2015 Men’s Inductees Announced
(New Castle) – Loaded with basketball talent and tradition, the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame proudly announces their 2015 mens induction class, to be honored at the 54th annual Mens Awards Banquet on Wednesday, March 25, 2015.
John Bass was Indiana’s 3rd Mr. Basketball in history (1941) after leading all of Johnson County in scoring for three seasons. He starred for Greenwood, leading the Woodmen to 1940 and ’41 sectional championships. The 1940 sectional title snapped Franklin’s 22-year sectional championship streak and a streak of 83 consecutive sectional victories. A World War II veteran, Bass lived and worked in Greenwood prior to his death in April 1989.
Harold “Buster” Briley remains the all-time leading scorer at Madison H.S. (1,985 points) and graduated as the 4th leading scorer in the history of the then-Evansville College (1,335). A member of Madison teams that were 81-17 over his four years, he played on Evansville’s 1964 NCAA College Division national champion team, when he was named to the five-man all-tournament team. He was an A.P. All-American and held the Roberts Stadium record for longest made shot (86 feet). A resident of Boonville, Briley has been employed in insurance.
Danny Brown set the career scoring record at Jennings County H.S. (1,960 points) en route to selection as a 1973 Indiana All-Star, high school All-American honors and career at the University of Louisville. At Jennings County, he averaged 27.5 points per game as a junior on the state’s highest scoring team of all-time (92.9 ppg). At Louisville, he was a member of three NCAA Tournament teams, including their 1975 Final Four squad. Now in his 16th season as a high school girls head coach with over 230 wins at Jennings County, Greensburg and Columbus East, he is in his 12th year at Columbus East.
Bill Depp holds the Johnson County record for highest career scoring average (25.7ppg), after putting up unprecedented numbers at Edinburgh H.S. Scoring 1,078 points in 47 career games, the pinnacle of his prep career was a 65-point, 31-rebound effort his senior year against Charlottesville. A standout at Vanderbilt University, he was a two-time 1st team all-SEC selection and graduated as their 3rd all-time leading rebounder (752) and leader in rebounds per game (10.5). Depp was a 3rd round selection of the Boston Celtics in the 1961 NBA Draft. Retired from a career in business, he resides in Franklin, Tennessee.
Harry “Flo” Flournoy graduated from Gary Emerson to become part of one of the most noted college basketball teams of all-time. A three-year starter at Texas Western College (now UTEP), Flournoy was the leading rebounder for their 1966 NCAA national champion team, the first national championship team to start five African-Americans and the basis for the feature film “Glory Road.” Following the victory, Flournoy was featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated, grabbing a rebound from Pat Riley. Flournoy graduated as the school’s 2nd all-time leading rebounder and remains 4th in program history. Retired from a career in education and sales, he resides in McDonough, Georgia.
Rick Goins set multiple scoring records at Rushville H.S., leading the Lions to a 1976 state runner-up finish and Indiana All-Star accolades. Goins set school records for single-game (45) and season (622) scoring efforts, season field goal percentage (55.1%) as well as season (22.2 ppg) and career (18.4 ppg) scoring averages. Goins scored 1,230 points at Miami University, graduating as their 6th all-time leading scorer and a two-time all-conference selection. A 30-year employee at the Internal Revenue Service, he resides in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Jerry Lewis was a basketball standout at Reelsville H.S. and Indiana Central College before launching a wildly successful high school coaching career. Setting the NAIA single-season free throw percentage (.938) record and career free throw record (.846), Lewis scored 1,265 career points at Indiana Central. As a 25-year Indiana high school coach, Lewis’ teams at Roachdale, North Miami and Norwell won 354 games, 9 sectionals, and three regionals, twice reaching the semi-state finals. With 304 wins in 20 seasons at Norwell, he is the school’s and Wells County’s winningest coach. He resides in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina.
Vic Molodet translated a standout career at East Chicago Washington H.S. into an All-American career for legendary coach Everett Case at North Carolina State. Earning ACC all-conference honors each of his three varsity seasons, the point guard scored 1,405 career points and helped the Wolfpack to three straight ACC championships, leading to 1st team all-conference, ACC Tournament MVP and Converse 1st team All-American honors for Molodet in 1956. Molodet was a member of the Boston Celtics’ most notable draft class, selected in 1956 along with Bill Russell, Tom Heinson, K.C. Jones, and Sam Jones. He resides in Greensboro, North Carolina.
