Former Palmer High basketball head coach and player die unexpectedly in separate incidents

PALMER — It’s been a tough stretch for Palmer High School basketball.

Within a matter of hours last week, a pair of people with ties to the Moose boys’ basketball program died unexpectedly.

Geno Morgan, a former head coach at Palmer High School, died in his sleep on the morning of July 2 while visiting family in Chicago, Illinois, according to a press release issued by Wasatch Academy, a Mt. Pleasant, Utah school where Morgan served as head basketball coach. Also July 2, Aaron Kohring, a Palmer High School graduate and former Moose basketball and football player, died due to injuries sustained during a rugby match in late June.

“It’s absolutely tragic,” said Brandon Blake — a former basketball coach, teacher and activities director at Palmer High — about the deaths of Morgan and Kohring.

Kohring, a 2006 graduate of Palmer High, was a freshman and sophomore in the PHS boys basketball program during Blake’s first run as a Palmer High head coach.

“He was one of those kids, 100 percent effort all of the time,” Blake said of Kohring, who also played two seasons with former head coach Greg Fullmer. “He was a soft-spoken kid, friend to all, super hard working.”

Kohring also played a season of Division II basketball at UAF as a walk-on senior. After making the team as a walk-on, Kohring would go on to appear in 22 games, and make 17 starts. He averaged 10.1 points and 3.7 rebounds per game, and enjoyed a career night against Western Washington Jan. 13, 2011, scoring 25 points. Following the season, Kohring was named UAF Rookie of the Year and the most improved player on the team.

According to reports, Kohring, a member of the Anchorage-based Turnagain Bore Tide Rugby Club, suffered a serious injury late in a match June 27. Kohring was hospitalized in critical condition until he died July 2.

Kohring’s uncle, Vic Kohring, a former member of the Alaska House of Representatives, declined to comment on behalf of the family.

A memorial service and life celebration in honor of Kohring is scheduled for Saturday at 1 p.m. at the Palmer Highway Church of God, located at 349 E. Arctic Ave., in Palmer.

Kohring was born July 9, 1988, at Valley Hospital in Palmer.

Blake, who retired in the spring after 20 years of teaching and coaching at Palmer High, also had long ties with Morgan. Blake and Morgan played college basketball together at Alaska Pacific University. They also coached together during Morgan’s lone season at Palmer, the 1994-95 campaign. Morgan served as the Palmer boys head coach during Blake’s first year at the school. Blake was the junior varsity coach that season.

“That really rocked me,” Blake said of Morgan’s death. “A class act guy.”

Morgan led Palmer to the 4A state championship game in 1995. It marked Palmer’s second trip to the championship in school history, and was the last time the Moose played for a state title.

“What he did with that group, getting them to have the success they did was unbelievable,” Blake said. “To do what he did, walking in and getting them to a state championship game was pretty amazing.”

Morgan had been with Wasatch Academy since 2009, and led the program to three state championships.

Last year, Morgan returned to Alaska, bringing his Wasatch Academy team to the Alaska Airlines Classic boys’ basketball tournament in Anchorage.

In addition to his time with Palmer High and Wasatch Academy, Morgan was also a head coach at East Anchorage High School, where he led the T-Birds to a 4A state championship in 2000. Morgan also coached college basketball at UAA and Emory University in Georgia.