Monday, October 30, began the 2023-2024 season for girls’ basketball in Indiana, as there were three games on the slate. Between then and Saturday, November 4, most teams around the state officially tipped off for the first time. There were several strong performances last week, but we selected the three ladies below as our first recipients this season for the IBCA/Franciscan Health Player of the Week award, one from each of the IBCA’s three districts.

Chesterton Sophomore Tenley Davis, Brownsburg Junior Avery Gordon, and Lanesville Junior Hadley Crosier were selected as the winners for Oct. 30-Nov. 4 in the recognition program coordinated by the Indiana Basketball Coaches Association. Davis is the representative for District-1, Gordon takes home honors in District-2, while Crosier is the recipient in District-3.

Last Thursday was a big night for the Chesterton Trojans as they began their season, plus they saw Sophomore Tenley Davis top her career high from last season by 20, as she poured in 36 points in a 68-53 victory at Highland High School. The 6-1 forward also collected five rebounds and handed out five assists in the opening night win. Two days later, the second-year player posted her first double-double of the season, as she came away with 18 points and 11 rebounds in hard-fought 65-52 defeat at the hands of the Northridge Lady Raiders. Davis added four more assists in the loss.

The Brownsburg Bulldogs picked up a pair of key victories last week, topping Warren Central on Halloween, 61-58, then taking care of North Central on Saturday, 78-70. To say Junior Avery Gordon is a big part of what Brownsburg does is just the half of it. Standing 6-6, the center posted a double-double in each win. Tuesday, at Warren Central, she was credited with 25 points and 12 rebounds. Saturday, she returned to the court and increased her totals against the Panthers to 29 points and 16 rebounds on the evening. The dominant post has already announced her verbal commitment to Purdue University.

Coming off a 2023 Class 1A State Championship, the Lanesville Eagles have not missed a beat, and Junior Hadley Crosier is a big reason for the continuity. In a 61-50 season-opening win Tuesday at Rock Creek, the 5-9 guard scored a career high 29 points on 11-16 shooting, including a strong 7-9 performance from the charity stripe. She added eight rebounds, eight steals, and three assists in the success. Saturday, in a blowout victory against Mitchell, Crosier scored 14 points on 6-10 shooting, she handed out four assists, plus she collected five caroms and four steals in limited minutes of an easy win.

This is the 16th season for the Indiana Basketball Coaches Association Player of the Week program, and the fourth season it is being presented by Franciscan Health, a corporate sponsor of the Indiana Basketball Coaches Association.

Player of the Week winners are chosen each week from each of the IHSAA’s three districts. Girls winners will be chosen from now through the Monday following the IHSAA Girls State Finals. Boys winners will be chosen starting in three weeks and through the Monday following the IHSAA Boys State Finals.

Adam Berry Named Varsity Girls’ Basketball Head Coach for 2023-24
Pending school board approval, the athletic department at Pioneer Junior-Senior High School has officially selected Adam Berry to become the varsity girls’ basketball head coach for the upcoming 2023-24 season. Coach Berry was a varsity girls’ basketball assistant coach for the Lady Panthers in 2022-23, and Mr. Berry served as the head varsity girls’ basketball coach for Pioneer Jr-Sr High School during the 2015-16 campaign. He also guided and directed junior high girls’ basketball teams at PJSHS from 2012 to 2014 and 2019 to 2022. Pioneer will open its varsity season at home versus Clinton Central on Tuesday, November 14, 2023 at approximately 7:30 PM.

David McWherter Selected JV Girls’ Basketball Head Coach for 2023-24
Pending school board approval, the athletic department at Pioneer Junior-Senior High School has officially named John David McWherter the junior varsity girls’ basketball head coach for the 2023-24 winter sports season. Coach McWherter will also serve as a varsity girls’ basketball assistant coach for Coach Adam Berry in 2023-24. Mr. McWherter was the head varsity girls’ basketball coach at Pioneer Jr-Sr High School from 2011 to 2015 and has another sixteen years of coaching boys’ basketball experience at various levels for PJSHS. Pioneer will open its junior varsity season at home versus Clinton Central on Tuesday, November 14, 2023 at 6 PM.

