Just read this quote:

“Euchre is 40 percent drinking and 40 percent cheating. The remaining 20 percent is everyone asking ‘What's trump again?’ But the whole thing is 100% Hoosier.”

God only knows how many hands of euchre I have played in my lifetime. It has been ever present in my life at every family or friends function I’ve attended. I know it is not strictly Indiana as it is popular across the Midwest, but we can sure make a claim.

RICHMOND, Ind. -- Seton Catholic High School will have a girls' varsity basketball team in 2024-25. The last time they had a team was 2018-19 season

Seton held open gyms this summer and played in a shootout. They will be young and don't have a lot of girls, but they will field a squad!

AD - Trent Tremain
Girls Coach - Troy Titus.

I have run across several references to a traveling trophy called the Cheese Bucket in old newspapers. I know that it was up for grabs in a game between Grass Creek and Kewanna, but I don't know yet if it was just between these two schools or if it was a Fulton County thing for all county schools. I'd love to get a photo of this for the Hall of Fame.

I thought it would make for an interesting story, too. Anybody have a lead on this one or even heard of it?

Via Pat McKee:

Central Christian Academy in Indianapolis plans to have a girls' basketball varsity team this season.

They did not field a varsity team in 2023-24.

Joe Morgan, who was varsity coach in 2022-23 and guided some sub-varsity only players last season, again is the varsity coach.

Wonder how long until we see a 'talent fee' as an add-on for tuition..

“We’ve come a long way in the last few years. In this new era, it’s going to get a lot more expensive,” [Tennseee athletic director Danny] White told Knox News. “But there’s also going to be a closer relationship between resources and competition than there ever has been before. And our biggest asset is our fan base.”

Tennessee to add 'talent fee' surcharge to season tickets in 2025 in anticipation of player revenue-sharing

The school's move comes as an NCAA settlement to pay players could be finalized in the near future.

sports.yahoo.com

WABASH,Ind. -- Tim Saylor, the best player White's Institute ever produced, is famous for his 90-point game during his 1970-71 senior season vs. Divine Heart.

However, the 6-8 215 lb post was also noted for his ferocious rebounding. A recently recovered and documented 38 rebound performance vs. Southwood during that same year is now safely preserved in the Record Book as the seventh greatest display of rebounding in the history of Indiana high school basketball.

In that mid-December match-up, Whites' downed winless Southwood, 81-50. White's would go on to finish Sectional runner-up for the second year in a row to Huntington. This time, 67-63, and finish with a 17-6 record.

White's 75 team rebounds that game also qualifies as the fourth most in that category.


1970-71 White's Warriors

Most Rebounds in a Game
(B) 41 Roger Beck - Stilesville vs. Clayton 1963-64
(B) 40 Darrell Skiles - Rossville vs. Sheridan 1970-71
(B) 39 Roger Beck - Stilesville vs. Russellville 1963-64
(B) 39 Kent Benson - New Castle vs. Muncie Central 1972-73
(B) 39 Kent Benson - New Castle vs. Mt. Vernon 1972-73
(B) 39 Kent Benson - New Castle vs. Muncie North 1972-73
(B) 38 Larry Bird - Springs Valley vs. Corydon 1973-74
(B) 38 Larry Bird - Springs Valley vs. Bloomfield 1973-74
(B) 38 Tim Saylor - White’s vs. Southwood 1970-71
(B) 37 Kent Benson - New Castle vs. Muncie South 1972-73
(B) 36 Kent Benson - New Castle vs. Anderson Highland 1972-73
(B) 36 Kent Benson - New Castle vs. Mt. Vernon 1972-73
(B) 36 Andy White - Medora vs. Tampico 1959-60


White's Warrior Tim Saylor

Most Rebounds in a Game
(B) 83 Brown County vs. Monrovia 1969-70
(B) 80 Borden vs. Medora 1971-72
(B) 76 EV Bosse vs. EV Christian 1985-86
(B) 75 Indy Washington vs. Gary Tolleston 1968-69
(B) 75 Carmel vs. Greencastle 1966-67
(B) 75 White’s vs. Southwood 1970-71
(B) 74 Edgewood vs. Fillmore 1964-65
(B) 74 Griffith vs. Hammond Clark 1989-90
(B) 74 Hamilton Heights vs. Pentleton 1967-68
(B) 73 Paoli vs. Jeffersonville 1959-60


Most Rebounds in a Season
(B) 720 Kent Benson - New Castle 1972-73
(B) 672 Willie Merriweather - Crispus Attucks 1954-55
(B) 583 Tom Cutter - Lafayette Catholic 1972-73
(B) 556 Wayne Bright - Bell Union 1964-65
(B) 525 Kent Benson - New Castle 1971-72
(B) 525 Tim Saylor - White’s 1970-71
(B) 516 Larry Bird - Springs Valley 1973-74
(B) 505 Don Halton - Merrillville 1955-56
(B) 491 John Hoover - Gary Tolleston 1967-68
(B) 468 Mike Erwin - South Spencer 1971-72
(B) 457 Glenn Robinson - Gary Roosevelt 1990-91
(B) 448 Alan Henderson - Brebeuf 1990-91
(B) 442 Steve Lochmueller - Tell City 1970-71
I'm confident that Saylor will factor among the career leaders for rebounds as well, but I have been unable to confirm his numbers from his first three years of high school yet.

