Coaches return to final four
GIRLS BASKETBALL STATE TOURNAMENT
Girls basketball fans might have thought they had seen the last of Emilee Harmon when she headed to Ohio State after scoring the last of her team-record 1,746 points as a senior for Pickerington Central in 2009.
Two years later, the same seemed to be true for Reggie Lee when he said golf would be his No. 1 game after retiring with 515 victories in 30 seasons at Brookhaven.
Both will return to Value City Arena for the state tournament as assistant coaches, Harmon for Pickerington Central and Lee for Africentric.
“I love this program because it has done a lot for me and I want to give something back,” said Harmon, who has been a volunteer under Johnathan Hedgepeth for four seasons. “After I graduated the program fell off a little bit, and that was just unacceptable. I wanted the team to get back to where it should be.”
On Tuesday, Harmon will begin a 15-hour flight to join her professional team Albury-Wodonga in Australia. She was an all-star forward last season.
Harmon got emotional when the Tigers defeated Westerville South in the regional championship to reach their first state tournament since she was a freshman in 2006.
“I did shed a little tear — it has been an emotional time,” she said. “I’ve seen these players mature just a little bit more each year and buy into things just a little more. I want these players to feel what I felt. Playing in the state tournament is one of my favorite basketball memories. To see their eyes when they made it was well worth it.”
Central lost a state semifinal to Cincinnati Mount Notre Dame 54-51 when Harmon’s go-ahead basket in the closing seconds was waved off because of a controversial traveling violation.
“I have never forgotten that — it still stings,” she said. “I tell these players they didn’t come this far just to say they’ve checked something off a list. I tell them, ‘Look, you’ve been doing this all your life. Just take a deep breath and play basketball.’ ”
Lee didn’t have to be asked twice when Africentric coach Will McKinney called about a coaching position.
“I was sitting at home waiting for golf season,” he said. “I have tried to mentor coaches around the city and add some value. I do think Will values my input, but I’m also learning a lot from Will.”
What the players don’t see is the fiery temperament that was Lee’s trademark at Brookhaven. He led the team to the 1996 state championship with Helen Darling and to a state semifinal in 2003 with Ms. Basketball Brittany Hunter.
“This is a lot of fun because I don’t have to worry about what the girls are doing when they’re not playing, whether the uniforms are washed or if the bus is on time,” Lee said. “I didn’t say too much at first and observed. Then I did a little work with the post players. I try to get the girls stay as close as possible to the routine.”