Frank Wheeler was named the 2004 Richard Fairchild Missouri Basketball Coach of the Year for Class 5A schools.
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Twenty-four years ago Frank Wheeler of Jameson played in the Hearnes Center in Columbia on a final four Missouri state basketball team on the very same floor. In March 2004 Frank returned to Columbia to coach a final four basketball team. Last week Frank was named the 2004 Richard Fairchild Missouri Basketball Coach of the Year for Class 5A schools.
The son of the late Harry and Mary Wheeler, Frank has coached at Blue Springs for seven years. This year, for the third year in a row, the Blue Springs Wildcats won or tied for champions of the Suburban Big 8 Conference and won the district playoffs. The team had the best finish in school history with 28 victories this season.
Frank also was named the all area coach of the year by the Eastern Jackson County Examiner. He has been selected to coach the Missouri team in the Mo-Kan All-Star game later this year.
Several former Jameson basketball players and friends followed the team to Columbia.
Blue Springs had not had a final four team since 1962, when the team finished fourth. The 2004 Wildcats team came away with second place. The 1980 Jameson Huskies earned third place.