I am not one to usually post about officials, since I myself am a varsity official that makes mistakes. Although this official needs to reconsider officiating. Names will not be given, but her is the situation.

1. During the coaches meeting, he tells both coaches that he had already done a boys scrimmage and he has a game to go to after our game and that his left knee is bone on bone and he will do the best he can. First that goes back to my point for years that if players who pass physicals and are presumably in shape can only play so many games in a day/week, why are officials allowed to? Second, if you know that you're hurt why schedule three games in one day?

2. I asked this official about a hard plastic splint that an opposing girl was wearing. He said he was unsure of the rule and would allow it. One of his partners said no, but he said we are allowing it. I knew the rule, but I did not say anything except, I have low numbers and I just hope that splint, since she was a post, doesn't poke an eye. He says, "Well they can get eye poked regardless of the splint. After half the other official said we looked the rule up and she cannot wear that, you were right and can't play until taken care of.

3. During the first quarter we had a quarter like no other for us, everything was going right. This officail started calling some ticky tack calls on us and letting them hammer us. We were up 19-2 and he called another foul on my post. I said what did she do. He said she hit her in the arm. I said she was straight up and did not move. The offensive player initiated contact, he said Brad you are right, but we are not going there, look at the score. I walked away and in a regular voice told my assistant when refs start officiating based on the score that is when teams get back in it. He proceeded to call a few more on my PG. One which was no where close to fouling (I have film). By halftime my two leading scorers had three fouls, but we were up 20 at half. The second half started the same with the fouls. 80% of his fouls called were on us and within 3 minutes both players had four fouls and one had a back-to-back so fast we could not sub. PG fouled out.

4. In the fourth quarter with a 11 point lead now, a rebounding foul was called on us. Good call. It was followed up with a T on our player. He could not tell me what she said nor if it was her. I asked the other official who standing by the girl if he could tell me what she said. He said coach, "she did not say anything, I do not know what he thought she said." I was like ok whatever. I never questioned it. So here is where he tried to screw us again. They give the team the technical shots, then was getting ready to shoot for the over the back. I did yell this time to get their attention I wanted an explanation. He said well the T was team foul number five so the bonus will be shot for the player foul. I said but the player foul was number four and before the T. You cannot shoot a bonus on a foul that was not in the bonus for something that happens after. He said coach we are shooting, finally I got the other guys attention and explained and he said you are right, but. I said but nothing this is huge because they will get two more FT and ball. He said ok I will talk to him. Finally he agreed, but was not happy.

5. We had a concussion from a screen that was two feet in front of him when her elbows went from side of body to 90 degree angle when setting the screen.

In the end his calls hurt us because of who they were on, they were not all correct, but I understand that, but not knowing the rules and saying come on, look at the score and officiate based on that is not right. The other team picked up their D and played a great second half so this is not me crying about winning losing because we did hold on to win 52-47.

My only recourse to vent this way and give him a "1".

Canterbury has cancelled its girls basketball season. Looks like somebody better get back out on the recruiting trail.

2015 State Runners-up
2014 State Runners-up
2013 State Champion
2010 State Champion
2009 State Champion
2008 State Champion

Bobby Knight has died this evening.

I ran across a few tidbits on this story when I was doing another project about IHSAA penalties. Not sure if it was the uniqueness of Shelby Shake's name or the fact that someone tried to fight John Wooden, but I scribbled this down about two years ago as a potential research project. Finally got around to doing it, and had a blast uncovering the details. Hope you enjoy this story from 1937.

MISHAWAKA, Ind. -- An exchange of post game haymakers by rival coaches on a cold December night back in 1937 ushered the end of a would-be Hall of Fame career and signaled the start of another..

Coach Shelby Shake and his 1937 Mishawaka squad, #13 is leading scorer Art Van Tone

Veteran Coach Shelby Shake was in the middle of his 11th season leading the Mishawaka Cavemen (also referred to as Maroons at the time.) He had already guided the program to four Sectional titles and one Regional championship during his tenure and would ultimately win a fifth later that next March.



