2011 Bob King Coaches of the Year

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                          Contact: Pat McKee, 317-403-1665

March 21, 2011                                                              IBCA Coordinator of Special Projects

 Six cited as IBCA Boys Coaches of the Year

Hackett, Johnson, Hahn, McCauley, Hawkins and Igel recognized with district honors

     Six Indiana high school boys basketball coaches have been chosen as Bob King Coaches of the Year by their peers in the Indiana Basketball Coaches Association, it was announced Monday (March 21).

    Mike Hackett of Munster, Mark Johnson of South Bend Riley, Brian Hahn of Pendleton Heights, Brian McCauley of Kokomo, Nate Hawkins of Forest Park and Andy Igel of Eastern Greene were recognized through voting that occurred in late January and February.

    Honors are awarded according to IHSAA district boundaries, and two coaches from each district are recipients -- Hackett and Johnson in District I, Hahn and McCauley in District II, and Hawkins and Igel in District III.

    >> Hackett led Munster to a 25-1 record that included Northwest Crossroads Conference, sectional and regional championships. His overall record is 210-52 in 11 seasons.

    >> Johnson guided South Bend Riley to an 18-6 season that included a co-championship of the Northern Indiana Conference and a Class 4A sectional title. In nine seasons at Riley, Johnson has a 141-70 record. In 27 seasons as a head coach, his teams are 334-265.

    >> Hahn’s teams at Pendleton Heights have amassed an 80-37 record in five seasons, including a 20-6 mark in 2010-11 that included a Madison County Tournament title and a co-championship of the Hoosier Heritage Conference. Including one season at Daleville, his career record is 83-54.

    >> McCauley has directed Kokomo to a 23-2 record entering this week's Class 4A State Finals. In his fifth season at his alma mater, McCauley's teams are 72-41 entering Saturday's game against Bloomington South.

    >> Hawkins guided Forest Park to a 25-1 record this season, including a Pocket Athletic Conference title as well as sectional and regional championships. In two seasons with the Rangers, his teams are 44-9.

    >> Igel directed Eastern Greene to a 23-3 record that included a sectional title and runner-up finish in the Southwestern Indiana Athletic Conference. His Thunderbirds have compiled a 219-123 record in 15 seasons. In 21 seasons, Igel's career mark is 263-208. 

    All six coaches will receive plaques as a 2010-11 IBCA District Coach of the Year as the 2011 IBCA Spring Clinic on April 29-30 at Lawrence North High School in Indianapolis. As winners, all six also will speak on a topic of their choice during a session of the clinic.

    More detailed information on each of the winners follows.

 DISTRICT I

          Mike Hackett, Munster

          A graduate of Michigan City Elston High School and Franklin College, Mike Hackett of Munster is an IBCA District I Coach of the Year. He also has been chosen to be head coach of the 2011 Indiana All-Stars.

          Hackett, 45, recently completed his 11th season as coach of the Mustangs, guiding his team to a 25-1 record that included Northwest Crossroads Conference, sectional and regional championships. His overall record is 210-52.

          His teams have won three consecutive sectionals and regionals in two of the past three seasons. They also were Black Division champions of the Lake Conference in 2004 as well as co-champions of that league in 2006 and 2007. The Mustangs won their fourth consecutive Northwest Crossroads Conference crown this season; Munster is the league’s only champion since it was formed in 2007-08.

          Hackett, 45, previously was an assistant at Kankakee Valley and Merrillville before accepting the Munster job in 2000-01. He was named IBCA District 1 Coach of the Year in 2003 and the Gary Post-Tribune Coach of the Year in 2009.

          Mark Johnson, South Bend Riley

          Mark Johnson guided South Bend Riley to an 18-6 season that included a co-championship of the Northern Indiana Conference and a Class 4A sectional title, the Wildcats’ third sectional crown in his nine seasons in charge of the program.

