News

The Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame Board of Directors announces
the 2024 Men’s Induction Class to be honored on Wednesday, March 20, 2024.

Indiana Basketball HOF announces 62^nd Men’s Induction Class

(NEW CASTLE) – Basketball is passion, and that passion continues to be shown throughout the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame.  That passion continues as the board of directors of the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame announces their 62^nd induction class, to be honored in ceremonies on Wednesday, March 20, 2024.

John Adams was a 1961 graduate of Rising Sun High School.  He scored a career 1,568 points as a four-year starter.  He lettered in basketball, baseball, and track – where he set the school’s high jump record, as well.  Named to the North-South All-Star team his senior season before enrolling at the University of Kentucky where he became the team’s leading rebounder and earned the Kentucky’s Most Valuable Senior Award during his senior season.  After graduating from Kentucky with a bachelors in Commerce, he played on several AAU teams in Lexington, earning 1973 AAU National Champions, and then played in Argentina, Brazil, England and Mexico.    Adams currently is a part time hearing officer for numerous boards for the Kentucky High School Athletic Association.

Brian Bippus graduated from Indiana School for the Deaf in 1987, where in his senior season, won the National Deaf Basketball Championship.  In Bippus’ senior season, he was MVP, Captain, All-City, All Sectional, 1^st Team Deaf All-American, CSSD All-Star, and the State’s leading rebounder.  Bippus went to Gallaudet University where he averaged over 18 points a game in his four years. He left Gallaudet as the school’s All-time leading scorer and 2^nd team Academic All-American.  After graduation with a bachelors in math, he played club basketball in the United States for over 22 years, and competed in various Deaflympics games beginning in 1989, winning gold medals in several games.  Currently, Bippus is the Operations Coordinator for the Clerc Center at Gallaudet University in Washington D.C.

Clarence Crain, a 1969 Shortridge graduate, averaged 16 points per game his senior season, becoming the leading scorer on a 22-4 team that lost to Washington in the regional.  He was selected All-City, All-Sectional, All-Regional, and an Indiana All-Star.  Crain was a 1994 Silver Anniversary Team member, as well.  Playing at Butler, where he averaged 10.3 points and 4.2 rebounds his senior year, Crain won the 1973 MVP, Hilton U. Brown Mental Attitude Award, and played in the Indiana-Ohio College All-Star game.  Crain graduated from Butler in 1973 with a degree in business administration.  Crain has officiated basketball for 19 years, and in 1999 was voted “Man of the Year” by the 100 Black Men of Indianapolis and Past President; Man of Excellence by the Circle City Links.  Currently, Crain sits on the Lilly Endowment Board of Directors.

Dan Dakich graduated from Andrean in 1981, where his junior and senior teams went a combined 47-6, where he averaged 23.3 points per game and roughly 7.5 rebounds as well.  During Dakich’s senior season, he was selected All-Sectional, All-Regional, All-Semi-State and All-State 1^st Team.  He was a 1981 Indiana All-Star, and a 2006 Silver Anniversary Team member.  Dakich went to Indiana University where his sophomore season, the Hoosiers were Big Ten Champions.  As a senior, Dakich was named Team Captain along to the All-Hoosier Classic Team.  Dakich later went on to be a Graduate Assistant at Indiana, then coached at Bowling Green from 1997-2006 while serving as interim coach at Indiana in 2008.  After coaching, Dakich had a radio show on 1070 in Indianapolis, and currently hosts of a radio show on OutKick.

The late Chuck DeVoe, graduated from Park School in 1948, where his senior season he was named Captain, All-Conference, All-Tourney and his team was Runner-up in the Gold Medal Tourney.  DeVoe attended Princeton, where he was a three-year letter winner, earning 1^st Team All-Ivy League and was named team Captain and MVP as a senior.  DeVoe, along with his brother, were instrumental in forming the ABA, and bringing the Pacers to Indianapolis, later getting them into the NBA.  He succeeded his brother as the second President of the Indiana Pacers.  From 1952-1954, DeVoe served in the U.S. Army, earning rank of 2^nd Lieutenant, passing away in 2013.

The late Emery Druckamiller captained his Syracuse teams all four years, until graduating high school in 1922.  In one game, “Druck” scored 32 points in a 52-50 win and 18 of the team’s 20 points in a sectional victory.  He was a unanimous All-State selection, while also earning All-County, All-Sectional and All-Regional honors. Druckamiller went on to attend Indiana University where he played four years of basketball and baseball, and earning team captain in 1926 after the team won the 1925 Big Ten Championship.  He went on to coach at Syracuse and Angola High Schools, and taught for 35 years.  In 1937, he started and coached basketball and baseball at Tri-State, which he did for 11 years.  Druckamiller passed away in 2001.

