CUMBERLAND – Ken Marks, the longtime boys’ basketball coach at Greely High, has resigned to take the assistant principal’s job at Greely Middle School.

“This happened so quickly,” said Marks. “It’s a professional opportunity I can’t pass up. I will need to focus my full attention on these new responsibilities.”

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Ken Marks, who will become the assistant principal at Greely Middle School, built a 346-143 record in 25 years as the boys’ basketball coach, winning three state titles. 2008 Press Herald file

Marks, 56, was the Rangers’ head coach for 25 years. His teams won Class B state championships in 1995, 1997 and 1998. The 1997 team was unbeaten.

Marks’ overall record is 346-143.

“The 1990s were very good to us,” he said.

All told, Marks spent 35 years coaching basketball at Greely. He was the freshman coach for two years, then an assistant coach for eight seasons before becoming the head coach.

“The players have built the program to what it is,” said Marks. “I thank them for allowing me to be part of the ride.

“I’m going to miss the coaches in the Western Maine Conference. It’s a very collegial group. It’s been a lot of fun coaching.”

Marks said it was an emotional moment when he met with his players to tell them that he would not be returning.

“Wednesday was a rough day. The week is ending different than it began,” he said.

Marks and Dave Halligan, the head basketball coach at Falmouth, have coached the same number of years at their schools.

“I was surprised when I heard,” said Halligan. “One of our last summer league games was against Greely. Ken said he was looking forward to the season. This obviously happened quickly.

“Ken’s teams always ran a disciplined offense. His teams always had a big man and a scorer you had to deal with. Ken worked hard at developing the youth basketball programs in Cumberland. He was a good ambassador for the sport.”

Staff Writer Tom Chard can be reached at 791-6419 or at:

tchard@pressherald.com

Twitter: TomChardPPH

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