53rd Men’s Awards Banquet approaches
(New Castle) -The Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame welcomes their 53rd class of inductees and honors other Indiana boys high school basketball legends on March 26 in ceremonies to be held at Primo Banquet Hall in Indianapolis.
Highlighting the evening’s ceremony, 14 men will be inducted into the Hall, recognized with the highest honor bestowed in Indiana high school basketball.
Among individuals to be inducted are three Indiana All-Stars, William “Bill” Russell (1963, Columbus), Ron Smith (1974, Elkhart Memorial) and David Gadis (1980, Pike).
2014 inductee Tom DeBaets coached South Bend Clay to a 1994 state championship victory.
Small school heroes included in this year’s class are Tom Chilton (1956 Austin), Les Habegger (1943 Berne), and Paul Weekley (deceased) coached 28 seasons as head coach at Shelburn and North Central (Farmersburg) high schools.
Others include Orsten Artis (1962 Gary Froebel), Jack Cross (1951 Rushville), William “Bill” Harmon (1973 Jennings County), Art Musselman (1956 Huntington) and Jack Waters (1957 Madison).
The recipient of this year’s Centennial Award to recognize contributions to Indiana high school basketball from 100 years ago is Lowell “Pug” Dale (1914 Lebanon) who is inducted posthumously. Dale scored 42 points in the final two games of the 1912 state finals for state champion Tigers, a record that held for 34 years.
Indiana Pacers 2014 Silver Medal Award recipient, Paul Patterson played at Hammond Morton and Hanover College. Patterson was head coach at Taylor University for 34 years accomplishing 734 wins, 28 winning seasons, 15 conference championships, 14 NAIA National Tournament appearances and National Coach of the Year.
Three men – Michael Bohan, Jerry Petro and the late Lloyd “Whip” Whipple – will be recognized with the Center Circle Officials Award.
18 men will be recognized as members of the 2014 Silver Anniversary Team – acknowledging their spot as one of the top senior basketball players in Indiana 25 years ago.
The 1964 Lafayette Jefferson team will be recognized for their 50th state championship anniversary along with the 1989 Lawrence North team, respectively, of winning an IHSAA state crown 25 years ago.
Seats remain for the event, which will draw a crowd of over 1,000. Cost for the event, including a 6:00 PM dinner, is $50 for adults. Reservations may be made by calling (765) 529-1891 or ordering online.
A reception – open to the public and free of charge – will take place at the Hall of Fame museum in New Castle between 11:00 AM (ET) and 1:00 PM on March 26.