Jay Frye, a 1968 Greencastle graduate, was a three-sport standout, playing basketball, football, and baseball.  Frye earned All-Conference, All Sectional, All-Regional, All-Semi-State while averaging 13.5 points and 8 assists per game.  He was also a 3 year starter in football, and a 4 year starter in baseball, where one highlight was pitching a 16 strikeout, no hitter as a sophomore.  Frye went to DePauw, where he graduated with a bachelors in zoology.  Playing basketball and baseball at DePauw, Frye was named “One of the Outstanding College Athletes of America” in 1972, while being named the shortest starting guard in the nation both junior and senior years.  After DePauw, Frye graduated from Ohio State in Physical Therapy.  Frye had a private practice in physical therapy along with being a physical therapist for the US Ski Team in 1998.  Frye is an entrepreneur in various businesses, and has owned the Ft. Wayne Fury since 1991. He serves on many NBA/CBA committees, including head of the Relations Committee.

Al Gooden graduated from Ft. Wayne Wayne in 1977, where he was All-Conference and Honorable Mention All-State as a junior and senior, where he averaged 20 points and 14 rebounds during his senior year.  Gooden attended Ball State, where he was All-MAC both junior and senior seasons, along with being a member of the MAC Champions, MAC Tourney Champions, and being the first Ball State team to play in the NCAA Tournament.  Gooden graduated as Ball State’s all-time leader in FG percentage.  Upon graduation in 1982 with a degree in P.E. and Health, Gooden coached high school basketball in Ft. Wayne, Heritage, Harding, New Haven, and Lawrence Central.  He has a career winning percentage of 63% (525-308), and was crowned 2001 2A State Champion, 4 State Runner-Ups, 5 Semi-State Championships, 6 Regionals, and 14 Sectional titles. 

Dick Harris, holds the career scoring record at Liberty Center of 1,000 points, including a 9-overtime game against Swayzee in 1964.  Harris also played 3 years of baseball and ran track for 3 years at Liberty Center, before graduating in 1964.  After graduating, Harris went to Manchester, where he was named 4-time All-Indiana College Athletic Conference, 3-time All-NAIA District and All-American, and holding 3 of the 4 top single game best scoring efforts in school history.  He scored a career 2,643 points at Manchester, holding numerous Manchester basketball records.  After graduating from Manchester in Biology, Harris played 15 years for independent basketball teams both in the United States and FIBA teams.  Harris served in the U.S. Army along with teaching, later becoming a pilot.  Currently Harris is a member of the Paralyzed Veterans of America.

The late Doug Linville graduated from New Salem in 1965, where he averaged 27.5 points his junior year, and 28 points his senior year, earning him the all-time leading scorer in New Salem history with a career 2,120 points.  Linville graduated from Brevard Jr. College with an Associates Degree in P.E. where he averaged 13 points and 13 rebounds per game.  From 1966-67, Linville went to West Florida where he graduated with his bachelors in P.E. and was the teams MVP both his junior and senior year campaigns being named All-regional as well.  Linville was a teacher for 33 years, beginning at Pensacola High School, and 32 years at Mt. Vernon Middle School.  Linville was named West Florida HOF National Distinguished Breeder Award for showing pigs.  Linville passed away in 2008.

The late Jim Morris starred at Jeffersonville High School, where as a senior, was the MVP and his team finished 24-2 (beginning 18-0), being ranked #1 in the State most of the season.  He earned 3 letters in basketball, 4 in baseball, and 1 in football upon graduation in 1953.  Morris attended Notre Dame from 1953-54 where he played basketball and baseball, while being named to the Dean’s List.  Morris graduated from Bellarmine in 1957 with a bachelors in English, he earned 3 letters in basketball and 3 in baseball.  He was named All-Conference and Co-Captain his senior year. He later graduated from Indiana University with a Masters in Education in 1966, and went on to coach high school and college basketball (Oscar Rose Jr College and IU Southeast) earning over 470 wins as a college coach and 310 as a high school coach, and was the first Athletic Director at IU Southeast.  Morris passed away in June, 2023.

Joe Mullan, a 1961 graduate of Evansville North High School, went on to graduate from George Washington University in 1965 with a bachelors in physical education, and in 1966 with a masters in secondary education.  Mullan won the Tommy O’Brien Award (MVP) in 1965.  After graduation, Mullan began coaching in 1967 at Gunston JH in Arlington Virginia.  Mullan became the head coach at Evansville Bosse in 1980, earning multiple City, SIAC, Sectional, and regional titles.  During Mullan’s tenure in 1982 and 1983, Evansville Bosse had undefeated regular seasons while being ranked #1 both years, and #4 in the final USA Today poll in 1983.  Mullan ended his coaching career with a career winning percentage of 79%.

