2013 Men’s Inductees Announced
Loaded with basketball talent and tradition, the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame proudly announces their 2013 mens induction class, including two Indiana Mr. Basketball winners, two members of Indiana state championship teams, a member of an NCAA National Championship squad and two men who created one of the top sports movies of all-time.
James Master and Dan Palombizio won Indiana-s Mr. Basketball title in 1980 and 1981, respectively, setting records along the way. Master, who scored 1,592 career points at Harding High School, set the Fort Wayne city scoring record, while Palombizio graduated as Indiana-s 9th all-time leading scorer with 2,092 career points and was Indiana-s 2nd ever three-time 1st team all-state player (Fuzzy Vandivier).
LeVern Benson played in consecutive state championship games, as a sophomore on Crispus Attucks- 1956 state champs and a junior on their 1957 state runner-up squad. Phil Dawkins captained East Chicago Washington to their 1960 state championship, leading the Senators in scoring during their tournament run, including the deciding points in their one-point semi-final win over Fort Wayne Central and a team-high 21 points in the championship victory over Muncie Central.
Chuck Franz tied or broke 24 school records at Clarksville, including a 51-point performance in a 1979 sectional championship victory over New Albany and was a sophomore member of Indiana University-s 1981 NCAA National Champions.
Bob Heady scored over 1,100 points at Frankton H.S. as a player before embarking on a 383-win high school head coaching career at Griffith, Wawasee, Shenandoah and Carmel high schools. He took Shenandoah (1981) and Carmel (1993) to one-class state finals appearances.
Graduates from the 1940s include Dick Piper from Wabash County-s Chester Township H.S., who led his team to an undefeated regular season and the school-s only regional championship in 1948. The season was highlighted by wins over powerhouse programs Kokomo and Marion in the one-day regional. The late Robert Rousey of Anderson was the leading scorer in the North Central Conference in 1949 and captain of the Indiana All-Star team the same year before a career at Kansas State University.
Carl Meditch outscored the likes of Oscar Robertson and Willie Merriweather in 1955 to be Indianapolis- leading scorer and the leading scorer in the North Central Conference. Alan Nass was an Indiana All-Star leading Huntingburg to a 40-9 record over his junior and senior seasons before captaining a 21-5 Georgia Tech team in 1963.
Gene Demaree scored 1,361 points at Ripley County-s New Marion H.S., leading the school of 65 students to a 23-3 record, its- first ever sectional championship (1961) and scored a combined 64 points over two regional games. Bill -Fig- Newton averaged over 23 points and 19 rebounds per game as a senior at Rockville in 1968, averaged over 18 points per game at Louisiana State, was an alternate for the 1972 U.S. Olympic team and member of the 1973 ABA champion Indiana Pacers.
Scott Haffner led Noblesville to an undefeated regular season in 1984 while averaging 28 points per game, set a University of Evansville single-game record with 65 points, and was drafted into the NBA. The late Chad Tucker scored 1,338 career points at Cloverdale H.S. before becoming Butler University-s all-time leading scorer (2,321) and playing seven seasons of professional basketball in Europe.
Indiana natives David Anspaugh and Angelo Pizzo have each been selected as recipients of the St.Vincent Health Silver Medal Award. The honor, which includes Hall of Fame induction, is in recognition of contributions to Indiana high school basketball other than as an Indiana high school player or coach. The duo created the 1986 film -Hoosiers-; Anspaugh was director, while Pizzo was the film-s screenwriter and producer.
The Centennial Award, created two years ago to recognize those who contributed to Indiana high school basketball more than 100 years ago, goes to John Forest -Cranie- Crane of Wingate, who scored game-winning baskets in 1913 state finals games against Rochester and in the overtime state championship game against South Bend.
The Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame-s 52nd annual Mens- Awards Banquet will be held on Wednesday, March 20, 2013. The day-s events will include a reception at the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame museum that afternoon with a banquet that evening at the Primo Banquet Hall in Indianapolis. Tickets will be made available in early 2013. Call the Hall at 765-529-1891 or visit www.hoopshall.com for more information or email info@hoopshall.com.
2013 INDIANA BASKETBALL HALL OF FAME
MEN-S INDUCTION CLASS
GRAD.
NAME HIGH SCHOOL DATE
LeVern Benson Crispus Attucks 1958
Phil Dawkins East Chicago Washington 1960
Gene Demaree New Marion 1961
Chuck Franz Clarksville 1979
Scott Haffner Noblesville 1984
Bob Heady Frankton 1960
James Master Harding 1980
Carl Meditch Indianpolis Arsenal Tech 1955
Alan Nass Huntingburg 1959
Bill -Fig- Newton Rockville 1968
Dan Palombizio Michigan City Rogers 1981
Dick Piper Chester Township 1948
Robert Rousey Anderson 1949
Chad Tucker Cloverdale 1983
St.Vincent Health Silver Medal
David Anspaugh Decatur, IN
Angelo Pizzo Bloomington, IN
Centennial Award
John Forest -Cranie- Crane Wingate 1913