But does he have any ties to the current area. If his family was Air Force based, I would imagine they moved on when it closed.
I would say his local ties are pretty strong. He was in Rantoul at least as early as 5th grade and seems like his parents and brother are still local.
By FRED KRONERfred@mahometnews.com Mike Mennenga shares just two things in common with the person he was eight years ago: his name and an undying passion for basketball. In 2011-12, the Rantoul native was on hiatus from his dream job as a men’s college basketball coach. He had spent the three...
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The Mennenga name has been prominent in Central Illinois athletics for decades.
Mike’s father, Marv, was an outstanding softball pitcher who was selected in 2007 to the Illinois Amateur Softball Association Hall of Fame.
Marv Mennenga also coached basketball, at St, Malachy in Rantoul and worked with Larry Butler and the Illinois Warriors AAU program.
Mike’s older brother, Deon, is the high school head coach at Armstrong-Potomac.
Beyond high school, Mike Mennenga played basketball for two years at Vincennes (Ind.) University and for two years at Morehead State, in Kentucky.
He then returned to Champaign County to launch the first steps of his basketball coaching dream.
Mike Mennenga was an assistant at Rantoul High school in 1993-94, followed by one year on staff at Parkland College in 1994-95.
During both of those years — as well as in 1995-96 — Mennenga organized and ran Super Sophs in Rantoul. It was a program for the top 42-rated sophomores in the state.
He then made the quantum leap from AAU coach in Illinois to the University of Maine as an assistant coach for the 1996-97 school year.