Mishawaka fans were enjoying not only their winning ways, but also their state-of-the-art basketball gym (now called the Cave.) However, what went down on that Friday night in the now-historic gymnasium would be a low point in the season and end an otherwise stellar coaching career.


Mishawaka’s Cave - Opened 1924 and oldest gym in state still in use

Legendary Coach John Wooden was in his first year at South Bend Central, and his Bears were visiting their rivals after previously besting them at home, 35-34, earlier in December. The Northern Indiana High School Conference title was up for grabs that night, and this particular tilt was extra spicy. As the clock ticked down to zero, South Bend had once again upended the Cavemen, 36-32.


Coach John Wooden at South Bend Central

Seven Oaks Classical School - Near Ellettsville

General 2 — Seven Oaks Classical School

www.sevenoaksclassical.org

AD: Jeff Box
Boys Coach: Jeff Bradford
Girls Coach: Matt Box

Courtesy of the IBCA!

Boys

https://files.constantcontact.com/5b5e9f62601/6c78a6af-2aec-4526-aa80-32915afde184.pdf?rdr=true

Girls

https://files.constantcontact.com/5b5e9f62601/092dfb8a-8950-4350-a8c5-14d8eb6bd00b.pdf?rdr=true

ST. LEON, Ind. -- A twenty-seven year old mark has been added to the Record Book. East Central's Brett Snodgrass knocked down 66 Consecutive Free Throws during the second half of the 1996-97 season.


East Central's Brett Snodgrass

Most Free Throws Made in a Row
(B) 72 Rob Cavanaugh - Valparaiso 1989-90
(B) 72 Geoff Van Winkle - Forest Park 2002-02
(B) 66 Brett Snodgrass - East Central 1996-97
(B) 64 Steve Alford - New Castle 1983-83
(B) 63 Gary Chupp - Bethany Christian 1987-87
(B) 57 Wilbur Schneider - Sunman 1965-66
(B) 54 Kyle Cox - Blue River Valley 2000-01
(B) 50 Landon Carroll - Alexandria 2001-03
(B) 44 Luke Brown - Blackford 2017-18
(B) 44 Tyler Gotshall - Taylor 2007-08
(B) 44 Kevin Sims - Lafayette Jeff 1974-75
(G) 70 Shanna Zolman - Wawasee 2001-02
(G) 68 Shanna Zolman - Wawasee 1999-99
(G) 66 Shanna Zolman - Wawasee 1999-00
(G) 63 Shanna Zolman - Wawasee 2000-00
(G) 58 Ella Collier - Danville 2019-20
(G) 58 Darby Maggard - Canterbury 2011-12
(G) 57 Kami Owens - Austin 2015-17
(G) 56 Ella Collier - Danville 2018-19
(G) 55 Shanna Zolman - Wawasee 2000-01
(G) 43 Melody Doss - Center Grove 2009-10
(G) 43 Jodi Howell - Alexandria 2001-02

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Fa052yX0GI9Ju8qiw6Xo0mxL3IIIlZwf06-ZpHCrJWc/edit

An upset parent in St. Louis MO shot the coach of his son's football team. The parent was unhappy because the coach did not start his son. The coach is recovering from 4 gunshot wounds.

The city of St. Louis suspended the team for the rest of the year. This was due to actions by the team parents.

Our contestants spread their picks over five teams in Week 9. The 2A #10 Rochester Zebras were the most popular pick, and the five players who selected them received 22 points for their 36-14 win over the Maconaquah Braves. The largest margin of victory in this round belonged to the Monrovia Bulldogs in their 44-point win over the Indianapolis Scecina Crusaders, but none of our contestants picked them. They were followed closely by the 1A #12 Milan Indians, who delivered 43 points for the three players who chose them in their victory over the Madison Cubs. Four of our teams suffered defeats this week, and five played in shutout games - with two of those five (1A #10 Sheridan and Seymour) on the wrong end of the score.

