing to CovCath. The only starter returning from that team is junior forward Travis Connley.
Otte will be making his head coaching debut next season along with two other former assistants. Ken Collopy was promoted to head coach at Newport Central Catholic and Steve Frommeyer got the top job at Scott.
The new names on the list of girls’ head basketball coaches include Chris Gramke at Beechwood, Kevin Bundy at Brossart, Joel Steczynski at Dixie Heights and Davey Johnson at Newport.