IBCA Honors Three Girls Basketball Coaches For 2022-23

Garber, Newby and Allen to receive Bob King Awards as girls’ District Coaches of the Year

(3-27-23) Three Indiana high school girls basketball coaches have been chosen as 2023 Bob King Coaches of the Year by their peers in the Indiana Basketball Coaches Association, it was announced Monday (March 27).

Garber, Newby and Allen

Brodie Garber of Class 3A state champion Fairfield, Zach Newby of Class 2A state runner-up Lapel and Jeff Allen of Class 4A state champion Bedford North Lawrence have been selected as honorees for the 2022-23 season through voting that occurred from late January through early March, IBCA executive director Marty Johnson said.

Honors are awarded according to IHSAA district boundaries, and one coach from each district is a recipient – Garber in District 1; Newby in District 2; and Allen in District 3. These three coaches will receive plaques as an IBCA District Coach of the Year during the 2023 IBCA Clinic, which is set for April 20-21 at Mt. Vernon High School in Fortville.

The Coach of the Year award is named for the late Bob King, the IBCA executive director from 1984-94. King was a Lebanon native who coached at Sacred Heart and Shortridge high schools in Indianapolis before serving as an assistant basketball coach at Purdue University. He later also was as an assistant athletic director and associate athletic director at Purdue.

A list of former IBCA/Bob King Coaches of the Year in girls’ basketball is below. The 2023 IBCA/Bob King Coaches of the Year for boys’ basketball will be announced later.

Here is information about the 2023 IBCA/Bob King girls’ Coach of the Year honorees.

District 1: Brodie Garber, Fairfield

Brodie Garber is the IBCA District 1 Coach of the Year after guiding Fairfield to a 28-2 season that included a 49-42 victory over Corydon Central for the Class 3A state championship. Along the way, his Falcons also captured Northeast Corner Conference, Fairfield Sectional, Jimtown Regional and LaPorte Semi-State trophies.

Garber has directed the Falcons to a 180-89 record in 11 seasons, annually finishing in the upper half of the NECC during his tenure. This season was the best in program history, the Falcons claiming their first semi-state and state titles while adding their fourth sectional and third regional during Garber’s tenure.

The IBCA award is Garber’s second. He previously was an IBCA District 1 Coach of the Year in 2018. Garber also twice has been recognized as Coach of the Year by The Goshen News, in 2018 and again this season.

Garber is a 1995 graduate of Fairfield, where he earned 11 letters in basketball, baseball and tennis. He was an all-NECC selection in all three sports and was selected Fairfield Athlete of the Year as a senior. In basketball, Garber scored 1,076 career points at Fairfield, was a three-time team MVP, a three-time all-conference selection and led his team to a 20-3 record as a senior. He also was a three-time all-conference choice in tennis and a two-time all-conference choice in baseball, posting a state No. 2 batting average of .529 as a senior.

Garber then attended Huntington University, scoring 1,766 points during his basketball career with the Foresters, earning all-Mid-Central Conference accolades four times and helping the team to the NAIA national final four in 2000. Garber also earned three letters in baseball at HU, and he was inducted into the Elkhart County Sports Hall of Fame in 2009.

Garber began his coaching career as a boys’ assistant at Fairfield for two seasons (2001-03). He then became an assistant in the Fairfield girls’ program for eight years (2004-12) before become the girls’ head coach starting in the 2012-13 season. Garber also served as the Falcons’ head baseball coach from 2002-13.

Garber, who earned a bachelor’s degree from Huntington University in 2000 and a master’s degree from Olivet Nazarene University in 2003, teaches physical education at Fairfield Junior-Senior High School.

He and his wife, Amy, have two children – Brea, a senior standout on the 2022-23 Fairfield team, and Brant.

District 2: Zach Newby, Lapel

Zach Newby is the IBCA District 2 Coach of the Year after leading Lapel to a 22-8 season that included a Class 2A state runner-up finish. His Bulldogs earlier had clipped the nets by winning the Madison County Tournament, the Wapahani Sectional, the Lapel Regional and the Logansport Semi-State.

Newby has compiled an 82-42 record in five seasons as a head coach after assisting the boys’ and girls’ programs for a combined eight years at Lapel, his alma mater. His teams posted 16-8, 17-7, 10-11 and 17-8 ledgers in his first four campaigns, then broke through this season with program’s first county title in 17 years and snapping 16-year sectional and regional droughts before seizing the Bulldogs’ first semi-state trophy.

A 2006 graduate of Lapel, Newby was a four-year member of the basketball program and played for coaches Derek Shelton, Tim Hillenbrand and Hall of Famer Jimmie Howell. He then attended Ball State, earning a bachelor’s degree in education in 2010.