[“Back at that time in a basketball game, the players at the end of the first quarter would sit down around the key. They could not converse with the coach — that was reserved for halftime,” Chadd said, recalling his father’s story. “Since they couldn’t converse with the coach at the end of the first quarter, the coach asked the referee if it was all right if this little fox terrier could go out and encourage the boys to play. The referees, every one of them, said that was all right.”

As it turns out, though, the little dog was providing more than encouragement.

“They made a collar for that little fox terrier, and that collar had a little zipper container on it,” Chadd said. “At the end of the first quarter when that dog would go out there, the next play’s plan would be on a note. They would take that note out, read it. They’d put the note back in and the dog would trot back to the bench. No one ever caught on to that.

“Now, some would say that’s not fair — that’s cheating. Well, I would say that’s strategic innovation.”]

Hoops legends recall different era for Bainbridge, high school basketball

BAINBRIDGE -- Every little town that dots the map of Indiana has its share of basketball heroes and stories. It's only right in the land of Hoosier Hysteria. On the other hand, we'd be hard pressed to find another town of 600-some residents that can boast four Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame...

www.bannergraphic.com

Our contestants picked six teams in Week 4, the most of any round so far in this year's contest. The 6A #15 Penn Kingsmen were chosen more than the others, and they delivered a 38-point win over the South Bend Washington Panthers. The largest margin of victory (47) belonged to 3A #11 Mississinewa in their shutout of the Frankton Eagles. The Indians have crushed everything in their path, outscoring their opponents 152-0 this season. The 1A #1 North Judson Bluejays and the Southmont Mounties also held their opponents scoreless this week. Three of our teams suffered losses: Evansville North fell to 4A #3 Evansville Reitz; 5A #10 Bloomington South lost to rival 5A #12 Bloomington North; and 6A #10 Ben Davis was defeated by 6A #6 Center Grove. Ranked #1 in the preseason poll, the Ben Davis Giants now find themselves with a 1-3 record.

Ed Stachulak remains alone atop our leaderboard with 155 points. CoachC is second with 151, followed by Nick Jenkinson in third with 132 points. Rob Deweese is fourth with 128, and Ranger20 moved up three spots to round out the top five with 126 points. Up next is the middle game of the season!

Here are the games for Week 4 with scores, point margins, and the number of players who picked each one:

Mississinewa 47, Frankton 0 (47 points, 1 players)
North Judson 46, North Miami 0 (46 points, 1 player)
Southmont 40, Frankfort 0 (40 points, 3 players)
Penn 44, South Bend Washington 6 (38 points, 5 players)
Batesville 55, Rushville 20 (35 points, 1 player)
Leo 42, New Haven 13 (29 points, no players)
Evansville Reitz 28, Evansville North 12 (-16 points, no players)
Bloomington North 31, Bloomington South 14 (-17 points, no players)
Center Grove 42, Ben Davis 19 (-23 points, 1 player)

Here are the standings after Week 4:

155 points
Ed Stachulak

151 points
CoachC

132 points
Nick Jenkinson

128 points
Rob Deweese

126 points
Ranger20

119 points
Quad Runner
ysuindy

116 points
hhsdawg

106 points
Mr. B.A.

86 points
TheGorilla23

79 points
kyleajolly

67 points
HickoryHusker

If you haven't already sent in your pick for Week 5, be sure to email it to shsfan475@gmail.com by 6:00 pm ET on Friday, Sep. 20!

Per Athletic Office Wes-Del girls will field a varsity girls basketball team this season.
The coach will be named this week after board meeting

I recently ran into current Greenwood resident Howard Dardeen at a local restaurant. The former Terre Haute Gerstmeyer and University of Kentucky great was talking about the Record Book and offered-up a story regarding how his Blackcats were upset in the 1957 Wabash Valley Tourney Championship by Greencastle, 76-74. He told me I should look into it because he recalled the Tiger Cubs hitting "a lot" of free throws in that game. Vague at first, Dardeen's details became more and more vivid.

We all have games that live with us a long time, for good reasons and for bad. Dardeen, who had a basketball career wrapped in glory, recalled this one in the latter. A mere 69 years later he still recalled his then 19-0 and number #3 state-ranked Gerstmeyer losing that 1957 title game as if it was last weekend. "A lot" of Greencastle free throws were recalled in more detail as the conversation went on as 24 for 24.