It is time to crown our champion! Congratulations to Nick Jenkinson, the winner of the 2023 Hickory Husker Pigskin Pick'em! He racked up 144 points in the last three weeks of the contest to move from ninth to the top of the leaderboard. Nick's season total of 386 points earned him his first victory in the contest in his fifth season of competing. Mr. B.A. finished second with 363 points. ysuindy finished third by means of the tiebreaker over fourth place hhsdawg, both of whom had 362. Quad Runner rounds out our top five with 360 points.

The correct score for our tiebreaker this year was 199, the combined scores of the eight teams which played on September 16 at Indiana Wesleyan's Wildcat Football Stadium:

Elwood 22, Blackford 12 (34 points)
Mississinewa 35, Frankton 6 (41 points)
Madison-Grant 43, Oak Hill 19 (62 points)
Alexandria 42, Eastbrook 20 (62 points)

Ed Stachulak was the closest on the tiebreaker with his prediction of 209 points.

Here are the games for Week 9 with scores, point margins, and the number of players who picked each one:

Monrovia 44, Indianapolis Scecina 0 (44 points, no players)
Milan 43, Madison 0 (43 points, 3 players)
Hanover Central 35, Hammond Central 0 (35 points, 1 player)
Rochester 36, Maconaquah 14 (22 points, 5 players)
Fishers 34, Zionsville 14 (20 points, 3 players)
Evansville Reitz 14, Evansville Mater Dei 10 (-4 points, no players)
Norwell 28, Columbia City 23 (-5 points, 1 player)
Carroll (Flora) 24, Sheridan 0 (-24 points, no players)
Bloomington South 47, Seymour 0 (-47 points, no players)

Here are the final standings:

Nick Jenkinson - 386
Mr. B.A. - 363
ysuindy - 362 (tiebreaker prediction: 176, difference of 23 points)
hhsdawg - 362 (tiebreaker prediction: 250, difference of 51 points)
Quad Runner - 360
EHS_HOOPS - 353
Rob Deweese - 349
Ed Stachulak - 334
raiderfan32 - 322
CoachC - 311
HickoryHusker - 308
thegorilla23 - 283
Ranger20 - 263

Seven of the teams on this year's list were ranked in the IFCA preseason polls for their class. Here is how our teams were ranked in the preseason, their records at the end of the season, and their rankings after Week 8:

Columbia City: Preseason 4A #11; Record 5-4; Week 8 unranked
Evansville Mater Dei: Preseason 2A #1; Record 2-7; Week 8 #12
Fishers: Preseason 6A #10; Record 6-3; Week 8 #10
Hanover Central: Preseason 3A #6; Record 9-0; Week 8 #4
Milan: Preseason 1A unranked; Record 6-3; Week 8 #12
Monrovia: Preseason 3A #15; Record 7-2; Week 8 unranked
Rochester: Preseason 2A #11; Record 7-2; Week 8 #10
Seymour: Preseason 5A unranked; Record 5-4; Week 8 unranked
Sheridan: Preseason 1A #5; Record 6-3; Week 8 #10

Hanover Central was the only one of our teams to finish the regular season with a perfect 9-0 record. Rochester's two losses were to teams currently ranked #6 and #13 in the IFCA Class 3A poll. Fishers' three losses came at the hands of teams currently ranked #3, #6, and #7 in the IFCA Class 6A poll. Milan's three losses were to teams currently ranked #4 in the IFCA Class 1A poll and #9 and #10 in the Class 3A poll. Monrovia recorded the largest margin of victory with a 65-point win over Phalen Academy in Week 2, and Seymour suffered the worst defeat in a 47-point loss to Bloomington South in Week 9.

Your humble contest administrator is a software developer in real life, so I wrote a computer program to determine what the best possible score would be with this year's combination of teams. It also provides a ranking among all possible outcomes for each contestant who submitted a pick in every week of the contest. With a contest like this, the number of possible combinations of picks is n!, where n is the number of teams. For nine teams, that comes to 362,880. The worst possible score is -215 (none of our players were anywhere near that bad!). The best possible score is 404, with these picks:

Week 1 - Fishers (44)
Week 2 - Monrovia (65)
Week 3 - Columbia City (49)
Week 4 - Sheridan (57)
Week 5 - Hanover Central (40)
Week 6 - Seymour (21)
Week 7 - Rochester (62)
Week 8 - Evansville Mater Dei (23)
Week 9 - Milan (43)

Here are the rankings for our players. Rank = numeric rank out of 362,880. Percentage Rank = Percentage of possible scores that are worse.

