One of the first things Scott Cozzens did late last spring after being hired as Marietta High's head girls basketball coach was seek out Mark Hannuksela.

"I went down to Mark's classroom," Cozzens said, "and spent an hour begging him to help me."

Hannuksela teaches English at the high school on Davis Avenue.

"Actually, I didn't have to ask very hard," the first-year Lady Tigers coach continued, smiling. "Mark is a great guy and will be a great addition."

Hannuksela and former Tiger star Emmy Yoho will be coaching the Marietta Tigers freshmen team this upcoming season.

"We have a really talented group of girls on the (freshmen) team, and who better than to coach them than Mark with all of his experience," Cozzens said.

No question about that - about 25-plus years of coaching experience at the prep and college levels.

Hannuksela was the MHS varsity head girls coach for 11 years, from 1996 to 2007. Before he arrived on the scene from North Carolina, the Lady Tigers had just six winning seasons in 25 years.

With Hannuksela at the helm, Marietta turned things around and played .500 or better ball for eight of the next 11 campaigns. In the other three seasons, the orange and black was still competitive, combining for a 30-35 mark.

Along the way, he claimed his share of coach of the year awards in the SEOAL and district.

In Hannuksela's last season, 2006-2007, the Lady Tigers were 16-6 with a sectional final appearance.

Then, a puzzling thing occurred in late May of 2007. His contract for the 2007-08 campaign was not renewed by the Board of Education.

Apparently, some of the parents complained and alleged that Hannuksela's coaching style was too intense and aggressive for their daughters.

But, wait a minute, didn't the Lady Tigers just have a solid season on the hardwood?

No matter. He was gone, despite receiving vocal support from several other parents and many of his former players.

Thing is, Hannuksela still had his teaching position at the school - so he wasn't gone entirely. He reportedly tried to coach high school girls basketball elsewhere in the area - but no luck.

Hannuksela was succeeded by Tom Wildt, a Parkersburg resident, who guided MHS to a 24-19 record in two years as head man. After last season, Wildt's coaching contract was not renewed, and that opened up up the door for Cozzens.

In a way, that also brought Hannuksela back into the fold, thanks to Cozzens, a former Warren Warrior assistant.

"Mark will be teaching them (freshmen) basketball fundamentals and how to play the game," Cozzens said. "He'll have a lot of nice, young kids, and potentially down the road, we could have some nice teams."

Ron Johnston is the Marietta Times sports editor, and can be reached at 376-5441, or at rjohnston@mariettatimes.com