A fact that was right on the money as detailed in newspaper accounts I looked-up later that evening. Now confirmed, that 24 for 24 from the charity strip qualifies as the second best display of free throw shooting by a team in the history of our great game.

"I've never seen such free throwing shooting," exclaimed Gerstmeyer (and future Hall of Fame) Coach Howard Sharpe.

Dardeen also detailed how Greencastle played nearly a perfect game from long range. Not Record Book qualifying, but newspaper accounts also have Greencastle hitting 26 field goals for the game with only three of those coming in the paint (which were referred to as crib shots at that time.)



The Only Word for this Game is Fabulous. Simply Fabulous - Indy Star

Game Story from Front Page - Terre Haute Trib

Game Story Continued on Sports Page - Terre Haute Trib

Highest Free Throw Percentage for a Game (Min. 10 Attpts)
(B) 100% (26/26) Bloomington South vs. Columbus East 1997-98
(B) 100% (24/24) Greencastle vs. TH Gerstmeyer 1956-57
(B) 100% (22/22) Jeffersonville vs. Castle 2012-13
(B) 100% (22/22) Orleans vs. Borden 2013-14
(B) 100% (22/22) Winchester vs. Triton Central 1997-98
(B) 100% (21/21) Borden vs Cortland 1962-63
(B) 100% (21/21) Kankakee Valley vs. North Newton 1990-91
(B) 100% (20/20) Greenfield-Central vs. Shelbyville 2010-11
(B) 100% (20/20) Rivet vs.Dugger 2001-02
(B) 100% (19/19) Loogootee vs. Jasper 1980-81
(B) 100% (19/19) Princeton vs. Bosse 1951-52

Coach Roseman stepping down...what is going on?

When my wife shared this with me my first reaction was “I get it!” Always trouble when you make a blanket punishment like this with good kids getting hurt too, but there comes a time.

How many schools are not following the new limited contact rule put in place by the IHSAA this year? The rule changed this year for basketball teams to be able to go 3x a week if they want, but you get a maximum of 16 days total before your season starts. I’ve seen some schools post just their September schedule and they are going 12-14 times this month alone! Does that mean they will hardly do anything the rest of the time before practice starts or they just won’t follow the rule?

Two additions to the Record Book for categories in futility.

Most Consecutive Sectional Losses (Games)
(G) 31 Sheridan 1976-2007
(G) 23 Indiana Deaf 1976-99
(G) 23 Attica 1976-99
(G) 14 South Vermillion 2014-present

Most Consecutive Losses
(G) 113 Daleville 1999-05
(G) 71 Rock Creek 2008-12
(G) 63 Sheridan 2003-07
(G) 51 EV Bosse 2021-23
(G) 49 South Vermillion 2022-present
(G) 42 Rock Creek 2012-14
(G) 37 Clarksville 2017-19
(G) 28 Indy Tech 2017-19
(G) 28 Union Modoc 2017-18
(G) 25 EV Reitz 2017-19

Victory College Prep girls coach for 2024-25 Alphonso Blackwell

Eastern Greene girls Pending school board approval tonight - Jeremy Clark

New girls coach at Bethesda Christian -- Tyler Smith

Courtesy of good basketball gentleman, Pat McKee:


International School of Indiana confirms that it again will not field a girls basketball team in 2024-25.


Fort Wayne Canterbury plans on field a varsity girls basketball team in 2024-25. The coach is Brittani Turner ... who was hired last year and ran a sub-varsity team only in 2023-24. So 2024-25 would be her first season as the Canterbury girls' varsity coach, but not her first season at the school. I believe she has been a volleyball head coach at other schools previously, too.


Medora athletic director Cody Martin tells us that the school is not expecting to field a varsity girls basketball team in 2024-25.

Four teams were picked by our contestants in Week 3, with 1A #1 North Judson being the most popular selection. The Bluejays proved themselves worthy with their 61-0 pummeling of the South Central (Union Mills) Satellites. 4A #7 Leo, 5A #9 Bloomington South, and Evansville North were the other teams chosen by our players, and all of them were victorious in their contests. While not picked by anyone this week, the 3A #13 Mississinewa Indians amazingly recorded their third consecutive 35-0 win in defeating the Oak Hill Golden Eagles. Only one of our teams ended up on the wrong end of the score in this round as 2A #14 Southmont lost a two-overtime decision to the North Montgomery Chargers.

Ed Stachulak moved up one spot this week to take sole possession of first place with 117 points. CoachC improved four positions to move into second with 111. Nick Jenkinson is in third place with 94 points, followed by HickoryHusker and Rob Deweese in a tie for fourth with 90 each. A third of the season is now complete as we head into Week 4!

