Published: April 01, 2008 11:35 pm            

Devils’ Daugherty picks up coaching award

The Tipton boys basketball team rose to prominence in the 2007-08 season. The Blue Devils dominated the Hoosier Conference, won a Class 2A sectional championship and finished with an outstanding 21-3 record.

Now, Tipton coach Travis Daugherty is reaping a reward for the memorable season.

The Indiana Basketball Coaches Association recently selected Daugherty for one of its Bob King Coach of the Year awards. Six coaches in the state (two in each of the three districts) are picked for the awards, which are determined through membership voting.

“It’s a great honor,” Daugherty said. “It’s humbling because there are so many great coaches in our area.”

Daugherty has built a winning program in his four seasons at Tipton. The Blue Devils went 8-13 in 2004-05, which marked a two-game improvement from the previous season, and followed with 11-11 and 12-10 records to set the stage for their 21-win breakout in 2007-08.

“I think [that trend] has kind of been tangible evidence toward our improvement, but beyond that, the work ethic of our guys every day has said as much to me as the win totals. The culture of our program has changed,” Daugherty said. “As we keep moving forward, our expectation level is going to continue to go up and hopefully all of us will find ways to keep improving.”

The Blue Devils’ success starts on the defensive end where they have made positive strides each season under Daugherty. They held opponents to 45.5 points per game and 37.8 percent shooting from the field in 2007-08.

“I think as our kids have continued to buy into the defensive philosophy, we’ve been able to put ourselves in position to beat some pretty good people because that has become our top priority,” Daugherty said.

Western coach Andy Weaver called Daugherty a worthy recipient. Weaver pointed to the Blue Devils’ recent accomplishments including their improvement from 12 wins in 2006-07 to 21 wins in 2007-08.

“I talk to Travis a lot and I know how hard they worked in the offseason as a team. That hard work definitely paid off,” Weaver said. “You take a look at their players who were varsity players both years, you could tell they were stronger and I thought their skill level went up. That goes back to Travis and the work he did with his player.

“I thought he had solid game plans all season too. When you’re that stingy on defense, that means you’re taking a lot of things away from an opponent.”

The Blue Devils’ future looks bright. Derek Elston, a 2009 Mr. Basketball candidate, headlines a deep group of returning varsity players — and other promising players are coming up in the system.

“I really feel fortunate to be at Tipton. It’s a fantastic school and a great community,” Daugherty said. “I’ve been really lucky to have some fantastic kids — having good players is important, but the quality of the kids we’ve had is as important as anything else in the success that we’ve gained here recently. That is something that is not going to change.

“We have another great group coming back and a lot of really great kids in the younger levels too. It’s an exciting time to be a part of our program. Hopefully we can keep making progress in the future.”



Bob King awards:

District I: Jason Groves, Triton; Tom Peller, Chesterton.

District II: Travis Daugherty, Tipton; Mark Galloway, Carmel.

District III: J.R. Holmes, Bloomington South; Jim Shannon, New Albany.

        

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