Former Comet star David Rottinghaus takes over as Charles City boys basketball coach

By John Burbridge

sports@charlescitypress.com

CHARLES CITY — If these walls could talk, what secrets would they reveal?

But if these walls happen to be thin enough, we might be able to hear what the people from the other side are saying whether we want to or not.

David Rottinghaus and the rest of the Charles City Comet boys basketball team were able to make out what their opponents were articulating in the other locker room. And it wasn’t music to their ears.

“We could hear them shouting at each other ‘I can’t believe we won!’” Rottinghaus remembers when the New Hampton Chickasaws stunned the heavily favored Comets nearly a quarter of a century ago during the 2000 postseason, denying Charles City an elusive berth to the State Championships.

“We had beaten them horribly twice during the regular season,” said Rottinghaus, who had seemed to have saved the Comets of an inglorious departure when he hit the shot to send the game into overtime — OT is often midnight for upstart Cinderella teams as favored teams usually seal the deal in the added period(s), gratefully emboldened with another chance after not getting done what was supposed to be done in regulation.

But the Chickasaws were not to be denied.

“They slowed the game down with their three-quarter press and managed to keep it close,” Rottinghaus said. “We may have been looking past them.”

The Comets had two Division I players on that team. One was Greg Brunner, who went on to become the Iowa Hawkeyes’ all-time leading rebounder. The other was Rottinghaus, who continued his career at the University of Wyoming, where he played in 108 games for the Cowboys, starting in 38 of them.

Though Rottinghaus was able to experience what it’s like on the other side of an upset — or locker-room wall — when he helped No. 11-seed Wyoming knock off No. 6-seed Gonzaga in the first round of the 2002 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, the loss to the Chickasaws is something he’s never forgotten. Or is allowed to forget.

“I work in New Hampton, and I still hear about that game to this day,” he said.

Coupled with the history of Charles City not advancing to the boys state tournament since 1956, Rottinghaus is determined to rectify the distinction as well as … perhaps … alleviate some ribbing.

“That’s one of the main reasons I took this job … I want to finally get us back down to state,” said Rottinghaus, who recently “officially” became the Comets new boys basketball head coach.

Rottinghaus had previously coached the Comets girls varsity basketball team when he and Rusty Rogotzke took over the program at the start of the 2022-23 season, filling a coaching vacancy on the eve of the coming season.

Previously, Rottinghaus coached basketball at Casper College and Sheridan College, both in Wyoming, shortly after his college playing days were done.

Though it didn’t always show on the scoreboard, the Comet girls dramatically improved under the direction of Rottinghaus and Rogotzke, especially on the defensive end of the floor.

“But I knew last season was going to be my last with the girls,” said Rottinghaus, whose team won its season-opener against Waterloo East on way to going 2-20 overall last season.

“We need a youth feeder program for the girls, and I didn’t have time with my family and my job to run one,” he said.

While trying to leave the program in a better place than when he and Rogotzke took over, Rottinghaus helped appoint teacher/coach Luke Anderson to run a middle school girls program with Sue Hoefer taking over as the girls varsity HC.

The idea is to have Anderson eventually move up with the girls he’s coaching and instructing while taking over the high school program from Hoefer, who also coaches the Comets’ perennially successful volleyball team.

Even after leaving the girls program, Rottinghaus said that Charles City’s open boys basketball HC position was “not even on my radar.”

But he changed his mind.

Having acknowledged that he didn’t have the time to build and preside over a feeder program, Rottinghaus is impressed by the one already in place for the boys as — with his son in the program — he has served as volunteer coach and supporter within the feeder for the past four years.

“I’m confident with the people running our boys program,” Rottinghaus said. “We’re on the right track.”

Rottinghaus takes over for Ben Klapperich, who is now the athletic director at Clear Lake High School.

“Ben did a fantastic job here,” said Rottinghaus, who was among the distinguished alumni involved in the interviewing process that brought Klapperich to Charles City from Rockford HS, “but we’re going to do things differently.”

Mainly it’s because they have to. Graduation not only has stripped the Comets of their All-Northeast Iowa Conference players — Keenan Wiley, Jack Hanson and Jeb Wandro — but has left them bereft of much height.

“I’m at 6-foot-4 and I’m by far the tallest guy on the team,” said Rottinghaus, who played guard during much of his prep and college careers.

One of the ways Rottinghaus and the Comets plan to offset their vertical disadvantage is to aggressively push the ball up the floor, especially after made baskets by opponents.

During Rottinghaus’s first youth basketball camp as the Comets’ boys coach last week, one of the drills focused on were “back at you” in-bound breaks.

It’s been well known within the Charles City community that Rottinghaus was going to be the Comets’ new boys basketball coach shortly after he verbally committed to the position months ago.

“But it wasn’t until I was approved by the school board that it became official,” Rottinghaus said.

Assisting Rottinghaus will be Brad Ritter, who was Charles City’s junior varsity head coach last season.

Former Comet Mike Cranshaw and former AGWSR multisport athlete Austin Rekward will likely also be on Rottinghaus’s staff this upcoming season.

“I’m excited,” Rottinghaus said. “We’re going to be quick, push the ball up the floor, play fantastic defense and get us some great shots.”

And don’t be surprised if Rottinghaus highlights the dates when they’re scheduled to play the Chickasaws.