Our guest for this week’s ITG Next Georgia 4 Questions with the Coach segment is Buford High girls basketball coach Gene Durden, who has coached for 35 years, including the last 18 seasons leading the Lady Wolves. We asked him about that longevity and how far he thinks this year’s team can go.
Q. Coach Durden, you and your Buford girls basketball team have just finished off another successful regular season and are about to play in the region tournament. This is your 35th season of coaching high school basketball and your 18th at Buford. You just became the state’s all-time wins leader earlier this season – congratulations on that! So, what’s the secret to have been able to coach as long as you have?
A. To me, that is an easy question to answer. The love and passion I have for the game of basketball is my secret to longevity as a coach. I truly love this game and I also know the lessons that the game can teach you for the real game, and that is the game of life. I am also so thankful that God has given me health as a blessing so I could continue to coach.
Q. The run you had from 2017-2020 produced four straight state girls basketball championships for Buford. Was that simply a combination of having the most talented and hard-working group come together for that four-year period?
A. We were very blessed to have a string of classes that believed in the process of our program and bought into how our program operates. Our seniors did a great job of passing our culture down to the underclassmen, and each group of seniors continued to do the same. I think that four-year run was special, but I am just as proud of the 15-year span in which our program has continued to compete for championships each year. Great kids, along with belief in what we do and how we do it, have been the key.
Q. You just completed another successful regular season that saw your Buford girls basketball team win 20+ games. You’ve coached a lot of talented teams in your career. What makes this year’s team different than those others?
A. This is a totally different team than the ones in the past. This year’s team has the ability to score a bunch of points in a short period of time due to having great shooters and playmakers. We are not as defensive minded as in years past and I hope it does not catch up to us in the playoffs. It is hard to win championships by trying to outscore your opponents. Hopefully we will continue to work on defending and rebounding, because that is how you win championships.
Q. One of your assistants is your son Coby. How long has he been part of your staff, and what’s it like having a son as one of your assistants? Many coaches prefer to not see their kids get into coaching; what’s your hope for Coby?
A. One of the things God blessed me with is a son who has the same passion and love for the game of basketball. He was a gym rat growing up and truly loved playing the game, and now that is so evident in his coaching. It has been such a special blessing and bond to have him working in our program.
He is also a great coach right now and I let him put his special sauce into the mix of our program’s success. He pretty much runs our offense and has such a good feel for the offensive side of the ball. He is also great at skill development due to him working so hard to develop his skills when he was growing up.
He does so many things better than I do now, and I let him use his skills. He also has a better understanding of how players in today’s time think and react. My hope for him is for me to ride off into the sunset soon and he take our Buford girls basketball program to another level. I think he is the right person for the job.
