Former Big Walnut standout Carey Largent to guide Golden Eagles girls basketball program
As a former standout player in the program, Carey Largent has fond memories of her time with the Big Walnut girls basketball team.
She plans to share those memories with Golden Eagles players and make new ones after being named coach July 18, pending school board approval.
“I love this community and I’m super excited for the opportunity,” Largent said. “I want them to know that I know how to win and I’m competitive. I know the game from my playing (here) and playing in college, and hopefully I’m able to raise the level of intensity. That’s something that I will really be focusing on.”
She will replace Jason Crawford, who resigned after going 72-47 in five seasons.
“Jason has done such a great job with the youth program,” Largent said. “We have really great numbers in the youth program, so my goal is to continue that and really try to pull them through so they don’t drop off.”
A 1998 graduate of Big Walnut, Largent was a four-year starter who scored 1,152 points and helped the Eagles win three league championships. She was named first-team all-state, all-district and all-league as a senior and first-team all-district and all-league and honorable mention all-state as a junior.
Largent, 42, went on to play at Kent State and the College of Charleston, where she graduated with a degree in business administration in 2002.
She previously served as an assistant coach at Worthington Christian and Bexley.
In addition, she has been a part of Ohio Impact AAU and the Central Ohio Basketball Association for the past five years.
“We’re super excited about having Carey onboard,” athletics director Brian Shelton said. “Carey is a legend here. She’s in our hall of fame. She’s super talented. She went on to play basketball at the next level. ... She was clearly the No. 1 choice.”
Largent said she will meet with her new team July 20.
She lives in Galena with her husband of 16 years, Justin, and their four children.
“It’s always good to bring back somebody that people know instead of having somebody that maybe nobody knows,” Shelton said. “It’s nice to have some connections, but ultimately just for her basketball knowledge, her ability to relate to the girls, her ability to challenge them, that’s what I’m excited about the most.”
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This article originally appeared on ThisWeek: Former Big Walnut standout named coach of girls basketball team
