Six boys coaches honored by IBCA for 2020-21 season
Johnson, Johnston, Osborn, Weaver, Moore and Thompson cited as boys District Coaches of the Year
Six Indiana high school boys basketball coaches have been chosen as 2021 Bob King Coaches of the Year by their peers in the Indiana Basketball Coaches Association, it was announced Wednesday (March 31).
Chris Johnson of Homestead, Chad Johnston of South Bend Adams, Ryan Osborn of Carmel, Andy Weaver of Plainfield, Jeff Moore of Sullivan and Josh Thompson of Barr-Reeve have been selected as honorees for the 2020-21 season through voting that occurred from late January through early March, IBCA executive director Steve Witty said.
Honors are awarded according to IHSAA district boundaries, and two coaches from each district are recipients – Johnson and Johnston in District 1; Osborn and Weaver in District 2; and Moore and Thompson in District 3.
Here is information about the six girls’ Coach of the Year honorees.
>> Johnson is recognized after guiding Homestead to a 25-1 season that included Summit Athletic Conference and Columbia City Sectional championships. Johnson has compiled a 372-152 record in 22 seasons with the Spartans, including seven sectionals, two regionals, one semi-state and a Class 4A stat title in 2015. His overall record is 452-185 in 27 seasons, including an 80-35 mark in five seasons at Fort Wayne Bishop Dwenger. Johnson started his coaching career as an assistant at Cincinnati Elder, then was an assistant at Merrillville before becoming the head coach at Bishop Dwenger. A 1983 graduate of Brookville High School, Johnson earned his bachelor’s degree from Ball State in 1988. He previously was an IBCA District 1 Coach of the Year in 2010 and 2012. He also was an assistant coach for the 2012 Indiana All-Stars.
>> Johnston is cited after leading South Bend Adams to a 23-2 season that included a Northern Indiana Conference championship at 11-0. Johnston has amassed a 71-32 record in four seasons at Adams. He has a 266-169 ledger in 19 seasons as a varsity coach, including a 195-137 slate in 15 seasons at South Bend Washington. Johnston began his coaching career as the South Bend Clay freshman coach in 1996-97. He then assisted at South Bend Riley for five seasons before being named head coach at South Bend Washington. A 1991 graduate of South Bend Clay, Johnston played for seasons for the Colonials. He matriculated to Bethel College, playing basketball there for four seasons and helping the Pilots to an NAIA national championship in 1995. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Bethel in 1995 and a master’s degree from IU-South Bend in 2008. Johnston has been named NIC Coach of the Year on six occasions, including 2021.
>> Osborn is honored after directing Carmel to a 25-2 record and a berth in the 2021 Class 4A State Finals. The Greyhounds have won the Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference, Carmel Sectional, Logansport Regional and Lafayette Semi-State earlier this season. Osborn has a 90-18 in four seasons at Carmel with four sectionals, three regionals, three semi-states and the 2019 Class 4A state championship. A 1999 graduate of Logansport, Osborn averaged 19.4 points as a senior for the Berries. He attend Butler for one semester, then transferred to IUPUI and played three seasons of basketball with the Jaguars, including being a part of a team that played in the 2003 NCAA Tournament. He graduated from IUPUI in 2004 and later earned a master’s degree from A.T. Still University in Arizona in 2009. Osborn began his coaching career as IUPUI’s director of basketball operations from 2004-06. He then was an assistant at Avon for five seasons and an assistant for six seasons at Carmel before being promoted to the Greyhounds’ head coaching position. Osborn was an IBCA District 2 Coach of the Year in 2019. He was a Junior All-Star assistant coach the same year. He was to be senior All-Star head coach in 2020 and now will serve in that role in 2021 after the 2020 games were canceled.
>> Weaver is recognized after leading Plainfield to a 24-3 season that included championships in the Mid-State Conference and the Avon Sectional, the Quakers’ first sectional title as a Class 4A school and the program’s first sectional overall since 1999. Weaver is 112-100 in nine seasons at Plainfield, and he has a 338-276 record in 27 seasons as a varsity coach. Previously, he was 18-45 in three seasons at Pioneer and 207-132 in 15 seasons at Western. Overall, his teams have captured seven sectionals, one regional and eight conference titles. He started his coaching career as an assistant from 1989-94 at Carroll (Flora) before becoming the head coach at Pioneer. A 1984 graduate of Clinton Prairie, Weaver helped the Gophers to a sectional crown in 1982. He went on to play one season at Manchester College, then transferred to Purdue where he earned a bachelor’s degree in mathematics and a master’s degree in administration. Weaver previously was an IBCA District 2 Coach of the Year in 2004. He was an Indiana All-Star assistant coach in 2010. He was named MSC Coach of the Year in 2020 and 2021.
>> Moore is cited after guiding Sullivan to a 21-4 season that included championships of the Western Indiana Conference and the Washington Sectional. Moore has a 468-269 record in 31 seasons with the Golden Arrows, the only head-coaching stop of his career. His teams have won 12 conference championships, nine sectional titles and three regional crowns. He began his coaching career as a Brownstown Central assistant for four seasons before taking over at Sullivan in the 1990-91 season. A 1979 graduate of Scottsburg, Moore helped the Warriors to regional titles in 1978 and 1979. He went on to to play basketball at Averett College in Virginia and Lees Junior College in Kentucky. He earned a bachelor’s degree from IU-Southeast in 1986. He later earned a master’s degree from Indiana State in 2014. Moore was an assistant coach for the Indiana All-Stars in 2011. He was head coach for the South team in the North-South Indiana All-Star Classic in 2014.
>> Thompson is honored after guiding Barr-Reeve to a 28-2 season and a spot in the 2021 Class A State Finals. The Vikings have won the Blue Chip Conference, North Daviess Sectional, Loogootee Regional and Washington Semi-State earlier in the season. Thompson is 79-6 in three seasons at Barr-Reeve with two conference, two sectional, two regional and two semi-state crowns. He has a career record of 189-162 in 14 seasons with previous stops at Springs Valley (30-80 in five seasons), Wood Memorial (53-51 in four seasons) and Vincennes Lincoln (27-25 in two seasons). Thompson began his coaching career as an assistant at Bloomfield. He then assisted at Loogootee before becoming the head coach at Springs Valley. A 1999 graduate of Bloomfield, he played on the Cardinals’ 1998 Class A state runner-up team. He played one season of basketball at Hanover College, then completed his bachelor’s degree at Indiana University in 2003. He later earned a master’s degree at Olivet Nazarene University in 2005 and an administrator’s license from Oakland City University in 2006. Thompson was voted Southwest Indiana Coach of the Year by the Evansville Courier in 2019 and HBCA District 1 Coach of the Year for this season. He also will be an assistant coach for the 2021 Junior All-Stars.
These six coaches will receive plaques as an IBCA District Coach of the Year during the 2021 IBCA Clinic, the in-person portion will be held on Saturday, Oct. 16 at Lawrence North High School in Indianapolis. There also will be a virtual portion of the 2021 IBCA Clinic where this year’s Coaches of the Year — six girls and six boys — will make a video presentation on a basketball-related topic. The “virtual clinic” is planned to be available online starting April 23.
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 and later as an assistant and associate athletic director at Purdue.
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