Underclassmen dominated Indiana’s historic 100th annual high school basketball tournament on Saturday at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, and don’t be surprised if several of the same teams return for an encore in 2011.
Start with North Central (Indianapolis) (25-3), one of the state’s largest schools, with an enrollment of around 3,400. The powerful Panthers simply overwhelmed a good Warsaw team with waves of quickness and athleticism while winning the Class 4A title with a decisive 95-74 victory before a sold-out crowd of 18,366.
North Central’s point total was just two short of the all-time title-game record set by Indianapolis Attucks in 1955. The Panthers easily could have gone over 100 had they not slowed the pace to a crawl in the final couple minutes.
"I just wanted to get the game over," veteran coach Doug Mitchell said.
Mitchell started four underclassmen. There has been talk of his team winning two more titles to tie the state three-peat record shared by Franklin, Marion and Indianapolis Lawrence North.
"Don’t think that (thought) hasn’t crept into my mind," he confided.
The Panthers definitely will miss Purdue University signee Terone Johnson, a 6-foot-3 senior guard, who set the pace with 28 points and six assists. However, check this out: His sophomore brother, 5-10 Ronnie Johnson, had 17 points, five assists and four steals; 6-4 sophomore sensation D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera had 16 points (all in the first half); and 6-4 freshman Darius Latham had 14 points.
Mitchell added rhetorically that Smith-Rivera "has two more years; how good can he be?"
Warsaw (23-3) started two sophomores and a junior. The junior, 5-9 point guard Nic Moore, will be a strong candidate for Mr. Basketball next year. He was smothered by the North Central defense in the first half, but he also got the Panthers in enough foul trouble that they backed off in the second half. That allowed him to finish with a game-high 28 points even though he fouled out with 41.3 seconds left in the third quarter. He played only 23 minutes.
Moore, a great outside shooter and ball handler, will get plenty of help next year from Lucas Grose, a 6-5 sophomore who had 18 points and a game-high 10 rebounds. His father, Jeff Grose, was Indiana’s Mr. Basketball in 1985.
The Class 3A finale, won by Washington, 65-62, in overtime against Gary Lew Wallace, featured two more of the state’s premier juniors. Slender 6-10 Cody Zeller paced the victorious Hatchets with 20 points and tied an all-time Indiana state title-game record of 26 rebounds. He played every one of the game’s hotly-contested 36 minutes.
Zeller’s brothers Luke (Notre Dame) and Tyler (North Carolina) also won a state title and were named Mr. Basketball. No family in Hoosier history has had three Mr. Basketball selections, but he is capable of making that happen next year. On hand to watch him were coaches such as Roy Williams, Tom Crean, Matt Painter, Bruce Weber and Tubby Smith.
The rebound record was no fluke because, as Associated Press sports writer Cliff Brunt put it, "That was against a really athletic team."
Washington now is a perfect 6-for-6 in state championship basketball games.
Lew Wallace’s junior star, 6-8 Branden Dawson, matched senior teammate Latroy Taylor’s 22 points and grabbed 11 rebounds even though he didn’t enter the game until just 2:15 remained in the first quarter. Coach Renaldo Thomas’ decision to bring his top scorer and rebounder off the bench as a "super sub" conceivably could have cost the Hornets a state title.
The two morning games drew a crowd of 12,375. The new kid on the block, third-year charter school Gary Bowman Academy (24-1), led off with a ferocious full-court press which produced an easy 74-52 victory over Barr-Reeve in the 1A title game. Coach Marvin Rea’s racehorse strategy is "first one to 100 wins."
Though the Eagles started only one underclassman, 6-5 sophomore DeJuan Marrero, he had 17 points, 11 rebounds, six assists, four steals and three blocks and is a budding star. There have been some rumblings that Lake Central’s standout 6-5 sophomore star, Glenn Robinson Jr., might transfer to Bowman next year, which would give the Eagles a great 1-2 punch.
Indiana’s class system, fought by many when it started in 1998, could have backfired on Bowman Academy. The Eagles are very talented, but they never will know if they could have won it all under the old one-class system.
In the 2A game, Wheeler (27-1) edged Indianapolis Park Tudor, 41-38, as 6-7 junior Aleksa Kojcinovic produced 13 rebounds and 10 points. The Bearcats shot 0-4 from the field in the fourth quarter, but won the game with 12-of-14 from the free throw line. Park Tudor showcased a star of the future in 5-11 sophomore guard Kevin "Yogi" Ferrell, who had 20 points and four assists.
And don’t discount Bloomington South next year. The Panthers return several starters from a team which stretched its two-year winning streak to 49 games – one short of the state record – before being upset by Jeffersonville in the regional.
Between Saturday’s morning and evening sessions, a one-mile parade was held in downtown Indianapolis and televised statewide by Comcast. Any players or coaches who were part of a state championship team were invited to join the parade and they came from as far away as California.
The nostalgic parade included such legends as 71-year-old Oscar Robertson, 73-year-old Bobby Plump (the hero of the "Hoosiers" movie) and 88-year-old Jim Stinson, who played on Frankfort’s 1939 state champions – coached by legendary Everett Case. Another interesting participant was Ian Naismith, grandson of Dr. James Naismith, who invented the game Hoosiers so dearly love.
Climaxed by the state finals, I spent probably the most enjoyable four-day period of my life. On Wednesday I became the first writer from the entire northern half of the state to be inducted into the prestigious Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame. I received the St. Vincent Health Silver Medal, which goes to a non coach or player who has made significant contributions to Indiana basketball. The coveted prize has been awarded since 1962.
In the morning, my wife Lois and I drove three-and-a-half hours to the Hall in New Castle, where about 200 people were present to watch the 15 new inductees receive their portraits. I will share my display for the next year with the women’s Silver Medal winner, Indiana Fever coach Lin Dunn. The Silver Anniversary team also was introduced.
