“…like shooting thru a palm tree.” Coach Don Reichert and the ’58 South Side Archers….. Written by Harry D. Frick III In the early morning hours of April 8, 1945, United States Navy PT boat 364 idled in the waters of the Molucca Sea, a half mile from the island of Hiri, in the Dutch East Indies, now Indonesia.  PT 364 was under the command of Lt. jg Donald C. Reichert of Fort Wayne, Indiana. Lt. Reichert and crew were on a dangerous and most unusual mission–rescue Sultan Mohammed Jabir Shah, his children and harem, held captive by the Japanese since 1942, on the nearby island of Ternate ..read more

My Dad The Shooter Written by James W. Strickland MD Basketball is my game. I come by that naturally, being from Indiana and being my father’s child. You see, my dad could really shoot a basketball. He developed this skill in the early 1920’s, in Owensville, Indiana, a small southern Indiana town with a population of about 650. My granddad was a good old-time country doctor who was often called away to tend to the sick, make horse and buggy house calls or deliver babies. So as Dad was growing up, he had a lot of time to himself. He spent it shooting baskets in his back-yard. To view the enti ..read more

Gymin’ With Goose! Jeff “Goose” Gildea, 11/22/57 to 12/03/19 By: Scott O’Connor I’m writing to share a story about my late friend, Jeff Gildea, who passed away December 3rd, 2019 after a 7 month battle with bile duct cancer. I wrote to the IBBHOF about Jeff to see if they might acknowledge his passion for Indiana High School basketball. In connecting with Kayla Kessler of the IBBHOF, she suggested I write a story about my friend. So here I am, not a professional author, but an avid Indiana basketball fan, grieving the loss of a good friend. To view the entire story, click here. If ..read more

The Improbable Run of the 1971 “Super Hicks” By Vaughn Winslow No small number of high schools in Indiana have been playing basketball for over 100 years and have never made it to the state finals.  Yet Floyd Central did it in only their third year of existence.  The Indiana state tournament is ripe with unique circumstances and odd turn of events, not the least of which is the improbable run of the Highlanders in 1971. View the entire story. If you enjoyed this article and would like to read more about the history of high school basketball in Indiana, click here to subscri ..read more

Years of the Dragons: Argos and the Spirit of 76 Posted by: Rob Hunter  Of course you remember. How can you ever forget? You saw them play at the State Finals, many of you in person. The players and coaches have aged, like the rest of us, and some of them no longer live in Marshall County. But their town remains, as does their school. If you love Indiana basketball, visit the town; see the school. Even if it means an overnight, experience Argos. View the entire story. If you enjoyed this article and would like to read more about the history of high school basketball in Indiana,&nbs ..read more

A History of Spencer High School Basketball Posted by: John W. Dyar, Richard A. Dyar & Glenda Winders-Allen  Nowhere was Indiana’s passion for basketball more evident than at Spencer High School between the years 1915 and 1970.  Located approximately 60 miles southwest of Indianapolis along state Route 67, Spencer sits between Terre  Haute to its west and Bloomington to its east.  It is the county seat of Owen County, which the local Chamber of Commerce has designated “Sweet Owen County.”  Both the county and the town were named after men who fought in the Bat ..read more

“When I first started researching this book, started asking sportswriters and athletic directors if they knew of any obscure outposts of Hoosier Hysteria, the name Rossville came up over and over. Rossville is the real deal.”     From HOOSIER HYSTERIA ROAD BOOK: A Guide to the Byways of Indiana High School Basketball (2001), by Dale Lawrence.  Time is memory’s enemy, but I remember. It was late July, 1971. My mother, my sister, and I were heading west on SR 26 toward Lafayette, where my sister would soon be attending college. We had made the jog in the road at Middlefo ..read more

On November 1, 1946 in Toronto, Canada, the New York Knickerbockers were in town to play the Toronto Huskies in what is now considered the first NBA game, even though the league was actually named the Basketball Association of America (BAA) for the first four seasons. That was a momentous event, considering how much a part of American life the NBA has become.  While Indiana is proud of its role in propagating the game of basketball nation-wide, its fame came more from its pioneering in the first state high school basketball tournament than from ABA/NBA history. And then there is the claim ..read more

Regional, Here We Come!, “Thelma!” Frankie nearly shouted into the phone. “We’re in the top 10 teams in Indiana! We’re ranked at #10, Vincennes is ranked #9, and Ft. Wayne South is #1! Can you believe this?”  Thelma didn’t respond immediately, but when Frankie took a breath, she just said, “Oh, I bet you’re better than number 10.”  “Thelma, there are 736 high schools in the state, and our little old Springs Valley is #10! Can you believe it?” Frankie exclaimed.  “I’m so proud of you and our team, Frankie. I love this . . . what is happening with you and me and what is going on i ..read more