Nick Jenkinson: Score = 386, Rank = 14, Percentage Rank = 100.00
Mr. B.A.: Score = 363, Rank = 96, Percentage Rank = 99.97
ysuindy: Score = 362, Rank = 109, Percentage Rank = 99.97
hhsdawg: Score = 362, Rank = 109, Percentage Rank = 99.97
Quad Runner: Score = 360, Rank = 123, Percentage Rank = 99.97
EHS_HOOPS: Score = 353, Rank = 186, Percentage Rank = 99.95
Rob Deweese: Score = 349, Rank = 252, Percentage Rank = 99.93
Ed Stachulak: Score = 334, Rank = 634, Percentage Rank = 99.83
raiderfan32: Score = 322, Rank = 1214, Percentage Rank = 99.67
CoachC: Score = 311, Rank = 2033, Percentage Rank = 99.44
HickoryHusker: Score = 308, Rank = 2315, Percentage Rank = 99.36
thegorilla23: Score = 283, Rank = 6535, Percentage Rank = 98.20
Ranger20: Score = 263, Rank = 12995, Percentage Rank = 96.42

Nick Jenkinson's Rank of 14 means there were only 13 other possible combinations of picks (out of 362,880) which would have yielded a higher total score for the season. Well done, Nick!

I want to thank all of our players for getting their picks in on time every week, which made my job as the contest administrator much easier. Thanks to everyone who participated this season! We hope all of you will return to compete in the 2024 Hickory Husker Pigskin Pick'em!