Pete Smith, a 1979 Rochester graduate, helped lead the Zebras to a 16-5 record his senior campaign while being named Defensive Player of the Year, Mental Attitude Award Winner, and team captain.  Smith attended Bethel College, where he was injured prior to his sophomore year, so began his coaching career his junior year.  He was an assistant at Rochester, South Bend Adams, and Warsaw before becoming head coach at Manchester, Noblesville, Penn, Carmel, and Guerin Catholic.  Smith started the basketball program at Guerin Catholic in 2004, where he was crowned State Champion in 2012 and 2015.  Smith amassed 389 wins in his career, and a winning percentage of 61%.  Smith has earned numerous honors from the IBCA including District Coach of the Year.  Smith had the honor of being an assistant coach twice for the McDonald’s All-American game, Director of the IN/KY All-Star Series, and a director of 5-Star Summer Basketball Camps for 24 summers. 

Larry Weatherford graduated from Evansville Bosse in 1967, scoring a career 1,559 points, averaging 28.5 points, 12 rebounds, and 6 assists as a senior.  Being named to the Indiana All-Star team as a senior, Weatherford attended Purdue University and graduated in 1971 with a bachelors in P.E. During his playing career at Purdue, Weatherford scored over 1,100 points, averaging over 21 points per game his senior season.  Weatherford was a 5^th round pick by the Chicago Bulls in 1971.  Since his playing career, Weatherford has been Director of the Evansville Community Center, Deputy Sheriff, and a Supervisor/Instructor at the Evansville YMCA, along with several other jobs. 

The late James “Lil Bro” Webb graduated from South Bend Adams in 1973 and was the second freshman to start for a South Bend school.  His senior year accolades included All-Sectional, All-Regional, All-Semi State, All-Conference, and Indiana All Star.  He was the leading scorer in South Bend/St. Joseph’s County history with 1,769 points, most FT’s (291), and was named to the Silver Anniversary Team in 1998. Webb attended Cincinnati, playing in 26 games in 74-75 before not playing in 75-76 due to illness.  Webb then went to California State Polytechnic, where he averaged 10 points per game from 1977-79.  Webb played Semi-Pro in Mexico where he averaged 26 points per game.  Webb passed away in 1988.

Gene White, a 1954 graduate of Milan High School, earned All-Sectional, All-Regional, All-Semi State his junior and senior seasons, and All-State his senior year.  He was on the 1954 Milan State Champion basketball team, before heading to Franklin where he graduated in 1958 with a bachelors and a masters in 1967 from Indiana University.  At Franklin, in addition to playing basketball, White also played baseball.  After graduation from Franklin, White served in the U.S. Army, and became AD and basketball coach at Milan, where he won the 1985 sectional title.  White coached at Franklin College from 1987-1994, where he led the women’s team to 158 wins (2^nd all time), and then again served as Franklin Colleges women’s coach from 1999-2000. He was the three-time Indiana Collegiate Athletic Conference Coach of the Year. He is retired from Franklin Schools.

Bill Walker is the recipient of the 2024 Indiana Pacers Silver Medal Award for contributions to Indiana basketball other than as an Indiana high school player or Indiana high school coach. Bill is a graduate of New Castle High School where he lettered in cross country, track, and was a student manager for the basketball team. Bill is the current treasurer and executive committee member of the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame.  Bill graduated from Indiana University in 1974 with a bachelors in radio/tv, then a masters in journalism from Ball State in 1977.  Bill was inducted into the Huntington North Sports Hall of Fame in 2009 for his work as the public address announcer for baseball and football for over 30 years.  He oversaw the Huntington North High School radio station while teaching at Huntington North High School from 1974-2007.  Bill has also kept stats and been the public address announcer for Huntington University.  He received the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame President’s Award in 2019, and the IASB John King Award in 2022. 

The Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame’s 62^nd Men’s Awards Banquet is planned for Wednesday, March 20, 2024.  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 will soon be available online or through mail order in early 2024.  Call the Hall at 765-529-1891, visit www.hoopshall.com or email info@hoopshall.com for more information.

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MEDIA: For further information or assistance on inductees, contact Indiana Basketball HOF Assistant Director Kayla Kessler (kayla@hoopshall.com) or Executive Director Matt Martin (matt@hoopshall.com) at (765) 529-1891.