It’s not the first time Connor Basye has answered the call.
Back in 2015, after his senior season with the Bloomington North basketball team was done, former Cougar head coach Andy Hodson called Basye at 11:30 the night before the Hoosier Basketball Coaches Association All-Star game was to be held at the Cougar Den. Hodson wondered if he’d like to fill a spot on a roster after another player couldn’t make it.
“It was awesome,” Basye said at the time. “Even better since we got the win.”
Several days ago, Edgewood athletic director Jerry Bland called him up, only this time, the question was whether Basye would like to be the new head boys basketball coach for the Mustangs. Like before, his answer was yes. And yes, he expects to win this time as well.
Basye and his all-new staff, save for one holdover, were introduced Wednesday at the high school. It’s his first head coaching job at the varsity level.
“The interview process was awesome. The seven people in that room, I think we just clicked. We connected. I was honest about how I am, how I do things. We were all on the same page.
“I couldn’t be more excited. I’ve always wanted to coach and to get your first job at 29 years old at the 3A school where I’m from, it’s special.”
Basye, like his older brother Jordan, couldn’t wait to start their coaching careers. Jordan now runs one of the country’s most respected travel programs in Indiana Elite and will help when he can, mostly behind the scenes, he said.
“It starts with my dad,” Connor said. “Growing up, he always coached us. My brother was five years older, so I grew up sitting on his bench in every gym you can imagine in the country.
“I always knew I wanted to be a coach and got to Bloomington North and fell in love with it even more. I owe coach (Andy) Hodson, coach (Levi) Carmichael, coach (Tim) Hudson, coach (George) Leonard, Derrick Cross, my brother, coach Cloyd; I’m probably forgetting people. All those people who were there when I played. They just made you love the game.”
When he’d sub out of games, he’d find a seat between Hudson and Carmichael and talk the game.
Connor went to IU and came back to help coach the Cougars as soon as Hodson would let him.
“My freshman year, he wouldn’t let me coach,” Basye said, because he was too close to the senior class that year that he’d been teammates with. “Then he brought me back my sophomore year, and I started coaching freshman basketball there.”
After graduation, he got a job assisting Chris Hawkins at Indianapolis Crispus Attucks and coaching with the Elite’s U17 squad. During his six years at Attucks, he earned a trusted position as offensive coordinator and helped the Tigers reach the Class 3A title game in 2025 before falling to South Bend St. Joseph.
All those mentors had helped mold his coaching style.
“I believe in having a new-school approach to old-school values,” Basye said. “I believe you can pull kids aside and talk to them, but I also think you still can be honest with them, stern with them. I’m hard-nosed. I’m about playing with energy, playing with toughness.
“Also, you’ve got to be able to relate with the kids. It always comes down to relationships. If you can build those relationships, it enables you to coach them harder.”
But it was time to come home again.
“I saw the job open, and I had a couple of conversations on the phone with Mr. Bland,” Basye said. “I know a lot of the players from the travel basketball world. I thought it was a great opportunity.
“All these facilities. We have the best facilities in Monroe County by far. They’re putting in new bleachers right now. That new fieldhouse is amazing. When you have facilities and a young, personable staff, kids want to come here and play. I see a chance to really grow the youth basketball community up.”
Basye checked all the boxes
Bland feels like Edgewood hit a home run. There was no hesitation to hire a first-time head coach. Basye had too many things going for him.
“I think a big part, one, he’s got all the things you need to have,” Bland said. “He knows the game. He’s been around the game. He’s been involved in the game. One of the references told me, ‘Yeah, he’s been coaching before he even came into high school.’
“I think what we feel is going to be the shot in the arm is the relationships he’s built with the kids, the energy he brings. The kids have all seen him at some point out in the community, so they have some recognition.”
Having coached in Indianapolis, Basye is well aware of just how good Edgewood will have to be to break through at the regional and semi-state level in 3A.
“They’re used to being around high-level basketball, and what our kids are striving to achieve, that’s what we’re striving to achieve,” Bland said. “Connor’s been in an education setting and when we talked to those references, he was great with the kids and motivating kids.”
Edgewood had around 20 candidates, including several head coaches. The field was narrowed to four who were interviewed by a committee of seven.
“There was no doubt with the interview,” said Bland. “He checked all the boxes.”
For those Mustangs intent on playing college, Bland said, the Basyes know what it takes to get there.
“The basketball knowledge was very evident,” Bland said. “The energy, too. I think there’s a big buzz right now with our kids.”
Hickman switches gears
In addition to the Basyes, two former Panther standouts were hired as assistants in 2020 grad Connor Hickman, fresh off his college playing days at Bradley, Cincinnati and Charleston, and Dez Stephens, who played at Utah State and Kentucky Wesleyan and has been coaching for several years at Jackson Creek.
Also named an assistant was former Cougar assistant Michael Sukiennik. LaJuan Whitney returns as freshman coach. Getting everything together before the June summer tournament circuit started was important.
“I put that staff together in about three days,” Bayse said, joking during his introductions it would be hard to beat in five-on-five.
Hickman is ready to settle into his first coaching position.
“I had a few college jobs I could have taken but I wasn’t really too interested in coaching in general,” Hickman said. “Especially in the college scene. Then I met Connor, maybe a week ago and we were talking about this and he asked me if I wanted to be his second in command.
“I said, ‘No.’ Five minutes later, I walked back, ‘Maybe.’ An hour later, I got with him, ‘Yeah, I’ll do it.’ So with who he is, I’ve known him for years. I’ve known Jordan for years. And when it comes to basketball in Bloomington and the state of Indiana, the Basyes are at the top.”
Hickman saw no better opportunity to kick off a new career.
“I wanted to be a part of that,” he said. “I wanted to help him. Edgewood is up and coming, and to be fresh out of college, I can bring a lot of what I learned and what I did here. I just thought it was a no-brainer.”
Actually, it wasn’t at first. Which is why he hesitated.
“I just got done with basketball and I felt like I wanted to do something else with my life,” Hickman said. “Then I got back here and I started training with Jordan and I was like, ‘Oh, I’m never getting away from this.'”
The connection he had with the Basyes and the way they operate also made the decision much easier.
“I think it’s the most important thing,” Hickman said. “Because the basketball landscape today, college, AAU, it’s about money. Even in AAU, I didn’t realize how bad it was, with the camps and stuff. It’s all about the money, and the Basyes have never done it for money.
“They’ve always done it the right way. That’s developing the youth, coaching them the right way. And that’s something I really want to be a part of.”
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Edgewood boys basketball buzzing with hire of new coach Connor Basye
Reporting by Jim Gordillo, The Herald-Times / The Herald-Times
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Jim Gordillo, The Herald-Times | USA TODAY Network