Newby then returned to Lapel, serving as an assistant coach in Howell’s boys’ program for three seasons, in Kevin Brattain’s girls’ program for four seasons and in Howell’s boys’ program for one more season before becoming the girls’ head coach in the spring of 2018.

He has been a teacher for Frankton-Lapel Community Schools for 13 years, currently teaching health and physical education classes at Lapel High School.

Newby and his wife, Kayla, are parents to two children – Noah, 10, and Laken, 6.

District 3: Jeff Allen, Bedford North Lawrence

Jeff Allen is the IBCA District 3 Coach of the Year after directing Bedford North Lawrence to a 27-3 campaign that included a 46-42 victory over Fishers for the Class 4A state championship. During the season, the Lady Stars also won the Hoosier Hills Conference, the Bedford North Lawrence Sectional, the Bedford North Lawrence Regional and the Southport Semi-State.

Allen is 206-40 in nine seasons as the varsity coach of the Lady Stars, a tenure that has included five HHC crowns, nine sectional trophies, three regional titles and his first semi-state and state crowns. This is his second IBCA District 3 Coach of the Year award, joining a previous honor in 2019. He also was head coach of the 2020 and 2021 Indiana All-Stars, although the 2020 All-Stars did not get to play because of COVID-19.

A 1979 graduate of Eastern Greene High School, Allen averaged 21 points and 12 rebounds as a senior and was named all-Southwest Indiana Conference, the Bedford Times-Mail co-Player of the Year, small school all-state and honorable mention all-state selection in boys’ basketball.

He went on to become a two-year starter for coach Dan Sparks at Vincennes University, averaging 8.1 points for a 27-10 team as a freshman and 8.6 points for a 19-10 squad as a sophomore. Allen then went to DePaul, playing two years for Hall of Fame coach Ray Meyer on squads that posted 26-2 and 21-12 seasons.

Allen began his coaching career as a men’s basketball graduate assistant from 1984-1986 at DePaul while completing a master’s of business of administration. He returned to coaching in 2007 for a two-year stint as a boys’ basketball assistant at Bedford.

He shifted to the girls’ program in 2009, serving as a Lady Stars’ assistant for five seasons and helping the program capture Class 4A state championships in 2013 and 2014. He was promoted to BNL girls’ varsity coach for the 2014-15 season.

Allen received a bachelor’s degree in business in 1983 and his MBA in 1986. He currently is the chief financial officer for InFab, Inc., of Bedford.

He and his wife, Linda, have four children – sons Jared and John as well as Indiana All-Star daughters Jenna and Jorie, the 2019 Indiana Miss Basketball.

^ ^ ^

IBCA/BOB KING AWARD — GIRLS’ COACH OF THE YEAR WINNERS

The Indiana Basketball Coaches Association has presented Coach of the Year Awards since 1973. These awards are named for Bob King, a former executive director of the organization who also spent years on the Purdue University men’s basketball coaching staff and later served as an assistant athletic director at Purdue. He played and then coached basketball and football for 13 years at Indianapolis Shortridge and is a graduate of Butler University. He was inducted into the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame in 1986. Honorees were selected one per district in five districts from 1973 through 2003, two per district in three districts from 2004-2022, and one per district in three districts starting in 2023. The boys’ awards started in the 1972-73 season. The girls’ awards started in the 1983-84 season.

