Mark Morrow's My View/Your View: Former Carmel girls basketball coach Judi Warren shares her thoughts

Girls basketball has come a long way since its inception into the Indiana High School Athletic Association state tournament during the 1975-76 season. So, with the 34th tournament now in full swing, it seemed like a good time to talk about the state of the girls game. And there's no better person to talk to, in my opinion, than Judi Warren, the "first lady'' of the game. As a player and a coach, she's been there and done it all. The former Carmel girls basketball coach who played on the first girls state championship team at Warsaw, was selected Indiana's first Mental Attitude recipient and first Miss Basketball, and she was a member of the first girls Silver Anniversary team. She still follows the game closely. Her love and passion for the game is so evident. She's all about the game and her players. Not about herself. When asked what her record was, she replied: "I really have no idea what my record was.'' Just to set the record straight, Warren notched 283 victories in 20 seasons (14.2 wins per season) as head coach at South Dearborn, Maconaquah and Carmel, taking the Greyhounds to the State Finals in 1995. She was inducted into the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame in 2002. Warren's opinions were right to the point in our one-on-one conversation. For instance, there's been talk about the possibility of more girl/boy doubleheaders. Warren disagrees. "I'm not a fan of girl-boy doubleheaders,'' said Warren, who still teaches at Carmel. ''I think girls should have their night and boys have their own, too. I would like to see the girls games on Tuesday and Friday and the boys on Wednesday and Saturday. I think it's only fair that each should play one game on a night and one on the weekend. Playing two games during the week on school nights is really difficult with the travel some teams have to do and with the school work.'' Warren believes that going to girl-boy doubleheaders would lose some gate money that they might get by playing them separate. "It also hurts your JV program and makes more nights your coaches have to attend those games, too,'' she said. Some of her other thoughts and responses: MM: What can be done to create more interest in girls basketball? JW: I loved the crowd at the Carmel-Ben Davis game Friday night (Jan. 30). I know it was two of the top teams in the state and in the conference (MIC), but I think the opportunity to play Friday night really helped. There are so many things for people to do these days on the weekends that even the boys basketball games have lost out on big crowds they used to get 10-15 years ago. Back in my day, the boys basketball games were the big social function in town on weekends and everyone went. Now, many people go out to dinner, movie, concert or stay home and watch movies in their own theater. MM: How has the game changed since you played? JW: I have seen a lot of improvement in the skills of the players over the past 30 years. Much of this is due to the increased opportunities to play games and practice year round and to improve coaching over the years. When I played in high school, our coach had to coach three or four sports during the year and couldn't devote the time to learn just one sport. We did have some very skilled players but that was just one or two. Now days, most teams have six or seven skilled players . . . or in the case of Ben Davis (nationally ranked No. 1 this season), all 12.'' MM: Is there more emphasis on fundamentals? JW: The strength and conditioning of female athletes has really improved, as well, due to summer and preseason conditioning that also continues through the season. One thing I've noticed the past few years is the decline of some of the basic skills such as rebounding, passing and ball handling. I think the big emphasis has been placed today on the X's and O's of the game and some of the basics are not being taught and practiced a lot at the younger levels.'' MM: What can be done to keep more girls in state to play college basketball? JW: I think the success of Purdue and Notre Dame several years ago helped keep some girls in the state. I was really excited to see Purdue hire Sharon Versyp as I know she is a great coach that understands Indiana basketball and will work hard to keep great players in the state. I think you will see that program be a national contender again in the next few years. All kids love to play for a winner and when a school makes a commitment to the women's program and hires a coach that is committed to the best, great things will happen.'' MM: What has impressed about the games and players you've seen this season? JW: I have seen many this year, and I've seen some very good players. Lafayette Jeff has two really good players, and I saw some great talent from Oak Hill, Wawasee and Connersville and, of course, Ben Davis in the Hall of Fame Classic (last December) in New Castle. I've seen Heritage Christian play, and Kelly Faris is one of the best all-around players I have seen for a while. Putting all of these great players together for the all-star teams is where I have seen the most improvement in girls basketball. The all-star teams the past several years have really been great and there's been a number of great players left off of those teams. There is just so much parity in girls basketball these days. MM: Do you see a difference in terms of women or men coaching girls basketball? JW: To me, coaching boys or girls doesn't make too much difference other than girls are much more emotional and are affected more by outside distractions than boys are. I still believe they (girls) want to be taught the same skills and work just as hard as the boys. MM: Do you miss coaching? JW: I still love the game of basketball and enjoy watching many games each year. I enjoyed coaching very much and enjoyed working with young people to help make a difference in their lives. Basketball had become a year-around sport, and as a single parent and full-time teacher for 19 years and wanting to see my son (Andy) play in college, which I couldn't do if I kept coaching, I could not make the commitment necessary for our program to be successful.'' Warren also shared her thoughts on what she thinks the Greyhounds are capable of accomplishing again this year. "I've seen several of the Carmel games, and if every player has their best game on the same night like they did last year in the state championship game, they could repeat again this year," Warren said. "But it will take an entire team effort for that happen.'' The path for the Zionsville Sectional-champion Greyhounds continues Saturday in the Southport Regional. They ousted then-No. 1 Ben Davis en route to their state title a year ago. The Greyhounds (18-4)and Giants (26-0) cannot meet before the regional championship. Stay tuned.