We then headed to the Primo Banquet Hall in Indianapolis where a near-capacity crowd of 1,048 was present for the formal inductions. There were some tears of joy, because you can’t grow up in Indiana and not be touched by a basketball.
Photo courtesy of Doug Flauding
Dave Krider (left) is inducted.
Tom Arnholt (Columbus) summed up everybody’s feelings when he said, "I dreamed about this since I was 5 years old." Norm Held (Anderson) added, "This has got to be the greatest honor a high school coach could have in the world." Bob White (Jasper) took it to an even higher level when he commented, "I thank everyone for helping me to heaven."
David Magley (South Bend LaSalle), who coaches in Florida, stressed putting something back into the game, noting, "When you touch others, it goes on forever."
In my brief address I noted that my wife is my good-luck charm, because she was attending my seventh hall of fame induction during our 22-year marriage.
On Thursday, I went to Borders Downtown Indianapolis and was joined by my all-time favorite player, Jimmy Rayl, and Dennis Kasey, sports director of Channel 40 in Indianapolis, who both live in Kokomo. I brought my two basketball books, "Uncaged" and "Indiana High School Basketball’s 20 Most Dominant Players," to autograph.
Jimmy and I went to Indiana University together and he was a big hit. We had so much fun swapping stories – and even sold some books – that sales account representative William Fletcher invited me to come back again some time.
"Uncaged," the story of Indianapolis Lawrence North’s three-time state champions (Greg Oden and Mike Conley), is going to become a great movie. Steve Clune, who works for the Disney Channel, hopes to have the screenplay finalized by June. Then it’s shopping time.
The foreword to the book about Indiana’s 20 most dominant players was written by Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels. He wrote that he grew up in a church with a gymnasium and "We learned about God’s love and the pick-and-roll on the same hardwood floor."
I talked to Gov. Daniels briefly on Saturday. He mentioned that CBS Sports wanted to interview him with the NCAA finals headed for Indianapolis. "I told (his assistants), ‘Just send them Dave Krider’s book,’ ’’ he related.
I asked Daniels if he was going to run for President and he shook his head no. I added, "I think you’d win." He replied, "That’s another reason not to do it." Stay tuned on this one.
On Friday, Lois and I were guests of David Wright at the 64th annual Indianapolis Kiwanis Club banquet, which honors the coaches and players who are in the state basketball finals. The Primo Banquet Hall had a crowd of 700 this time and we sat with three Mr. Basketballs – Ron Bonham (Muncie Central), Billy Keller (Indianapolis Washington) and Wilson Eison (Gary Roosevelt).
To prove that basketball still is big in Hoosierland, 35 high schools in the Marion County area let their basketball teams out of school to attend the banquet.
Hall of Fame director Chris May stopped by and commented, "You’re one of us now."
After the banquet was over, we looked at the large display which covered most of one wall and had been taken throughout the state to celebrate Indiana’s 100th anniversary of basketball. I was surprised and honored to see that "Uncaged," co-authored by J.R. Shelt, was part of the display.
I also was honored to be one of just a few sports writers who contributed his favorite memory in the latest issue of Indiana Basketball History Magazine. As we headed home during a Sunday rainstorm, God’s incredible blessings reached deep into my heart and my eyes watered up. It was, indeed, a week I never will forget.
Photo by Lois Krider
MaxPreps' Krider poses in front of his display at the Hall of Fame.
Noreen is a warrior
Minnesota Transitions (Minneapolis, Minn.) defeated Sebeka, 61-52, to win Minnesota’s Class 1A state basketball title. Kevin Noreen, a 6-10 senior headed for Boston College, ruptured his spleen following a fall just 2:05 into the game. Despite playing in great pain and spitting up blood, he finished with 24 points, 15 rebounds and nine blocks. Noreen is the state’s career scoring leader with 4,086 points.
* Lima Central Catholic defeated Orrville, 60-57, to win Ohio’s Division III state title before a crowd of 14,008 and send coach Bob Seggerson into retirement with 517 victories.
* South (Bloomington, Ind.) junior guard Matt Carlino has backed off his sophomore commitment to Indiana University and is opening up his recruiting. His family moved from Arizona last summer so he could play close to his college choice.
Surber, Beckwith star
O’Fallon Township (O’Fallon, Ill.) senior Keith Surber defeated Levi Wolfensperger (Denver/Tripoli, Iowa), 5-3, to win the 130-pound title during the 21st annual National High School Coaches Association National Wrestling Championships in Virginia Beach (Va.). He later won the Jeff Reese Memorial Award as the Most Outstanding Wrestler. Surber, who was 51-1 in high school this year, won five matches.
Greene (N.Y.) senior Tyler Beckwith became the prestigious meet’s first four-time winner when he defeated Isaiah Williams (Haverhill, Mass.), 6-3, to win the 171-pound class. Beckwith, who won six matches, posted a 46-0 high school record this year and he was 47-0 as a junior.
Potpourri
Emily Sisson of Parkway Central (Chesterfield, Mo.) finished 18th (in a field of 95) in the women’s junior race during the 38th IAAF World Cross Country Championships in Poland. She ran the 6K race in 20:08 and was the first finisher for Team USA.
* Kyla Ross (Aliso Viejo, Calif.) placed second in all-around with a score of 56.700 during the junior competition in the City of Jesolo (Italy) Trophy gymnastics competition. Her score of 15.1 was No. 1 in vaulting.
* Caravel Academy (Bear, Del.) defeated Cape Henlopen, 6-5, to give Paul Niggebrugge his 300th victory as head baseball coach.
* Denbigh (Newport News, Va.) defeated Hampton, 14-7, to snap a 42-game softball losing streak.