A love of coaching basketball bonds father and son

<p><strong>T</strong>wo of the county’s assistant boys basketball coaches are bound by blood and a lifelong love of the game.</p><p>However, Jim Higdon and his son Michael are at drastically different stages of their careers.</p><p>At 68, Jim is perfectly comfortable seated next to or near Whiteland coach Matt Wadsworth during Warriors games. Higdon, whose coaching career exceeds three decades, uses his knowledge to make suggestions whether in a practice or game.</p>[sc:text-divider text-divider-title="Story continues below gallery" ]<p>Michael Higdon, 27, is in his second season at Greenwood. He was the freshman coach a year ago, is currently the Woodmen’s junior varsity coach and aspires to one day be a varsity head coach.</p><p>“I was happy when Michael went into coaching,” Jim said. “I would ask him, ‘Are you sure you want to do this?’ but he really likes (Greenwood coach Joe Bradburn) and enjoys working for him.”</p><p>The signs of Michael following in dad’s footsteps were apparent early.</p><p>As a 9-year-old, he started tagging along with Jim — then an assistant for Dave Clark at Franklin — on scouting trips. Michael kept the shot chart, while Jim closely studied the personnel and tendencies of the Grizzly Cubs’ upcoming opponent.</p><p>Going from gymnasium to gymnasium appealed to Michael. Road trips were quality time with his old man as they used car rides to talk hoops and whatever else they had on their minds. Furthermore, Michael admired the relationships that his father cultivated with players as he worked with them daily in practice.</p><p>“Since I was a kid, basketball is all I’ve ever been around,” Michael Higdon said. “He taught me everything I know about the game.”</p><p>The elder Higdon got his start as an assistant coach at Franklin during the early 1980s, working with head coach Tom McKinney. He was later part of the Grizzly Cub coaching staffs led by Steve Bennett and Clark, the latter’s final season coming in 2011-12.</p><p>Higdon, who spent 27 seasons on the Franklin bench, was at a crossroads.</p><p>“Honestly,” he said, “I thought I would be done coaching.”</p><p>Only he wasn’t. Higdon contacted Whiteland athletic director Ken Sears, who was bringing in a new boys basketball coach (Wadsworth) at his school. Sears suggested Higdon interview to be a Warriors assistant, and he’s been there ever since.</p><p>Wadsworth’s previous job was a four-year coaching stint at North Posey in southern Indiana. Higdon, a Johnson County resident nearly his entire life and a former player at Greenwood before graduating in 1968, proved invaluable helping Wadsworth learn about the area and its basketball teams.</p><p>His vast knowledge of Johnson County in particular and basketball in general have benefited the Warriors, who won county championships in 2016 and 2017.</p><p>“One of the things I like about working with Matt, I can just put my input into the situation. He’s very good asking me what I see out there on the floor. I would say 90 percent of the time I suggest something, he takes it to heart,” Jim Higdon said. “I’m more involved than I thought I would be.</p><p>“As a coach you like that. Matt is always asking for suggestions and ideas.”</p><p>Decades of scouting opponents and teaching fundamentals failed to prepare Jim Higdon for the emotional tug-of-war he experienced earlier this season.</p><p>On Jan. 4, Whiteland played at Greenwood. While Michael coached the Woodmen JV, his father was on the visiting squad’s bench, offering advice and encouraging Warrior players. He was pulling for the Whiteland to succeed, but he also wanted his son’s squad to do well.</p><p>“I’m not going to lie to you,” Jim said. “That was hard.”</p><p>Michael, a 2010 Franklin graduate who lettered in basketball as a senior, wasn’t quite as emotional.</p><p>“That was a pretty heated game,” he said. “I don’t know if it was really weird or anything. He’s trying to beat me. I’m trying to beat him. It’s fun.”</p><p>Depending on the upcoming sectional draw, a second such meeting could be on the horizon.</p>