Jan Azar was sitting on the sofa, casually enjoying a college basketball game, when suddenly she jumped to her feet and ran into the other room.
“Where are you going?” asked her husband David.
“To get something to write with,” she replied. “I just saw a play I hadn’t seen. and I don’t want to forget it.”
It was another example of Azar’s “never too old to learn” philosophy and indicative of her personality that has led the Hebron Christian coach to unparalleled heights of success.
Azar has won more state championships than any basketball coach in the history of the Georgia High School Association, with 16 — 13 at Wesleyan, where she began her career in 1997-98, and three in five seasons at Hebron Christian. Her teams have been state runners-up on six other occasions. Her career record is 736-115.
This year, despite season-ending knee injuries to two of their best players, the Lions are 16-1, ranked No. 1 in Class 2A and No. 4 in the nation by MaxPreps.
“Winning a trophy is the expectation, and it’s a great way to live life,” she said. “But we tell our girls, while you do want to win that trophy, don’t forget to enjoy the journey along the way. I continue to remind that to myself and my players.”
The career journey has been an interesting one for Azar, a graduate of St. Pius who began as a math teacher — she has a master’s degree in math — and had no thoughts about coaching until being asked to lead the ninth-grade team at Druid Hills High School. Then the light came on.
“I got on that court for the first time and just loved it,” Azar said. “I didn’t start off coaching thinking that I wanted to win this many state championship. I just wanted to impact kids and do something that I loved.”
After a couple of stops, Azar was working as an assistant coach at Pace Academy when she had to choose between a pair of opportunities. She could return to St. Pius and be an assistant coach with the boys program or become the head girls varsity coach at Wesleyan, a new school in Norcross where she would be starting from scratch.
“I had always coached girls and decided that’s where my passion was,” she said. “So I decided to just take a chance and go to a school that no one had ever heard off. And I really got the job because they didn’t have anyone else.”
Azar laughed when she recalled a conversation with Zach Young, the headmaster at Wesleyan.
“He said, ‘Are you ready to be a head coach?’ and I said, ‘Well, do you have anyone else?’ He said he didn’t, so he gave me a chance, and then it all happened from there,” she said.
It wasn’t instant magic. That first team went 4-16 in 1997-98 and improved to 14-10 and 16-10. The breakthrough came in 2000-21, when Wesleyan went 31-2 and finished second in the state tournament.
Wesleyan won its first title in 2002, then won it all again in 2004, 2005 and 2006. After finishing second in 2007, the Wolves claimed state titles for the next six seasons, from 2008-13. From that point they never finished worse than second in the state — runner-up in 2014, champion in 2015, runner-up in 2016 and champion in 2017 and 2018, and runner-up in 2019.
A few weeks after the 2019 state tournament, Azar resigned her position. Less than a month later she was introduced as the new varsity coach at Hebron Christian.
“That was a hard decision, but it was the right decision,” she said. “I love the way at Hebron that everyone’s for each other and how success breeds success. The football team won the state championship. The volleyball team won the state championship. Softball was state runner-up. It’s just a fun place to be right now, and it does remind me of the days when Wesleyan was beginning to grow and win. I’ll always love my time at Wesleyan and the school and the success we had in building that school.”
Although the surroundings were different, the results were the same. Azar guided the Lions to the school’s first trip to the Final Four. Hebron Christian won the state title in 2021, was runner-up in 2022 and won titles again in 2023 and 2024. The 2023 team was notable for going 32-0, Azar’s first undefeated team.
Last year’s team went 32-2, won the state championship and earned a spot in The Throne National Championship Tournament in New Jersey — which the Lions won.
A repeat will be more difficult this season but can’t be ruled out. Despite losing Georgia commit Aubrey Beckham, one of the state’s top-rated guards, and Gabby Minus, a 6-foot junior, the Lions have not missed a beat.
“We told our girls, no one is going to feel sorry for us, and that’s a great life lesson,” Azar said. “When things aren’t great, you can’t sit back and talk about what’s not going well, you have to find a way to make good with what you have. That’s not just in basketball, that’s in everything.”
Wesleyan has adopted the slogan “Find a Way” this season and so far it’s been working. The four remaining seniors — Camryn Register, JaKerra Butler, Mia James and Danielle Osho — and junior Alanna Beckham make up the team’s core. Osho, a Miami commit, is ranked as the top power forward in the state.
“Those five are the ones that make us go and we have three sophomores that we’ve called upon and their time is growing more now that they’re getting more key moments,” Azar said.
There’s less trepidation to use the younger players since most have come up through the school’s youth program. Azar oversees the school’s Lions Academy, a youth league program that has 300 players from K-6 in the program. Those youngsters are coached by the high school girls, who are responsible for the league’s various teams.
And success continues to breed success. Like most high-end programs, Hebron does get transfers — 6-footer Minus moved in from Macon — but Azar prefers to grow from within. Among those enrolled are eighth grader Jaden Williams, the daughter of longtime NBA standout and Gwinnett County product Lou Williams, and seventh grader Erin Witherspoon, the daughter of former Berkmar star and current coach Will Witherspoon.
Azar has no plans to retire any time soon. Both of her children have graduated; Nicole, who set the Gwinnett County record for 3-pointers, is a sophomore at Western Carolina; Andrew is playing baseball at Truett-McConnell. Azar has a great support staff with assistants Kelly Romine, Jill Brown and Demetrius Frazier, who has been with her since Wesleyan days. And there’s something enjoyable about being able to chase state championships.
Now in her 50s, Azar said she doesn’t have a timetable for when she’ll step away. “As long as I continue to enjoy pieces of it and find it fun, I’ll keep doing it,” she said.
Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC
Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC
Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC
Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC
Credit: Jason Getz / AjC
Credit: Jason Getz / AjC
