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The Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame Board of Directors announces the 2017 Mens’ Induction Class to be honored on Wednesday, March 22, 2017.              

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 Indiana Basketball HOF announces 56^th induction class

(New Castle) – Including three members of state championship teams, two members of NCAA national champion teams, four with noted coaching careers, multiple NCAA All-Americans, a basketball historian, a coach/astronomer and two players joining elite company in first year eligibility induction, the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame proudly announces their 56^th men’s induction class.

Of note, Alan Henderson and Glenn Robinson are inducted in their first year eligible (26 years after high school graduation), joining a select group of just nine players previously inducted into the Hall in their first year of eligibility (Steve Alford, Damon Bailey, Kent Benson, Larry Bird, Dave Colescott, Kyle Macy, George McGinnis, Rick Mount and Oscar Robertson).

Edward “Jingles” Engelhart is noted for his playing and coaching career.  The leading scorer on the Washington Hatchets’ 1930 state championship team and their 1929 state finalist squad as well, Engelhart was a two-time 1st team all-state selection teaming with fellow HOF inductee Dave DeJernett and HOF coach Burl Friddle to guide the Hatchets to a 31-1 record his senior year. A four-year starter at Central Normal College in Danville, he twice earned Indiana Collegiate all-state honors.  Over his high school and college playing career, his teams were 130-29 (.818).  A 23-year coach and 20-year athletic director at Merrillville High School, Engelhart won 307 games as coach from 1937 – 1960.  His teams recorded 17 consecutive winning seasons and in 1957, Merrillville High School named their basketball facility Engelhart Gymnasium.  Following retirement as a teacher and athletic director in 1972, he died in 1987.

Bill Hampton was a part of one of Indiana’s all-time great high school basketball teams and dynasties.  A senior starter on Crispus Attucks’ 30-1 1955 state championship squad under HOF coach Ray Crowe, Hampton earned all-sectional, all-regional and all-state honors amongst a cast of three other teammates who are also Indiana Basketball HOF inductees (Oscar Robertson, Willie Merriweather and Bill Scott).  Over his junior and senior seasons, Attucks was 51-5 with Hampton in the starting lineup.  A two-time all-conference player at Indiana Central College, he averaged 18.1 points per game in 1956-57 for the NAIA Regional Champions, scoring 20 or more points in nine of 20 games.  Employed with the Marion County Sheriff’s department for 11 years, a district regional manager in insurance as well as owner of Hampton Janitorial Service, he is retired and resides in Indianapolis.

Alan Henderson is recognized for one of the greatest all-around careers in Indiana basketball history.  Setting numerous records in his career at Brebeuf Preparatory, he averaged 27.4 points and 15.4 rebounds per game as a senior, leading Brebeuf to a state runner-up finish and earning Henderson 1^st team All-American honors.  Totaling 2,419 career points, he graduated as the all-time leading scorer in Marion County history and 5^th in IHSAA history.  In a record-breaking career at Indiana University, he set the career blocks record (213) and remains the program’s all-time leading rebounder (1,091).  He is the only player in IU history to rank in the top five in career points (1,979), rebounds, blocks and steals (148), was named a 1995 NCAA All-American and was selected as one of 15 players on IU’s All-Century Team.  A 1995 1^st round NBA Draft pick of the Atlanta Hawks, he played 12 seasons in the NBA and was named the 1998 NBA Most Improved Player.  Since his NBA retirement in 2007, he now resides in Indianapolis.

Phil Isenbarger averaged 19.8 points and 18 rebounds per game as a senior at Muncie North High School, earning a scholarship to Indiana University.  Under HOF coach Myron Dickerson, Isenbarger led the Titans to a 57-11 stretch in three seasons, including sectional and conference championships and earning all-conference and all-state honors.  A four-year player at Indiana University, he was a part of two Big Ten Conference champions, three NCAA tournament teams, the 1979 NIT tournament champions and was a senior co-captain of the Hoosiers’ 1981 NCAA National Champion squad.  Heavily involved in coaching youth sports beyond his playing career, he has been a recipient of the Lionel Dubay Award for contributions to Zionsville youth sports and has served as an assistant boys and girls basketball coach at Zionsville High School for over 20 years.  A partner at Bingham Greenebaum Doll Law Firm in Indianapolis, he resides in Zionsville.

Jim Lyttle was a remarkable multi-sport athlete who left his mark in Southeastern Indiana.  A four-sport athlete at North Dearborn High School (now East Central H.S.), he totaled a school-record 1,072 career points, leading the Vikings to a 57-13 record and the first three sectional championships in school history in his three seasons.  He was named all-conference, all-sectional and all-regional each three times, while also earning widespread acclaim in baseball.  A scholarship to Florida State University presented an opportunity to play basketball and baseball – he averaged 14.1 points as a freshman and 12.4 points as a sophomore – scoring in double figures in 20 of 26 games – before earning 1^st team All-American baseball honors and being selected by the New York Yankees’ with the 10^th pick in the 1^st round of the 1966 amateur draft.  He played eight seasons in Major League Baseball followed by seven seasons of professional baseball in Japan.  His coaching career included coaching basketball at Boca Academy in Florida, along with numerous baseball coaching stops, including Florida Atlantic University.  He resides in Boca Raton, Florida.