PAST IBCA/BOB KING GIRLS’ COACH OF THE YEAR HONOREES
1983-84: (1) Tom May, Crown Point; (2) Lamar Kilmer, Fort Wayne Snider; (3) Clara Caito, Speedway; (4) Cinda Brown, Rushville; (5) Rick Rigel, Austin.
1984-85: (1) Jan Conner, Benton Central; (2) Dave Scudder, Fort Wayne Bishop Dwenger; (3) Ray Lyttle, Noblesville; (4) Jim Anthony, Indian Creek; (5) Bill Hagedom, Forest Park.
1985-86: (1) Dale Ciciora, Valparaiso; (2) Dave Riley, Fort Wayne Northrop; (3) Pam Taylor, Tipton; (4) Terry Fox, Greenfield-Central; (5) Donna Sullivan, Seymour.
1986-87: (1) Kevin Brown, North Judson; (2) Dave Riley, Fort Wayne Northrop; (3) Alan Vickrey, Brebeuf Jesuit; (4) Tom Earlywine, Mt. Vernon (Fortville); (5) Charles Mair, North Posey.
1987-88: (1) Kevin Brown, North Judson; (2) Lamar Kilmar, Fort Wayne Snider; (3) Ray Lyttle, Noblesville; (4) Bob Howe, Jennings County; (5) Donna Cheatham, Scottsburg.
1988-89: (1) Carl Horton, Gary Roosevelt; (2) Will Wienhorst, Warsaw; (3) Mike Griffin, Brownsburg; (4) Art Brebberman, Batesville; (5) Gerry Howard, Southridge.
1989-90: (1) Dave Kenning, Valparaiso; (2) Will Wienhorst, Warsaw; (3) Stan Benge, Ben Davis; (4) Allen Cooper, New Palestine; (5) Jed Beadles, Pike Central.
1990-91: (1) Greg Kirby, Valparaiso; (2) Dave Riley, Fort Wayne Northrop; (3) Mike Griffin, Brownsburg; (4) Jimmie Howell, Mt. Vernon (Fortville); (5) Pete Pritchett, Bedford North Lawrence.
1991-92: (1) Greg Kirby, Valparaiso; (2) Dave Riley, Fort Wayne Northrop; (3) Judi Warren, Carmel; (4) Curt Bell, New Castle; (5) Pete Pritchett, Bedford-North Lawrence.
1992-93: (1) Jim Swaney, Winamac; (2) Mike McCroskey, Kokomo; (3) Chuck Boehlke, North Central; (4) Bill Wilson, Anderson Highland; (5) Steve Brothers, Washington.
1993-94: (1) Tom Megyesi, Lake Central; (2) Fred Fields, Huntington North; (3) Tom Polf, Seeger; (4) Leah Wooldridge; (5) Steve Barrett, Pike Central.
1994-95: (1) Greg Kirby, Valparaiso; (2) Fred Fields, Huntington North; (3) Tom Polf, Seeger; (4) Dennis Wallace, Pendleton Heights; (5) Dick Lemmon, Barr-Reeve.
1995-96: (1) Greg Greg Kirby, Valparaiso; (2) Fred Fields, Huntington North; (3) Rich Bagienski, Noblesville; (4) Lori Robbins, Connersville; (5) Tammy Wertman, Princeton.
1996-97: (1) J.T. Hubenthal, Logansport; (2) Mike Hey, Leo; (3) Mike Armstrong, Perry Meridian; (4) Don Renihan, New Castle; (5) Rick Myers, Jeffersonville.
1997-98: (1) Tom Megyesi, Lake Central; (2) Bill Bollier, Woodlan; (3) Brad Montgomery, Tri-West; (4) Connie Lyon, Yorktown; (5) Jason Blackard, Gibson Southern.
1998-99: (1) Dennis Foster, Hanover Central; (2) Gary Andrews, Fort Wayne Bishop Luers; (3) Connie Garrett, Clinton Prairie; (4) Larry Miller, Connersville; (5) Bruce Dockery, Evansville Memorial.
1999-2000: (1) Jerry Bechtold, Hebron; (2) Mark Rohm, DeKalb; (3) Stan Benge, Ben Davis; (4) Julie Shelton, Mt. Vernon (Fortville); (5) Joe Pigg, White River Valley.
2000-01: (1) Chris Huppenthal, Highland; (2) Kem Zolman, Wawasee; (3) Jodie Whitaker, Lawrence North; (4) Jon Howell, Alexandria; (5) Marty Niehaus, Forest Park.
2001-02: (1) Dan Shead, New Prairie; (2) Doug Curtis, Angola; (3) Leah Wooldridge, Noblesville; (4) Donna Cheatham, Southwestern (Hanover); (5) Janis Hert, Vincennes Lincoln.
2002-03: (1) Ron Edmonds, East Chicago Central; (2) Lisa Miller, Carroll (Fort Wayne); (3) Dawn McNew, Beech Grove; (4) Jon Howell, Alexandria; (5) Missy Voyles, North Harrison.
2003-04: (1) Dan Feagler, Garrett; (1) Gary Teel, Tippecanoe Valley. (2) Allen Cooper, New Palestine; (2) Todd Salkoski, Shenandoah. (3) Michael Uhl, Corydon Central; (3) Rick Marshall, North Knox.