          In nine seasons at Riley, Johnson’s teams are 141-70 and previous sectional championships came in 2003 and 2008. The 2008 Wildcats also won the regional.

          Johnson has compiled a 334-265 record in 27 seasons as a head coach with tenures at South Bend LaSalle, Fort Wayne Bishop Dwenger, Northwestern and Lewis Cass before his current post. His teams previously won sectional titles at LaSalle and Dwenger and a regional crown at Dwenger.

          Johnson has been chosen to be head coach for the 2011 Junior All-Stars.

 DISTRICT II

          Brian Hahn, Pendleton Heights

          Brian Hahn’s teams at Pendleton Heights have amassed an 80-37 record in five seasons, including a 20-6 mark in 2010-11 that included a Madison County Tournament title and a co-championship of the Hoosier Heritage Conference. The Arabians also won a sectional championship, the program’s first since 2004.

          Hahn was a Pendleton Heights assistant from 1996-2002 and 2004-2006. The 2000 Arabians were sectional and regional champions. Hahn also was a head coach for one season at Daleville and an assistant for one seasons at San Diego (Calif.) James Madison between his tenures as an assistant with the Arabians.

          A former student manager from 1992-96 at Indiana University, Hahn’s 2006-07 team was the HHC champion and his 2010 squad won the Madison County Tournament title. His overall head coaching mark, including 2002-03 at Daleville, is 83-54.

            Brian McCauley, Kokomo

Brian McCauley took over as boys basketball coach at Kokomo in 2006. In five seasons, his teams have compiled a 72-41 record -- including a 23-2 mark this season -- entering the 2011 Class 4A State Finals.

After finishing 5-16 his first year, McCauley has led the ‘Kats to four winning seasons in a row – 13-9, 15-8 and 16-6 prior to this season. This year’s 17-2 regular-season mark was the school’s best in 15 years and included a second consecutive North Central Conference title. This year’s regional title was Kokomo’s first since 1997.

McCauley also guided Kokomo to a sectional title in 2009 and an NCC crown in 2010. Paired with this season’s conference blue ribbon, these are Kokomo’s first back-to-back NCC championships since 1961 and 1962.

A 1996 graduate of Kokomo, McCauley previously was an assistant for three years at Western High School in Kokomo. He currently teaches social studies at Kokomo and has been chosen as an assistant coach for the 2011 Junior All-Stars. 

DISTRICT III

          Nate Hawkins, Forest Park

          In just two seasons, Nate Hawkins has guided Forest Park to a 44-9 record, including 25-1 mark this season that included a Pocket Athletic Conference title as well as Class 2A sectional and regional championships.

          His first season also included sectional and regional crowns.

          A Forest Park graduate, Hawkins attended the University of Southern Indiana and began coaching as an assistant with the Rangers while in college. The 31-year-old Hawkins assisted in the program for 10 seasons, the final two as JV coach, before being hired in June 2009 to succeed Tom Beach as the Rangers’ head coach.

           Andy Igel, Eastern Greene

          Andy Igel of Eastern Greene has had much success during his career.

          Igel, 50, guided the Thunderbirds to a 23-3 record in 2010-11, including a sectional title and a runner-up finish in the Southwestern Indiana Athletic Conference.

          A 1979 graduate of Washington Catholic and a 1989 graduate of the University of Southern Indiana, Igel has compiled a 219-123 mark in 15 seasons at Eastern Greene and is 263-208 overall in 21 seasons as a head coach. His Thunderbirds have won SWIAC titles in 1997, 1999, 2001 and 2003. They also were conference co-champs in 2002 and 2006.

          The T-birds also have won five Greene County titles, four sectionals and a regional during Igel's tenure.

          Igel, who also has been chosen to be an assistant coach for the 2011 Junior All-Stars, previously coached at Frontier and Vincennes Rivet. He has been named Greene County Coach of the Year six times and was named a Hoosier Basketball Coaches Association Coach of the Year in 2001 and 2011.

          Igel and his wife, Diana, have five children.