Wesleyan's Azar nears history book

By Todd Holcomb

For the AJC

Before the six state championships, Wesleyan’s girls basketball teams knew failure.

"We lost one game 99-12,’’ coach Jan Azar said. “We got killed. Our practices were doing right- and left-handed layups and shooting the ball one-handed, little stuff we don’t do now because our kids learn it in the fifth grade.’’

That was 1997-98, Wesleyan’s first attempt at girls basketball. Those freshmen who endured the 4-16 season played for a state championship as seniors.

Now, no basketball program in Georgia has accomplished more in a decade since World War II than Wesleyan’s girls. This season, Azar can become the first girls coach in state history to win seven state titles. Wesleyan is ranked No. 1 in Class A.

And it’s not recruiting, Azar says, anticipating those same questions that dog successful private schools. It’s not athletic scholarships. It’s nothing illegal.

"We do it right way,’’ Azar said, noting that four of her five starters played in her middle-school program and the fifth one came to Wesleyan in the ninth grade. “We build from ground up.’’

Grace Leah Baughn, a 6-foot junior who is being recruited by Division I schools that include Princeton, has been at Wesleyan since kindergarten. She was introduced to basketball at age 6 through Wesleyan summer camps that were led by varsity players.

“You got to see what you could aspire to be one day,’’ Baughn said. “I just remember looking up to them and then going to all their games.’’

By the fourth grade, Baughn was playing on Wesleyan’s fifth-grade team. Azar has formed teams for grades fifth through eighth. They play in a league that Azar started a decade ago. The fifth-graders have 17 players. No one is cut.

“My sixth-graders, they know who the varsity players are; they know their names,’’ said Mary Stephenson, the sixth-grade coach and a member of Wesleyan’s 2004 state championship team. “Some of them know they average this many points per game or what college they’re going to. It definitely has a big impact on these younger kids.’’

Azar says she might have mellowed since those first few seasons, if only because players entering high school already know her expectations.

“The first hurdle to overcome is to teach them to be aggressive. Girls don’t want to hurt each other’s feelings,’’ Azar said. “When you get on that court, you’re not a girl. You’re not a boy. You’re an athlete. When we can teach them how to get after it and press, we’re half-way there.”

If Azar has a secret, that might be it.

‘’Nobody played harder than us,’’ Stephenson said. “I tell our kids that’s our trademark.’’

That was Azar’s trademark as a kid. She grew up with two athletic brothers and played basketball and softball at St. Pius.

Today, brother Ricky Turner is the head football coach at Blessed Trinity. Brother Mike Turner is head baseball coach at Mount Vernon. One of Azar’s cousins is Chris Hatcher, the former Georgia Southern football coach.

“I come from a long line of coaches,’’ Azar said. “I didn’t know [when she started at Wesleyan] what we were capable of building. I just knew I wanted coach and impact kids’ lives.’’

Decade of dominance

A look at Wesleyan's record

2001: 31-2 (runner-up)

2002: 28-4 (champion)

2003: 26-4 (quarterfinals)

2004: 28-5 (champion)

2005: 31-2 (champion)

2006: 30-3 (champion)

2007: 26-8 (runner-up)

2008: 30-3 (champion)

2009: 29-4 (champion)

2010: 11-3