MADISON TOWNSHIP — Davey Hipp is a self-described basketball junkie.
And now, the 2017 Shelby grad will get his chance to make the game an even bigger part of his life. Hipp was hired as the next Madison boys basketball coach as he was chosen out of a pool of eight candidates. He takes over for Chris Armstrong who went 23-45 in three seasons at the helm and earned the Division I District 9 Coach of the Year honor in 2022. He left to take the head coaching job at Hillard Davidson near his home in Columbus.
“It is a big deal,” Hipp said. “I appreciate (Madison Athletic Director) Doug (Rickert) and the rest of the hiring committee for putting their trust in me. I know I am ready to lead a program. (Shelby coaches) Greg (Gallaway), Todd (Kehres), Steve (Hoffbauer) and Alex (Kurtzman) have helped me grow so much as a coach over the last couple of years and really taught me how to run a quality program.”
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Hipp starred at Shelby as a player from 2013-17 going 50-43 as a four-year letterman scoring 1,047 points. He is still the sixth leading scorer in program history. Hipp was a participant in the News Journal All-Star Classic in 2017 where he scored 28 points and tied a game record with eight three pointers which stood until 2019.
He moved on to play college basketball at Heidelberg and Muskingum. As soon as his playing days were over, Hipp joined the staff at Shelby and began building relationships at a very young age. He hopes to bring that youthfulness to the Rams.
“My main point in my interview was that I feel like I can relate so much with the kids because I am closer in age with them,” Hipp said. “That was how it was at Shelby and I think it will transfer rather well at Madison. I have been where they are. I have played a lot of basketball in my life, but there is also a fine line that I have to set as a coach and a friend. I have had great experiences so I am excited to have more at Madison with kids I can relate to and get to buy into the program.”
Hipp spent three years under Gallaway most recently helping the Whippets win a fifth consecutive Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference championship, the program’s first regional championship and an appearance in the Division II state semifinal game where they fell to eventual runner-up Maysville 68-65.
Hipp wants to bring many of the same values he learned at his alma mater to Madison.
“I liked what we did at Shelby with our core values so I will absolutely bring some of those cornerstones with me,” Hipp said. “But a lot of what I want to do has to do with life in general. Communication and being a good communicator will be a huge emphasis because that goes so far on the basketball court and in life. Being on the same page, being connected, talk through everything, communication is going to be huge in our program.”
The Rams struggled last season going 1-22 after going a combined 22-23 in the previous two seasons. The last winning season for Madison came in 2017-18 with a .500 season in 2021-22 being the closest the Rams have come since then. Madison had just three seniors on the roster last year so the Rams brings back plenty of experience to turn things around.
Hipp will preach patience, but will also set an expectation within his program.
“There will definitely have to be patience,” Hipp said. “We have to set expectations, but I won’t lie, I want to come in and win. I will never go into a game expecting to lose. If you are a player or coach who has that approach, you might as well not even be there. So, I am going to show up every single day expecting to win games, have some fun and get better.”
Hipp’s head coaching debut is set for Nov. 29 at home against Shelby.
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