2004-05: (1) Dave Cox, Plymouth; (1) Candy Wilson, Boone Grove. (2) Pam Taylor, Franklin Central; (2) Tracey Hammel, Lebanon. (3) Wayne Allen, Castle; (3) Leslie Wade Vanhoy, Loogootee.
2005-06: (1) Marilyn Coddens, South Bend Washington; (1) Mark Underwood, Manchester. (2) Scott Bowen, Carmel; (2) Chris Huppenthal, Hamilton Southeastern. (3) Chad Gilbert, Jeffersonville; (3) Mike Powless, Evansville Central.
2006-07: (1) Gary Collins, Michigan City; (1) Ken Markful, Andrean. (2) Steve Drabyn, Avon; (2) Todd Law, Oak Hill. (3) Jim Rose, Bloomfield; (3) Greg Werner, Southridge.
2007-08: (1) Dori Downing, Calumet; (1) Kem Zollman, Wawasee. (2) Brad Bowsman, Twin Lakes; (2) John Lewellen, Cambridge City Lincoln. (3) Scott Smith, Jac-Cen-Del; (3) Jared Peterson, Austin.
2008-09: (1) Mark Redding, Fort Wayne Elmhurst; (1) Steve Proctor, Fairfield. (2) Stan Benge, Ben Davis; (2) Curt Benge, Plainfield. (3) Jason Lane, Vincennes Lincoln; (3) Mark Monroe, Gibson Southern.
2009-10: (1) Jerry Hoover, Logansport; (1) Gene Johnson, Jimtown. (2) Kurt Ogden, Hamilton Heights; (2) Jason Snyder, Kokomo. (3) Melissa Marlow, Rushville; (3) Joe Voelker, Floyd Central.
2010-11: (1) Mike Hamacher, Hobart; (1) Doug Springer, Northridge. (2) David Baxter, Benton Central; (2) Julie Shelton, Mt. Vernon (Fortville). (3) Beth DeVinney, Seymour; (3) Corey Simon, Evansville North.
2011-12: (1) Amy Govert, Merrillville; (1) Steve Neff, NorthWood. (2) Jeff Knoy, McCutcheon; (2) Eric Thornton, Norwell. (3) Mark Holt, Barr-Reeve; (3) Greg Werner, Southridge.
2012-13: (1) Michelle Harter, Warsaw; (1) Rod Parker, Homestead. (2) Shane Sumpter, Westfield; (2) Tod Windlan, Hamilton Heights. (3) Kurt Godlevske, Bedford North Lawrence; (3) Pat McKee, Columbus North.
2013-14: (1) Skeeter Heath, LaPorte; (1) Kristi Kaniewski Ulrich, Penn. (2) Chris Giffin, Lawrence North; (2) Rich Schelsky, Western Boone. (3) Steve Goans, Evansville Mater Dei; (3) Gretchen Miles, Washington.
2014-15: (1) Rod Parker, Homestead; (1) Marc Urban, Lake Central. (2) Donna Keck, Noblesville; (2) Tod Windlan, Carmel. (3) Mark Holt, Barr-Reeve; (3) Kevin Moore, East Central.
2015-16: (1) Chris Kindig, Tippecanoe Valley; (1) Tony Stesiak, Rochester. (2) Doug Laker, Greenfield-Central; (2) Andy Maguire, Zionsville. (3) Scott Smith, Jac-Cen-Del; (3) Missy Voyles, North Harrison.
2016-17: (1) Ryan Myers, Kankakee Valley; (1) Doug Springer, Northridge. (2) Kathie Layden, Northwestern; (2) DeeAnn Ramey, North Central. (3) Johnnie Bartley, Wood Memorial; (3) Mike McBride, Eastern (Pekin).
2017-18: (1) Jack Campbell, Chesterton; (1) Brodie Garber, Fairfield. (2) Debbie Guckenberger, Brownsburg; (2) Stacy E. Mitchell, Warren Central. (3) Bob Meier, Castle; (3) Jason Simpson, Greensburg.
2018-19: (1) Chris Seibert, Crown Point; (1) Josh Treesh, Central Noble. (2) Chris Huppenthal, Hamilton Southeastern; (2) Todd Law, Oak Hill. (3) Jeff Allen, Bedford North Lawrence; (3) Larry Winters, Bloomington South.
2019-20: (1) Brandon Appleton, Angola; (1) Adam Yoder, NorthWood. (2) Kathie Layden, Northwestern; (2) Lauren Votaw, Fishers. (3) Jerry Hickey, Salem; (3) Brian Smith, Loogootee.
2020-21: (1) Mark Redding, Carroll (Fort Wayne); (1) Chris Seibert, Crown Point. (2) Donna Buckley, Noblesville; (2) Debbie Smiley, Brownsburg. (3) Jared Rehmel, Linton-Stockton; (3) Scott Schoen, Silver Creek.
2021-22: (1) Joe Huppenthal, Lake Central; (1) Bob Lapadot, Garrett. (2) Donna Buckley, Noblesville; (2) Ginny Smith, Westfield. (3) Tony Hasenour, Forest Park; (3) Anthony Thomas, Waldron.
2022-23: (1) Brodie Garber, Fairfield; (2) Zach Newby, Lapel; (3) Jeff Allen, Bedford North Lawrence.