181 Changes this year! The only years with more are 2014 (197 changes), 2007 (188 changes) and 2018 (187 changes).

BOYS (98)
Anderson Prep: Corey Scott, Ryan Fathauer
Bedford North Lawrence: Jeff Hein, Kurt Godlevske
Bellmont: Jonathon Fuelling, Peyton Selking
Bloomington Lighthouse: Jeff Mills, John Winders
Blue River Valley: Brian Klein, Peyton Russell
Bluffton: Karl Grau, Craig Teagle
Cannelton: Chris Melton, Mike Garrett
Centerville: Kodi Smith, Brian Keiser **
Central Christian: no varsity team in 2022-23, Mike Kinney
Central Noble: John Bodey, Ben Lemmon
Churubusco: Shannon Beard, Gabe Garman
Columbus East: Brent Chitty, Perry Nash
Connersville: Kerry Brown, David McCollough
East Central: David Disbro, Tyler Theising
Eastern Hancock: Aaron Spaulding, Brett Bechtel
Eastside: Ed Bentley: David Prokop
Edinburgh: Keith Witty, Devin Burton
Elkhart: Kyle Sears, Will Coatie
Eminence: Kevin Bradshaw, Drew Dorsett
Faith Christian: Dave Esgar, Dan Peter
Floyd Central: Greg Walters, Fonso White
Fort Wayne Northrop: Rod Chamble, Shane Merryman
Fort Wayne Snider: Jeremy Rauch, Josh Riikonen
Fort Wayne Wayne: Byron Pickens, TBA
Frankfort: David McCollough, Rick Scholl
Franklin Central: Criss Beyers, Kyle Ballard
Frontier: J.D. Hoover, Trent Phegley
Gary 21st Century: Larry Upshaw, Quincy Taylor
Greensburg: Stacy Meyer, Shaun Busick
Greenwood: Joe Bradburn, Keith Witty
Hamilton: Jeremy Banks, Chase Holden
Hammond Central: Larry Moore Jr., Jermaine Boyette
Hammond Science & Tech: Lonzyo Holcomb, Walter Woghiren
Heritage: Adam Gray, Kyle Sovine
Heritage Christian: Warren Wallace/Brandon Coffer **, Tre Granger
Huntington North: Craig Teagle, Eric Thompson
Indiana Deaf: Joey Kutcka, Rusty Crace
Indiana Math & Science: Joshua Gilbert, Michael Davis
Indianapolis Herron: Starlin Stevens/Andy Weaver**/Nick Bazan **, Scott Adams
Indianapolis Shortridge: Drew Fountain, Donald Yates III
Irvington Prep: Jamie Qualls, Brandon Scott
Jennings County: Josh Land, Rob Kent
Jimtown; Matt Stoll, Tyler Leighton
Knightstown: Tanner Hedrick, Chris VanPelt
Lake Central: Dave Milausnic, Ryan Sexson
Lanesville: Mikel Miller, Kyle Brown
Lawrence Central: Al Gooden, Phil Washington
Lewis Cass: Kyle Johnson, Eric Branz
Linton-Stockton: Joey Hart/Noah Hawkins **, Matt Britton
Loogootee: Ryan Haywood, Dave Smith
Mississinewa: James Reed, Josh Brooks
Mt. Vernon (Fortville): Ben Rhoades, Joe Bradburn
New Albany: Jim Shannon, Jason Jones
New Prairie: Mike Bauer, Ben Wiginton
New Washington: Blake Snodgrass, Torrey Winchester **
North Central (Farmersburg): Vance Edmondson, John Ladson
North Harrison: Lou Lefevre, Ross Schulz
North White: Matt Sipkema, Joe Smith
Northeast Dubois: Terry Friedman, Travis Schroering
Northview: Michael Byrum, Shawn Nevill
Owen Valley: Jon Neill, Matt McGowen
Pendleton Heights: Adam Ballard, Joe Buck
Penn: Al Rhodes, Barak Coolman
Perry Meridian: Mark James, Mark McFarland
Peru: Eric Thompson, Travis Smith
Pike: Bill Zych, Jeff Teague
Providence Cristo Rey: Dominic Papalia, Scott Miller
Riverton Parke: Aaron Hines, Lucas Steward
Rushville: Ryan Ehm, Kerry Brown
Salem: Duane Malloy, Jaelen Nice
Shoals: Bryson Abel, Michael Hopkins
South Central (Elizabeth): Greg Robinson, B.J. Aldridge
South Central (Union Mills): Eric Speer, Matty Bush
South Decatur: Jason Hacker, Maurice Buckner
South Putnam: Kyle Swafford, Josh Estridge
South Spencer: Matt Britton, Aaron Thompson
Southmont: Jake Turner, Michael Byrum
Southport: Eric Brand, Bill Zych
Southridge: Tim LaGrange, Ryan Haywood
Traders Point Christian: Shaun Busick, Brendon Saget
Trinity Greenlawn (South Bend): Matt Lewandowski, Alexander Rowland
Trinity Lutheran: Brad Dickey, Mike Lang
Triton Central: Kyle Ballard, Mark James
Union County: Bobby Jones, Jamison Walters
University: Brandon Lafferman, Justin Blanding
Valparaiso: Barak Coolman, Ben Lieske
Waldron: Beau Scott, David Corder
Warren Central: D’Andre Davis, Criss Beyers
Wawasee: Jon Everingham, Lou Lefevre
Wes-Del: John McGlothin, Josh Burkett
West Central: Bernard White, Brad Odom
West Washington: Clayton Sullivan, Jamie Cummings
Western: Michael Lewis, Cameron Bennington
Westville: Drew Eubank/Ken Pepper**, Kyle Sonaty
White River Valley: Michael Hopkins, Levi Hostetter
Whiting: T.J. Toth, TBA
Winamac: Cameron Bennington, Mike Springer
Winchester: Dustin Baldwin, Jake Turner

[MISHAWAKA, Ind. (WSBT) — Penn High School will rename its basketball court after former boys basketball coach Al Rhodes.


Rhodes retired at the end of last season following a 42-year coaching career, spending his last 15 seasons at Penn.