Marvin Pruett led Springs Valley H.S. to an undefeated regular season and 1958 state finals appearance in the school’s first year of existence. Scoring 1,625 career points at West Baden H.S. and the consolidated Springs Valley, he averaged 25.1 points as a senior, leading to selection as a 1959 Indiana All-Star. He started 79 consecutive games for Evansville College, where he scored 1,122 points, earning Little All-American honors. Retired from a career in business and insurance, he resides in Newburgh.
Roger Schroder was a member of Milan High School’s legendary back-to-back state finalist teams, including as a senior on their 1954 state championship squad. A three-sport athlete at Franklin College, Schroder embarked on a 31-year teaching and coaching career in Indianapolis Public Schools that included 19 years as head coach at John Marshall H.S. and three seasons as head coach at Broad Ripple H.S. His teams won 258 games and three sectional championships. Retired, he resides in Indianapolis.
Dan Sparks was a three-sport athlete at Bloomington High School who became Indiana’s all-time winningest college basketball coach. Averaging 14 points and a team-high 15 rebounds for Vincennes University’s 1965 Junior College national champions, he was the team MVP for Weber State College’s 1968 NCAA Tournament team before being drafted by the NBA’s Cincinnati Royals and playing for the ABA Miami Floridians. In 26 seasons as head coach at Vincennes University, his teams won 706 games and 79% of their games, leading to 13 NJCAA Finals appearances, including a national runner-up finish in 1986. Including seven seasons as head coach at Wabash Valley Junior College (IL), he retired in 2013 with 869 career wins, having coached 24 NJCAA All-Americans, 4 1st round NBA Draft picks and 15 players to play professionally. He resides in Vincennes.
Dean Weirich became Elkhart County’s all-time leading scorer (1,823 points) behind prolific seasons at Northridge H.S. Averaging 29.8 points and 17.1 rebounds as a junior, he averaged 31.8 points and 16 rebounds in his 1971-72 senior season for the 19-3 Raiders and set school scoring records for game, season and career. Scoring 1,023 points in two seasons at Bethel College, he set multiple records including career scoring average (23.2 ppg), leading to 1976 NCCAA All-American and NAIA All-District honors. Employed in the RV industry, he resides in Middlebury.
The recipient of this year’s Indiana Pacers Silver Medal award, which includes Hall of Fame induction, is longtime official and friend of Indiana high school basketball, Jimmy Dimitroff. Estimated to have worked 8,000 high school and college basketball games, he worked the first of his 35 sectional tournaments at the age of 22. Along the way, he also worked five state finals, the inaugural Hall of Fame Classic, the Indiana – Kentucky All-Star series, as well as college games in the MCC, Hoosier Collegiate Conference and Indiana Conference. A recipient of the Indiana Basketball Coaches Association’s Roy Gardner Award and of the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame’s inaugural Center Circle Award in 2002, he was a President and officer of the Indiana Officials Association. Today, he continues to assist the Indiana Basketball Coaches Association and Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame with their officiating needs. He resides in Indianapolis.
Herman “Suz” Sayger receives the Centennial Award, created to recognize those who contributed to Indiana high school basketball more than 100 years ago. A 1914 graduate of Culver High School, he scored a state record 113 points in a single-game against Winamac during his junior season. His senior season, the 5’10” athlete turned in single-game efforts of 79, 55 and 52 points and averaged 29.5 points per gamefor the season, leading to 1st team all-state honors from the Indianapolis News and Indiana Daily Student. A four-year leading scorer at Heidelberg College, he was named all-Ohio in both basketball and football and became athletic director, head football coach and basketball coach at his alma mater. Later a publisher of sports magazines and books, he died in 1970.
On the 30th anniversary of their undefeated state championship, the 1985 Marion Giants team will be inducted collectively, becoming just the 8th boys team to gain this distinction. The 6th undefeated team in the history of the Indiana boys high school basketball state tournament, the Giants went 29-0 en route to the school’s 4thstate championship and the first of their three consecutive championships during their “Purple Reign” era. Defeating North Central Conference rival Richmond in the 1985 championship game 74-67, the Giants were led by Hall of Fame coach Bill Green and led in scoring by senior Lefon Bowens and sophomores Lyndon Jones and Jay Edwards.
The Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame’s 54thannual Mens’ Awards Banquet will be held on Wednesday, March 25, 2015. 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.
Reservations are available online now or through mail order in early 2015. Call the Hall at 765-529-1891 or visit www.hoopshall.com for more information or email info@hoopshall.com.