Dave Krider looks back at 60 years of Indiana high school basketball

The Class-System Era: Greg Oden, Mike Conley and the Zeller Brothers

I will note two highlights from the class-system era.

No. 1, was Indianapolis Lawrence North, which became the third team in history to capture three consecutive state titles from 2003-06.  Coach Jack Keefer's Wildcats could have beaten anybody, but they did play in the biggest class, 4A.

I was inspired to follow the Wildcats for all three years with the belief that they would win those three titles in a row. I told Keefer what I thought was going to happen and he gave me assistant coach J.R. Shelt to be co-author for my eventual book, "Uncaged." I never had more fun than watching superstars Greg Oden and Mike Conley make history.

As juniors, they played the greatest high school game I've ever seen when they shut down Indianapolis Arlington 60-45 in the sectional semifinals. Arlington — boasting the quickest starting five I've ever seen — had beaten the Wildcats earlier in the year by 10 points, were unbeaten and ranked No. 3 in the nation. Hundreds of people were turned away from the 3,000-seat gym.

Arlington drove at the 7-foot Oden on practically every play and all he did was block 18 shots without getting into foul trouble. Meanwhile point guard Conley, who played sparingly in the loss to Arlington due to a toe injury, handled tremendous defensive pressure like a pro and rarely turned the ball over.

Conley and Oden went unbeaten as seniors and the Wildcats were named unanimous national champions. They also tied the state record of 45 consecutive victories, which was broken following their graduation. Oden was named Mr. Basketball in 2006 and was named Gatorade National Basketball Player of the Year for the second time. He and Conley both made the McDonald's All American team.

I consider Greg Oden the best big man and defender Indiana ever has produced, while I rank Conley as our state's premier point guard. Conley was a great passer, ball handler and defender and could score whenever it was needed.

They went on to lead Ohio State University to NCAA tournament runner-up honors as freshmen before entering the NBA draft. Conley is currently starring for the Memphis Grizzlies. Oden was the No. 1 draft pick, but has been injury-plagued during his career. He still is young, however, and should he recover from his latest surgery he can still have a good professional career.

The Zeller family of Washington provided my second class-system highlight. Luke, Tyler and Cody were multi-talented 7-footers who combined to win four Class 3A state titles. Each was also named Mr. Basketball.

Luke started it all when he made a fantastic buzzer-beating half-court shot to stun Plymouth 74-72 in overtime for the 2004-05 championship. He played at Notre Dame and now is in the NBA, as is Tyler following a fine career at North Carolina.

The youngest, Cody, is making a big name for himself at No. 1-ranked Indiana University. After his sophomore year, it's going to be hard to keep him out of the NBA draft because he is a big guy who runs like a deer.


I also need to mention Larry Bird. He did not make my top 20 because he didn't match the qualifications of being Mr. Basketball or winning a state championship at Springs Valley (French Lick).

Bird averaged 30.6 points and 20.6 rebounds as a senior, but at 6-7 he pretty much towered over his competition. In one game he amassed 55 points and 38 rebounds, both school records.

However, coach Jim Jones told me, "We were just fortunate to get him on the Indiana All-Star team."

Following a very brief stay at Indiana University, he grew two inches and put on some muscle by working on a garbage truck in French Lick for a year before being coaxed to attend Indiana State University in Terre Haute.

The rest is history, as he led the Sycamores to NCAA runner-up honors and put together a Hall of Fame career in the NBA. He was voted to the NBA's 50th Anniversary All-Time team and is the only person in NBA history to be named Most Valuable Player, Coach of the Year and Executive of the Year.