He became the winningest coach in Kingsmen boys basketball history.]

The public sale of tickets for the First and Second Rounds at Gainbridge Fieldhouse went on sale this afternoon on Ticketmaster (The Great Satan)

The presale code of INDBKB is needed to access the tickets through midnight Friday night. Limit of 8 per person

Upper level corners and the upper half of the upper level sideline is what is available now.

I don't believe any lower level or mezzanine seats will ever make it to public sale unless returned by the participating schools

This is March 22 and 24. Tickets are for 3 sessions - Friday afternoon, Friday evening and Sunday single session.

In Week 8, only three different teams were selected by our contestants, with 2A #13 Evansville Mater Dei easily being the most popular. The nine players who selected the Wildcats received 23 points for their 43-20 win over the Evansville Harrison Warriors. The largest margin of victory in this round belonged to the 1A #13 Milan Indians in their 49-7 defeat of the South Decatur Cougars. 2A #11 Rochester, the only one of our teams to hold their opponents scoreless, was just behind with their 41-point shutout of the Southwood Knights. Three of our teams were on the wrong end of the score, with Columbia City suffering the worst loss of any of our teams this season in a 44-point drubbing by the 4A #11 Leo Lions. 3A #3 Hanover Central's victory over the Andrean Fighting 59ers put them one win away from completing a perfect regular season.

We had a significant change in our standings this week as Nick Jenkinson advanced five spots on the leaderboard into a tie for first place with Mr. B.A., both with 343 points. hhsdawg and ysuindy are tied for third with 340, followed by Quad Runner in fourth place with 338 points and Rob Deweese in fifth with 327. Heading into the last round we have four players with a mathematical chance of winning, so our contest will come down to the wire. Next week we will crown our champion!

Here are the games for Week 8 with scores, point margins, and the number of players who picked each one:

Milan 49, South Decatur 7 (42 points, no players)
Rochester 41, Southwood 0 (41 points, no players)
Seymour 53, New Albany 14 (39 points, 3 players)
Hanover Central 33, Andrean 9 (24 points, 1 player)
Evansville Mater Dei 43, Evansville Harrison 20 (23 points, 9 players)
Monrovia 42, Cascade 35 (7 points, no players)
Eastern (Greentown) 19, Sheridan 14 (-5 points, no players)
Westfield 28, Fishers 14 (-14 points, no players)
Leo 51, Columbia City 7 (-44 points, no players)

Here are the standings after Week 8:

343 points
Mr. B.A.
Nick Jenkinson

340 points
hhsdawg
ysuindy

338 points
Quad Runner

327 points
Rob Deweese

318 points
EHS_HOOPS

302 points
raiderfan32

291 points
Ed Stachulak

286 points
HickoryHusker

268 points
CoachC
Ranger20

263 points
thegorilla23

All players have submitted all of their picks at this point, so it will not be necessary to send an email for this week.

Your humble contest administrator will be away from his computer next weekend, so there will be a delay in publishing the final results. The final post for this season - including the announcement of our winner - should be available by Tuesday, October 17.

OSSIAN, Ind. – Tiny Ossian High School in Wells County drew the attention of the entire state in the spring of 1967. Volatile head basketball coach Art Windmiller’s Sectional ejection was such that an entire school consolidation process was put into turmoil.

Ossian battles Bluffton for Sectional title

The fall of 1968 was set to begin the first semester of newly minted Norwell High School. It was to be a consolidation of four smaller schools – Primarily Ossian and Lancaster, but also included hamlet institutions Rockcreek and Union Center.

However, the passions of an Indiana high school basketball Sectional the previous spring would place the entire process in limbo.

Coach Windmiller cuts down Sectional net in 1965

Colorful veteran coach Art Windmiller led the Ossian Bears in their farewell campaign all the way to the Sectional title game, going 17-5. Thanks in no small part to his son, Bob Windmiller, who would routinely torch the nets for 30+ points, be named an Indiana All-Star, and would later play at the University of Illinois.