From a long line of basketball greats in Grant County, Herb McPherson was a standout at Mississinewa High School and beyond.  Scoring 1,736 points for a career scoring average of 21.2 points per game, he set a Grant County record with 697 career field goals made and remains the 3^rd leading scorer in county history.  A four-year player for the Indians, McPherson averaged 28.8 points per game as a senior.  Continuing to showcase his scoring prowess at Murray State University, he was a three-time team MVP who totaled 1,513 points in three varsity seasons.  Averaging more than 21 points per game as a junior and senior, he set a single-game school record with 44 points during his junior campaign.  Named to the Kentucky College All-Star team, he was MVP in both games against the Indiana squad, scoring a combined 54 points.  McPherson was a 5^th round pick of the 1967 NBA Draft to the San Diego Rockets.  His coaching career included head coaching stints at Mississinewa and North Posey high schools and varsity assistant at Marion High School.  Retired, he lives in Marion.

Bob Reinhart emerged from small-town Southern Indiana to make a lifelong impact in basketball at the high school, college and professional levels.  A point guard for Dale High School (now a part of Heritage Hills H.S.), Reinhart led the team in assists and was the 2^nd leading scorer (to fellow Indiana Basketball HOF inductee, Roger Kaiser) for the Golden Aces’ 1956 and 1957 sectional champions.  A member of teams that were 54-12, Reinhart was named twice all-conference, twice all-sectional and twice all-regional.  A two-sport athlete at Indiana University, he played basketball under Branch McCracken before excelling as a member of the Hoosiers’ baseball program – he was captain of the 1961 team that set the best single-season winning percentage in program history.  His coaching career included a stop at Oakland City H.S. (now Wood Memorial H.S.) before a path to greatness in Georgia.  As head coach at Decatur H.S. in suburban Atlanta from 1970-84, his teams were 305-63 (.829), winning three state championships and twice more finishing as state runner-up.  Among over 23 Coach of the Year honors, he was named Georgia high school Coach of the Year three times.  In 1984, he jumped from Decatur to a spot on the Atlanta Hawks bench under Mike Fratello, before taking over the head coaching position at Georgia State University in 1986.  Leading Georgia State from 1986-1993, he became the winningest coach in school history and led them to an appearance in the 1991 NCAA Tournament.  Since 1993, he has been an NBA scout for six teams, currently with the Miami Heat since 2008.  He resides in Atlanta, Georgia.

Steve Risley set numerous career records at Lawrence Central to become part of an NCAA National Championship team.  Averaging a double-double over three years at L.C., he averaged 24.4 points and 12.4 rebounds for their sectional champions as a junior and averaged 24.5 points and 12.1 rebounds as a senior, leading the Bears to a regional championship, in addition to two Marion County titles.  In all, his 1,690 points and 1,172 rebounds were school records, in addition to records for steals and blocked shots.  Following selection as a 1977 Indiana All-Star, he enrolled at Indiana University, where he was part of two Big Ten Conference champions, three NCAA tournament teams, the 1979 NIT champions and 1981 NCAA National Championship team.  Following a professional career in Italy, he served in the office of then- U.S. Senator Dan Quayle, followed by a 24-year career with Pfizer Pharmaceuticals.  He lives in Fishers.

Earning induction in his first year of eligibility, Glenn Robinson is an Indiana high school and college legend with a lengthy pro career.  The 1991 Indiana Mr. Basketball after leading Gary Roosevelt to a state championship victory, he was a two-year 1^st team all-state selection after scoring 1,710 career points (21.6 career HS ppg).  Scoring another 1,706 points in just two seasons at Purdue University, he set the Big Ten single-season scoring record with 1,030 points leading the Boilers to the NCAA Elite Eight as a sophomore (30.3 ppg), leading to unanimous selection as 1994 Big Ten Player of the Year and being named 1994 NCAA National Player of the Year as winner of the Naismith Award, Wooden Award and USBWA Player of the Year honors.  The #1 draft pick of the 1994 NBA Draft to the Milwaukee Bucks, Robinson scored over 14,000 points in an 11-year career with four franchises.  The 2^nd all-time leading scorer in Milwaukee Bucks team history (behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar), he was also a member of the 2005 World Champion San Antonio Spurs.  Retired, he lives in Roswell, Georgia.

