IBCA E-Newsletter

2018 Coaches’ Roundtable participants

A roundtable of former coaches is one of the items planned for the 2018 IBCA Spring Clinic. This year’s panel features a trio of coaches – Steve Brett, Mike Griffin and Dan Gunn – who will offer their expertise on building programs that stand the test of time.

Here is more info on each of the panelists.

Steve Brett

Steve Brett amassed 467 victories in 37 seasons as an Indiana varsity boys’ basketball coach at four schools, leading his teams to championships in 11 sectionals, two regionals and one semi-state in a career that spanned four decades.

Brett, 69, was inducted into the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame in March 2018.

A 1967 graduate of Loogootee, Brett helped the Lions to a 38-7 record as a two-year starter – including a 20-2 mark as a senior – for legendary coach Jack Butcher. Brett went on to Indiana State, where he helped the Sycamores move to NCAA Division I status in his last three seasons (1968-71), earned a bachelor’s degree in 1971 and a master’s degree in 1975.

Brett’s first head coaching job came at Bloomfield, where he guided the Cardinals to 223 victories, eight sectionals trophies and one regional championship. The headliner was his 1985-86 squad, which went 23-2 and advanced to the one-class Sweet 16.

He moved to Seymour from 1983-2001, posting a 79-92 mark in eight seasons with the Owls. He went home to Loogootee from 2002-08, directing the Lions to a 92-52 mark in six seasons that included three sectionals, one regional, one semi-state and a Class A state runner-up finish in 2005.

Brett completed his head-coaching career at Shakamak, leading the Lakers to a 73-87 mark from 2008-15.

He served as an Indiana All-Star assistant coach in 2006, and he was the IBCA District 5 Coach of the Year in 1988.

Brett resides in Linton and remains active in basketball as a varsity assistant at Vincennes Lincoln.

Mike Griffin

Mike Griffin led the Brownburg girls’ basketball program to a 303-111 record in 19 seasons as its head coach, the centerpiece of a 42-year career of coaching basketball at various levels in the Hendricks County community.

During Griffin’s time in charge, his Bulldogs posted four 20-win seasons while collecting blue ribbons from 10 Hendricks County Tournaments, five sectionals, two regionals and one semi-state. His best team went 25-1 and made the one-class State Finals in 1990-91.

A 1962 graduate of Scecina Memorial High School in Indianapolis, Griffin attended Marian University. He earned his bachelor’s degree from the Indianapolis west-side college in 1966 and then embarked on a teaching and coaching career in Brownsburg.

Initially, Griffin coached boys’ basketball at the sub-varsity level for more than a decade. He became the Brownsburg boys’ varsity coach for two seasons, going 24-19 from 1983-85.

He did not coach in 1985-86, but he was asked to take the girls’ position when it opened in the spring of 1986.

Griffin stepped down as girls’ head coach in 2005 but returned as an assistant to former player and former assistant Amy Brauman when Brauman was head coach from 2007-15. When Brauman resigned as head coach in 2015, Griffin stepped aside, too.

He was a teacher at Brownsburg for 40 years, including 25 years as chairman of the high school’s social studies department. He also was named Brownsburg’s Educator of the Year in 1990 and was a semifinalist for State Teacher of the Year in 1991. In 1997, he was presented a Role Model Award by the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. He retired as a teacher in 2006.

Griffin was named the IBCA District 3 Coach of the Year in 1989 and 1991, the ICGSA state Coach of the Year in 1991 and served as an Indiana All-Star girls’ assistant coach in 1994. Over the years, he also was named a Coach of the Year on 11 other occasions by a conference or a media outlet.

Griffin was inducted into the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame in 2016.

He and his wife, Jill, live in Brownsburg.

Dan Gunn

Dan Gunn built a 514-318 record in 37 seasons as a boys’ varsity head coach at five schools. Along the way, Gunn’s teams claimed six conference championships as well as titles in 10 sectionals and four regionals.

Gunn, 67, played high school basketball at Thorntown and Marion, playing as a senior for the Giants in 1968-69 when they went 27-1 and lost to eventual champion Indianapolis Washington 61-60 in the first semifinal of the State Finals. Gunn went onto play four seasons at the University of Mississippi, where he scored 805 points in his career despite a knee injury that limited him to just eight games and seven points as a senior captain in 1972-73.

Of note, Gunn also played baseball at Ole Miss where the team’s shortstop one season was Archie Manning. Coincidentally, Gunn – who struck out 22 batters in a seven-inning baseball game while a junior at Thorntown – was the quarterback for Marion’s football team as a senior.

After college, Gunn returned to Marion and assisted Bill Green for two seasons before becoming a head coach. Gunn’s first head coaching job was at NorthWood, where he coached for three seasons (1975-78) before moving to Harrison in West Lafayette for two years (1978-80).

Gunn then became coach at Penn, guiding the Kingsmen to a 92-68 record in seven seasons (1980-87) – a tenure that included three sectional titles (1983, 1984 and 1987) and one regional crown (1987). He then succeeded Green at Marion, directing the Giants to three North Central Conference championships plus four sectionals and three regionals in a five-year run from 1987-92.

The coach then returned to NorthWood for a second stint, this one covering 15 seasons (1992-2007) and including two Northern Lakes Conference titles, three sectionals (1995, 2001 and 2007) and one regional (2007). Gunn’s last team at NorthWood went 19-6 and reached the semi-state. He finished with a 239-180 record in 18 seasons over both stints with the Panthers.

After a year off the sideline, Gunn returned to coaching at Edwardsburg, Mich., going 60-45 in five seasons (2008-13) before retiring for good.

Gunn was inducted into the Elkhart County Sports Hall of Fame in 2015. He was the IBCA District 2 Coach of the Year in 1989. NorthWood honored its former coach by naming its holiday tournament after him beginning in December 2016.

Gunn and his wife, Paula, have three adult daughters – Jessica, Amy and Amanda.