Former Washington High School Girls Basketball Coach to be inducted into Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame

SOUTH BEND, Ind. - Overwhelming but heartwarming. That’s what former Washington coach Marilyn Coddens said about seeing her players that she coached for the first time in years.

It was a gym filled with memories. Many of Coach Coddens's former players honored her before Thursday night’s varsity game.

Coddens learned in December that she will be inducted to the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame on April 27th. Coddens was the head coach at Washington from 1994-2008. During her 14 years as head coach, she won five Northern Indiana Conference Titles, six sectional championships, three regional titles, two semi-state titles and one state championship.

“It's a dream come true. I think that you know, Indiana and basketball, and Hoosier hysteria just all goes together. If anybody had said years ago that this would happen, I never would have believed them. It's such an honor, such an honor. And I'm super excited,” Coddens said.

One of the former players there to honor her last night was Karis Phillips. And in a full circle moment, she is now an assistant basketball coach. And she says the values she installs to her team is the same ones that Coach Coddens instilled with being respectful young ladies, as it’s bigger than basketball.

“The thing with Mrs. Coddens is that it wasn’t just about basketball. She taught us about being a young woman in the real world. That went a long way for the girls that played for her cause it just wasn’t about basketball, it was about life,” Phillips said.

Another former player was ABC57’s Social Media Manager Jena Stopczynski, who played under Coddens’ belt from 2003 to 2007 and was a member of the state championship team. This award, according to her, is much overdue.

“I’ve known Marilyn most of my life. A lot of us on that floor today she started having communications with when we were little. Me and those girls would come to basketball camps when we were eight years old. We have all known each other for years. We've known Marilyn for so long. She's the most supportive coach I could have ever imagined. She taught us all so much. She's so deserving of everything that she’s getting right now,” Stopczynski said.