Jannon Lampley did not know she was even eligible to replace Antoine Wynne as Lawrence Central girls basketball coach until a school custodian asked if she had gotten the job a few days before the application period closed.

Lampley, an Urbana, Ohio native, was Wynne's associate head coach last season, but thought you had to work for the school in order to serve as head coach. She was content with being an assistant — "I liked the idea of not being a head coach because let's be honest, everything falls on them," Lampley laughed — and planned to meet with Wynne's replacement and take things from there.

But upon learning there is no such rule in Indiana, the Purdue alum decided to apply for the job.

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A few weeks, two interviews and the requisite board meeting later, Lampley was officially hired as head coach.

"Everything was totally unexpected," said Lampley, adding that a year ago she and her husband were happy to have found a high school that fit them and their five children. "Someone asked me if I was ready. I said, 'Well, I'm knowledgeable and I know what I'm doing. Am I ready? No. Am I preparing? Yes.' That's the honest answer."

Experience certainly won't be an issue for Lampley.

A four-year letterwinner, Lampley (née Roland) helped the Boilermakers to three Big Ten championships and three NCAA tournaments, with a Final Four appearance in 1994. She was named 1997 Big Ten Player of the Year and graduated with 1,662 career points.

Lampley played professionally in the ABL, WNBA and in France, before entering the coaching ranks, first at the high school level and on the AAU circuit in Ohio, then at Purdue, where she served as an assistant from 2003-06.

More recently, Lampley has worked with Hamilton Southeastern's grassroots program and the developmental youth program in Lawrence township. She and her husband, a Gary native, founded the Indiana Blaze, an independent AAU program.

Lampley inherits a youthful Lawrence Central team that finished 12-11 last season and is set to return two of its top scorers, including 6-1 sophomore-to-be Jaylah Lampley, Jannon's oldest, who averaged over 16 points, six rebounds, two assists and two steals. She and younger sister Lola Lampley, a 6-2 eighth grader, have already received offers from multiple Division I programs, most recently from Harvard.

The Bears will also be bolstered by the return of sophomore-to-be point guard Laila Abdurraqib, who averaged around 11 points over eight games (limited due to injury), and rising junior Natalia Franklin, one of the team's top rebounders.

Lampley said she plans to run a read-and-react style of offense, while defensively they'll look to speed teams up, while remaining disciplined and fundamentally sound. The focus, she continued, will be on developing individual skill-sets and teaching them reads to help enhance their basketball IQ.

"The goal is for them to be able to play in any basketball environment and be successful when they leave here."

Follow Brian Haenchen on Twitter at @Brian_Haenchen.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: IHSAA girls basketball: Jannon Lampley hired as Lawrence Central coach