IBCA E-Newsletter

2022-23 Boys Coaches of the Year

Congratulations to the 2022-23 “Bob King Award” winners as Boys' Coaches of the Year.

District 1

Aaron Wolfe, NorthWood

Aaron Wolfe is the IBCA District 1 Coach of the Year after directing NorthWood to a 28-2 campaign that included a 66-63 victory over Guerin Catholic for the Class 3A state championship. Along the way, his Panthers won the Northern Lakes Conference, the NorthWood Sectional, the South Bend Washington Regional and the Elkhart Semi-State.

In 16 seasons, his teams have gone 281-110 with nine sectional titles plus his first regional, first semi-state and first state title this season. His teams also have two NLC trophies (2022, 2023) and the Panthers have held Class 3A No. 1 rankings in 2015-16, 2016-17, 2021-22 and 2022-23. During Wolfe’s time as coach, NorthWood has had six 20-win seasons, 14 winning seasons and 15 players go on to play in college, including 11 on scholarship.

Wolfe was an Indiana All-Star assistant coach in 2016, and he has been named head coach for the 2023 Junior All-Stars. He previously was an IBCA District 1 Coach of the Year in 2014. He was The Elkhart Truth Coach of the Year in 2015, 2016, 2020 and 2021, and he was The Goshen News Coach of the Year in 2016, 2020 and 2021. He also served as an IBCA district representative from 2015-18.

A 1992 graduate of Monmouth High School in Monmouth, Ill., Wolfe – who attended elementary school in Benton County, Ind. – competed in basketball, baseball, golf and cross country while a student. He matriculated to Manchester College, helping the Spartans’ basketball team to an NCAA Division III national runner-up finish while playing for Steve Alford as a junior in 1995 with a 33-1 record. That team was inducted into the Manchester University Athletics Hall of Fame in 2000. He also played baseball at Manchester.

Wolfe earned a bachelor’s degree in biology and exercise science in 1996 from Manchester College. He earned a teaching degree in 1998 from Indiana University. He added a master’s degree in education in 2003 from Indiana University.

Wolfe began his coaching career in the spring of 1998 while student teacher at NorthWood, assisting the Black Swoosh girls and former coach Steve Neff. He was a boys’ basketball assistant in 1998-99 at Westfield, then moved to Warsaw as an assistant to Al Rhodes from 1999-2007. He was hired to take over the NorthWood boys’ program in May 2007.

He is in his 16th year as a teacher at NorthWood, currently instructing students in biology, genetics and environmental science.

Wolfe and his wife, Sonya, have three children – Whitney, 23, Aidan, 20, and Ethan, 17, a junior on the NorthWood state champion team.

District 2

Don Carlisle, Ben Davis

Don Carlisle is the IBCA District 2 Coach of the Year after guiding Ben Davis to a 53-41 victory over Kokomo for an undefeated Class 4A state championship and a state best-ever 33-0 record. His Giants also won the Hall of Fame Classic, the Marion County Tournament, Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference, the Perry Meridian Sectional, the Southport Regional and the New Castle Semi-State.

In eight seasons as an Indiana high school head coach, Carlisle has amassed a 144-66 ledger with five sectional titles, two regional trophies, two semi-state crowns and one state championship.

He currently is in the first year of a three-year term as an IBCA district representative. He has been named the 2023 Marion County Coach of the Year and the head coach for the 2023 Indiana All-Stars.

Carlisle’s first head coaching position came at Indianapolis Arlington, which he guided to a 46-25 record with one sectional title from 2015-18. He then moved to Ben Davis, directing the Giants to a 98-41 mark in five seasons with one MIC title to go with four sectionals, two regionals, two semi-states and one state crown.

Carlisle began his coaching career as a developmental assistant for the IUPUI men’s program during the 2008 portion of the 2007-08 season. His first work with high school athletes came in 2011-12 when he guided both boys and girls at the International School of Paris. He returned to IUPUI as a men’s basketball assistant for Todd Howard from 2012-14. He then started and operated a fitness business in 2014-15 before accepting the coaching job at Arlington.

A 1997 graduate of Ben Davis, Carlisle was a key player for Steve Witty on the Giants’ 1996 state champions and followed by averaging 12.4 points and 9.0 rebounds while earning honorable mention all-state honors for an 18-5 squad as a senior.

He went on to play at IUPUI, totaling 1,340 points, 769 rebounds 165 steals and 64 blocks in four seasons for coach Ron Hunter. He was honored by the Mid-Continent Conference in multiple seasons – second-team all-conference and all-newcomer team as a sophomore, second-team all-conference as a junior and first-team all-conference as a senior).

Carlisle then played professional basketball for 11 years, mostly in France but also in Sweden, Australia, Finland, Italy and in the D-League. He completed his bachelor’s degree with a major in finance at IUPUI in the spring of 2008 and later added a master’s degree in education from Marian University in 2018.

After leading IUPUI in both scoring and rebound in his final three college seasons, Carlisle was inducted into the IUPUI Athletics Hall of Fame in 2013. He also was selected to the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame’s 2022 Silver Anniversary Team that recognized graduates from 1997. He currently teaches physical education at Ben Davis.

Carlisle is engaged to Aquarius, and he has two children – Donoven, 24, and Micah, 10.

District 3

J.B. Neill, Bloomfield

J.B. Neill is the IBCA District 3 Coach of the Year after leading Bloomfield to a 24-4 season that included a sectional championship and a No. 1 ranking in Class A.

Neill has a 208-115 record in 13 seasons as a boys’ varsity head coach. That total includes a 74-30 aggregate over the past four seasons at Bloomfield with sectional titles in 2020, 2022 and 2023. His boys’ ledger also includes a 64-49 slate in five seasons at White River Valley, 12-14 in one season at Shakamak and a 58-22 mark in three seasons at Edgewood. His time with the Mustangs included one sectional title, three Western Indiana Conference crowns and one Wabash Valley Tournament championship.

Neill began his coaching career in 1997-98 as a boys’ assistant at Eastern Greene. He followed by directing the Eastern Greene girls to a 75-54 record from 1999 to 2005 before taking over the boys’ program at WRV in 2009. He has been named the assistant coach for the 2023 Junior All-Stars. He previously was honored as the HBCA girls’ District 1 Coach of the Year in 2002, WIC boys’ Coach of the Year in 2017, 2018 and 2019, and HBCA boys’ District 1 Coach of the Year in 2018.

A 1991 graduate of Eastern Greene, Neill averaged 24.8 points as senior while playing for Mark Barnhizer en route to being named honorable mention all-state. He matriculated to Longwood College in Farmville, Va., where he totaled 871 points, 274 rebounds and 181 assists in his four-year career. He holds the school season record with 27 consecutive free throws in 1991-92, and he still is seventh on the school’s career 3-point list with 157.

Neill, currently the athletic director and dean of students at Bloomfield, earned his bachelor’s degree in physical education from Longwood in 1995. He added a master’s degree in education from Olivet Nazarene University in 2008.

He and his wife, Sally, have three sons – Brasey, 18, a senior on the Bloomfield team; Blake, 15, a freshman on the Bloomfield team; and Brooks, 11.