National High School Coaches Association Awards for girl’s basketball announced

The National High School Coaches Association (NHSCA) announced its annual awards today:

Girls’ Basketball Player of the Year

Katie Lou Samuelson, Mater Dei HS, Santa Ana, California

Katie Lou Samuelson capped-off an incredible high school career with a season that her coach Kevin Kiernan called “the greatest offensive performance he has ever seen.”  Samuelson, who will attend the University of Connecticut, averaged just under 30 points a game, which broke her own school season scoring average record.  She also set new marks for most points in a game (42, against Palisades) and most 3-pointers made in a season (117).

Girls’ Basketball Coach of the Year

Chad Hibdon – Blackman High School, Murfreesboro, Tennessee

Chad Hibdon built Blackman High School into a national power during his ten years as head coach of the program.  This past season, Hibdon’s team captured its second straight Tennessee Class AAA championship.  Over the last two seasons, Blackman amassed a record of 66-3.  Four of the starters on this year’s team have accepted Division I college scholarships. During the 2013-14 school year, Blackman was named mythical national champs by ESPN, MaxPreps and USA Today.  Hibdon, who resigned at the end of the season to take over as head coach at Truett-McDonnell College in Georgia, owns an overall record at Blackman of 199-98, which included only winning only 10 games in his first two seasons at Blackman.

Coach Hibdon is the first coach from Tennessee to be named NHSCA National Girls’ Basketball Coach of the Year.