SYRACUSE - The Wawasee Warriors' season may be over, but coach Kem Zolman's still got a couple games to coach.
While preparing for Feb. 16 Peru Regional, which his team won, Zolman learned via an e-mail that he had been selected to coach the 2008 Indianapolis Star Indiana All-Stars."I was really just focused on preparing for regionals," Zolman said about his initial reaction to the news.
Following the regional championship, the Warriors lost to eventual state champion Plymouth at semistate, affording Zolman time to appreciate his individual honor.
"It's very overwhelming," the 10th-year Wawasee coach with a 164-69 record said. "I saw the letter and thought, 'Wow,'."
The honor may be his solely, but the coach is quick to point out he didn't earn it all on his own.
"You don't get this opportunity without the kids," he said. "This is an honor for each kid that's played for me over the last 10 years.
"A lot of head coaches go years without an opportunity to work with kids who buy into what they're doing," he added.
Prior to becoming Wawasee's head coach, Zolman spent five years as a boys junior high coach at Churubusco, then was an assistant boys varsity coach at Bloomington South for two years.
Following his time in Bloomington, Zolman returned to northern Indiana, where he served as a boys assistant coach for 10 years prior to taking over the girls program.
During his tenure as a head coach, the Warriors have won four sectional titles, two regionals and were the state-runner up in 2007.
On top of the team accomplishments, he's also coached an Indiana Miss Basketball, his own daughter Shanna (Zolman) Crosley in 2002. That year, Zolman was able to be with Shanna during her time as an Indiana All-Star, giving him a unique perspective on the experience.
"The girls develop friendships during their time together, then forced to all go in different directions," the coach said. "They do try to keep up with each other afterwards, however."
Following her all-star stint, Shanna went on to play for the University of Tennessee before joining the San Antonio Silver Stars in the WNBA. The coach's daughter was joined by other future Division-I players on the all-star team, including NorthWood's Carol Duncan who went on to play at Purdue, showcasing the talent Zolman will be coaching this summer.
"There's a list that goes out to vote for Miss Basketball, but that's the extent of what I know about who may be on the team," Zolman said.
The 2008 Indiana Miss Basketball will be announced March 20, with the all-star team to be identified March 23. Following exhibition games with junior all-stars, the Indiana team will take on Kentucky's best June 13 in Louisville before the Kentucky team travels to Indiana for a June 15 contest. This year's all-star setup will be a little different from the previous 53 years, as it's now a one weekend affair rather than taking place over two weeks.
To prepare for the game, Zolman's gotten advice from 2001 Indiana All-Star coach Bruce Dockery of Evansville Memorial.
"I don't know how smart it would be to just dive in and not get advice," Zolman said. "One thing I was told, and it was huge, was to go in with my philosophy of basketball."
That philosophy has gotten Zolman to this point, and he's grateful to the Wawasee players who've gotten him here. But against Kentucky, he'll have to put Wawasee behind him, if for only a week.
"It's not about the community and school anymore - this is a statewide thing," he said about preparing his All-Stars for the Kentucky girls.