Dave Sanders set scoring records in Central Indiana, first at Sheridan High School and later at Butler University.  Playing under HOF coach Larry Hobbs, Sanders led the Blackhawks to a sectional championship his junior year and followed it up as the Hamilton County scoring champ his senior year, averaging 24.2 points and 13.9 rebounds per game.  Along the way, he set the school single-game scoring record of 36 points.  At Butler, he averaged 15.4 points and 7.9 rebounds as a junior and capped his career with averages of 20.6 points and 8.9 rebounds as a senior, setting Butler records for single-season scoring (536) and single-season field goals made (228) and totaling 1,103 career points with the Bulldogs.  In 2003, he was inducted into the Butler Athletics Hall of Fame.  Receiving a PhD in Organic Chemistry from Ohio State University, he rose to become Associate Vice President of Research and Development at Great Lakes Chemical Corporation in a 35-year career there. 

Over the course of more than 50 years, the name Al Tucker has been made synonymous with Cloverdale High School basketball.  A 1957 graduate of Patricksburg High School (now Owen Valley H.S.), he served in the U.S. Navy before enrolling as a student at Indiana State University.  Hired as JV coach at Cloverdale in 1964, he was on staff with HOF coach Jim Miller for their 1965 regional champion and 1966 state finalist teams before taking over the program in 1967.  Over a 17-year span, his teams established consistent success, winning 256 games, seven sectional championships, one regional title and five 20+ win seasons.  He led his team to the 1982 Hall of Fame Classic and coached Indiana All-Stars Rick Ford and Chad Tucker.  An agent with State Farm Insurance for 23 years, he has been recognized by Indiana State University as a recipient of their “Coaching Alumnus of the Year” award and in 2015, Cloverdale named their floor “Tucker Court”.  Retired, he resides in Cloverdale.

Matt Waddell filled up the stat sheets at Tipton High School before helping the Purdue Boilermakers to two Big Ten titles.  Setting 12 school records at Tipton under HOF coach Larry Angle – including 1,677 career points, 674 assists, 576 rebounds and 332 steals – he averaged 32.2 points, 9.3 rebounds and 7.0 assists as a senior, leading to selection as a 1990 Indiana All-Star.  A starter for Purdue’s 1994 and 1995 Big Ten champions and their 1994 NCAA Elite Eight squad, he scored 1,170 career points and ranks among the leaders in program history in assists (460), steals (124), three-point field goals (109) and percentage (40.2%), and free throw percentage (82.6%).  Employed with Eli Lilly & Company, he resides in Carmel.

The recipient of this year’s Indiana Pacers Silver Medal award, which includes Hall of Fame induction, is former Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame executive director, Ron Newlin.   The Silver Medal – given to someone for outstanding contribution to Indiana high school basketball other than as an Indiana high school basketball player or coach – is presented to Newlin, who served as executive director of the HOF from 1987 through 1995.  His most public involvement during his tenure came as the organization constructed and opened their current museum in New Castle in June 1990.  The project was heavily influenced by Newlin and his background, previously having served as assistant director at the Indiana State Museum.  Newlin also oversaw a $1.7 million statewide capital campaign to help fund construction of the museum, as well as grow the organization’s membership and donor base and create its’ Indiana Basketball History quarterly magazine, before departing the organization five years after the museum’s opening.  A sophomore at Akron High School during its’ 1974 sectional championship season, he graduated from Tippecanoe Valley High School in 1976 following consolidation.  He holds a degree in history from Ball State University.  Employed with Bloomerang, a start-up fund-raising software company, he resides in Indianapolis.

Edwin Hubble receives the Centennial Award, created to recognize those who contributed to Indiana high school basketball more than 100 years ago.  As the coach at New Albany High School, he led the team to an undefeated regular season in 1913-14 and deep into the state tournament.  Trouncing their opponents in the regular season, they thrashed rivals like Jeffersonville (40-3), Scottsburg (100-5), Salem (38-8) and Lexington (KY) (50-12), before bowing out in the quarterfinals of the 32-team state finals in Bloomington.  A noted athlete himself, he was highly regarded at Wheaton Central (IL) H.S., where he graduated in 1906 and at the University of Chicago, where he was a member of their 1908 mythical national championship basketball team.  His coaching tenure at New Albany came early in his career, before excelling in science.  A Rhodes Scholar at Oxford and earning a PhD in Astronomy at the University of Chicago, he made numerous discoveries and contributions to astronomy from the Mount Wilson Observatory in California before his death in 1953.  Renowned and respected for his contributions to astronomy, he was the namesake of the Hubble Telescope launched into space in 1990.

The Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame’s 56^th annual Men’s Awards Banquet will be held on Wednesday, March 22, 2017.  The day’s events will include a reception at the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame museum in New Castle 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 2017.  Call the Hall at 765-529-1891, visit www.hoopshall.com or email info@hoopshall.com for more information. You may purchase a congratulatory ad for an inductee or honoree either online or through the mail.