The small school Bears of Ossian had enjoyed a rich basketball tradition, winning no less than six Sectional titles. Most recently in 1965 under Coach Windmiller. They even captured a Regional in 1939.

Ossian's Indiana All-Star Bob Windmiller

However, as the clock was just about to strike twelve on the 1967 Ossian Bears, things went sideways.

With just three seconds left on the clock and host Bluffton comfortably ahead, 56-46, another call went against Ossian. As Referee Don Hurst made his way to the scoring table to signal the offending party, Ossian assistant Coach Gene Felton offered a few words of critique.

Referee Hurst, who had heard way too much throughout the contest and during the especially contentious fourth quarter, whistled a technical on the assistant.

Assistant Coach Gene Felton

At this, head coach Windmiller stepped on floor and said to Referee Hurst, “Call one on me.”

Hurst Obliged him.

Coach Windmiller then stated, “Call two on me.”

Hurst obliged again and then instructed Windmiller to sit the rest of the game, or he would have to leave the gym.

Coach obeyed, but after free throws were attempted, Coach Windmiller reportedly stood back up and slowly clapped his hands in the face of the official and made further “unsportsmanlike” comments.

With three seconds left referee Don Hurst stopped the game after calling three consecutive technical fouls on bench, specifically citing “unsportsmanlike remarks” following foul calls.

Police were called to escort the Coaches and team from the floor to the locker room following the dustup.

Coach Windmiller already had a rich reputation for sideline antics. A previous incident that has been canonized in Hoosier basketball lore was so noteworthy, the IHSAA chose to include it in their decision against Ossian High School. In that instance, Coach Windmiller found himself on the sideline of a game not involving his Ossian squad. During a timeout, he reportedly scribbled some officiating advice on a piece of paper, folded it into an airplane, and sailed it onto the playing for the referees.

The end result was an odd one. Normally the basketball program would’ve been nailed the following winter, but this was an unusual circumstance. Ossian and a handful of other area schools (Lancaster, Union, and Rockcreek) were set to consolidate into newly formed Norwell that next fall.

Under this bizarre scenario, the IHSAA ruled that all Ossian sports were to be suspended from IHSAA play (pretty much immediately) from March 1967 through September 1968. Track, golf, and baseball ended forever that March for Ossian.

Amazingly the IHSAA Board of Control initially ruled to not only suspend Ossian for spring sports, but also all schools that were going to consolidate with them in the fall - As in Lancaster, Union Center, and Rockcreek wouldn’t be allowed to play spring sports either.

The IHSAA ruling stated: If Ossian High School consolidates with another school(s), the school(s) involved and resulting school(s) will also be governed by suspension.

The reality was that schools melting into Norwell that spring, as well as new Norwell in the fall, would all fall under the punishment handed down to the Ossian basketball coaching staff from that March.

Ironically, the IHSAA, in their announcement of penalty, also specifically lauded the Ossian basketball players for maintaining their decorum during the incident.

The absurdity of praising the athletes, all-the-while unilaterally punishing them as well as all other small school athletes that just happen to be consolidating with that school was beyond bizarre even for an era of a ham-handed IHSAA.

Local school officials had planned to have a merged Ossian/Lancaster baseball team for a joint summer baseball team. Those plans were also changed after the IHSAA harsh stance.

That illogic was thankfully thrown out after it was announced in April that the embattled Coach Windmiller would not get a shot at coaching the new consolidation, and the unlucky consolidating schools were not subjected to the punishment of their partner.

The power play had worked, and an entire school consolidation was nearly put on hold in the process.

Norwell would go on to hire Coach Ron Sullivan, formerly of DeMotte, to lead their newly consolidated program – free of any IHSAA storm clouds.

Art Windmiller would pass away in 2017. He was a World War II veteran, a lifelong resident of his dear Ossian, and he was a career math teacher (40 years,) drivers’ ed instructor, basketball and baseball coach. He would actually go on to referee basketball.

Coach Art Windmiller


Ossian Bears – Red and white

Lancaster Central Bobcats – Green and white

Union Center Badgers – Black and white

Rockcreek Center Dodgers – Blue and gold