Bryan Hughes of Barr-Reeve and Pat McKee of Columbus North have been chosen as Indiana’s nominees for the National Federation of State High School Associations national basketball coaches of the year.
Hughes has had extensive success and guided his Vikings to a 27-2 record in 2014-15, including the Class A state championship with a 65-50 victory over Marquette Catholic. Overall, he has a 524-192 record in 30 seasons, including 13 conference, 14 sectional, five regional and five semistate crowns.
In 23 seasons at Barr-Reeve, Hughes has a 411-144 record. Previously he coached three seasons at North Vermillion and four at Fountain Central, compiling respective records of 39-28 and 74-21 at those schools.
Hughes three times has been named an IBCA District 3 Coach of the Year – at Fountain Central in 1991 and at Barr-Reeve in 2012 and again in 2014. He also served as an Indiana All-Star assistant coach in 2003.
Hughes is a 1978 graduate of Covington High School and a 1982 graduate of the University of Indianapolis. He has bachelor’s degrees from UIndy and Indiana State as well as a master’s degree in business education from Indiana State. He played basketball, football, baseball and tennis in high school and was a three-year basketball letterman and two-year captain at Indianapolis.
McKee’s teams at Columbus North have compiled a 118-16 record in five seasons, including a 28-1 mark and Class 4A state championship in 2014-15. The 2015 tournament path included victories over No. 13 East Central, rival Columbus East, No. 16 Evansville Central, No. 1 Bedford North Lawrence, No. 3 Lawrence North and No. 4 Homestead. The Bull Dogs finished the season ranked fifth in the MaxPreps Xcellent 25 national poll, ninth in espnW national poll, 15th in USA Today Super 25 and 18th in the MaxPreps computer rankings.
In four of McKee’s five seasons, CN has matched or set school records for wins in a season (19 in 2010-11, 23 in 2011-12, 25 in 2012-13 and 28 in 2014-15). The Bull Dogs won sectional, regional and semistate championships in 2012, finishing as Class 4A state runner-up. Columbus North also claimed sectional crowns in 2013 and 2014.
In 2015, McKee was named ICGSA District 4 Coach of the Year and ICGSA Class 4A State Coach of the Year. He was voted an IBCA District 3 Coach of the Year and an HBCA District 3 Coach of the Year in 2013. McKee was named Conference Indiana co-Coach of the Year in 2011 and CI Coach of the Year in 2012, 2014 and 2015. He also was honored as the Coach of the Year by The Columbus Republic for all sports in the 2011-12 school year.
Before becoming a high school coach, McKee – a graduate of Christian Brothers College High School in St. Louis and the University of Missouri – worked as a sports journalist for more than 30 years. He received the IBCA’s Virgil Sweet Award in 2004. He was inducted into the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame as a recipient of the Silver Medal in 2008. He also was inducted into the Indiana Sportswriters & Sportscasters Association Hall of Fame in 2009.
Last year, Pat Rady of Cloverdale was Indiana’s nominee for the boys’ award. Rady later was named the winner of the boys’ national honor.