Here are the games for Week 3 with scores, point margins, and the number of players who picked each one:

North Judson 61, South Central (Union Mills) 0 (61 points, 6 players)
Leo 55, Norwell 13 (42 points, 2 players)
Mississinewa 35, Oak Hill 0 (35 points, no players)
Penn 35, South Bend Riley 7 (28 points, no players)
Ben Davis 38, Pike 14 (24 points, no players)
Bloomington South 37, Terre Haute North 20 (17 points, 2 players)
Evansville North 13, Evansville Harrison 3 (10 points, 2 players)
Batesville 26, South Dearborn 21 (5 points, no players)
North Montgomery 28, Southmont 22 2 OT (-6 points, no players)

Here are the standings after Week 3:

117 points
Ed Stachulak

111 points
CoachC

94 points
Nick Jenkinson

90 points
HickoryHusker
Rob Deweese

81 points
Quad Runner
ysuindy

80 points
Ranger20

69 points
hhsdawg

66 points
Mr. B.A.

46 points
TheGorilla23

44 points
kyleajolly

If you haven't already sent in your pick for Week 4, be sure to email it to shsfan475@gmail.com by 6:00 pm ET on Friday, Sep. 13!

INDIANA -- Our annual look at scoring trends in our state

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I think everyone is aware of a handful of Redskins/Indians mascots that have changed in recent years, and schools changing mascots and even colors is not unheard of, but this is an unusual one simply because of the timing and the lack of explanation.

Birdseye High School starting playing basketball in the 1917-18 season.

From that time until the end of the 1950-51 season, their teams were known as the Redbirds and their colors were red and white.

The Birdseye Sorghum Company notably included the redbirds into their logo and packaging as a nod to their hometown high school.

Throughout this era, anytime the Birdseye squad was fortunate to have a write-up in the big city newspapers in Jasper or Evansville, sure enough it was always Redbirds.

Then without any explanation, Birdseye began the 1951-52 season as the Yellow Jackets - complete with black and gold/yellow. By 1952, season and Sectional previews in newspapers were commonplace, and Yellow Jackets always referenced. No word in the papers even mentioning the switch.

I have reached out on the Birdseye Facebook page to any local historians, but to no avail. All those old enough to remember this do recall the change, but know of no explanation.

I know there are stories about schools taking on the colors of whatever happened to be available in the early days of high school sports. I know the Masonic Home High School in Franklin adopted dark red as their colors because they got a great deal on an excess amount of that fabric making its way through Franklin at that time. (Masonic colors are typically a shade of blue.) However, those sorts of stories are typically in the very beginnings of the school. I don’t know of any other schools making a wholesale change in colors and mascot in the post war period.

And no explanation? Birdseye was never a very strong team, but they still had a local following. Did nobody notice when they show up for the first home game, and the whole enchilada on the floor is different? Bizarre for sure.

I have nothing to base this on, but I have two theories.

Theory One - An administrator went on a gonzo powertrip and wanted a change. Plausible as anyone that has taught any time at all has probably seen this in some capacity. Example - Whiteland uses blue and orange on everything now and has for about 20 years. Their official colors are still blue and white, and a principal, many moons ago, put her foot down and insisted there be no orange on any high school jerseys. Switching mascots and colors would be a leap, but small town 1952? Maybe it went down like that.

Theory Two - Birdseye got a great deal on uniforms. Maybe there was a mistake in ordering, or maybe just a super discount on yellow and black jerseys. Either way, Birdseye admin saw a deal that was too good to pass up. But Yellow and black Redbirds? No way. So how about a name change too?

I have long wondered about the 2-0 score that sits atop the all-time lowest scoring games list. I finally found a write-up about it. Glad too, because I had always feared it was a forfeit that had been given credit as an actual score. Nope - It was real!

Fewest Combined Points in a Game
(B) 2 Crown Point (2) vs. Hobart (0) 1943-44
(B) 9 Pleasant Mills (4) vs. Berne (4) 1954-55
(B) 15 Hazleton (8) vs. Wadesville (7) 1954-55
(B) 15 DeKalb (10) vs. East Noble (5) 1969-70
(B) 15 Yorktown (9) vs. Burris (6) 1979-80
(B) 17 Lowell (9) vs. Hebron (8) 1921-22
(B) 21 FW Wayne (15) vs. Elmhurst (6)2007-08
(B) 21 DeMotte (15) vs. Hebron (4) 1921-22

I don't know the whole story yet, but can confirm Coach Igel has just resigned his new position at Pike Central. (As in this morning)


Pike Central boys - Departing Coach Hunter Elliott
PETERSBURG, Ind. - Andy Igel (Closed 8/14)

Week 2 saw a wave of storms move across Indiana on Friday night which resulted in the postponement or cancellation of many games. Three of those affected teams in our contest, but fortunately all three were completed on Saturday.

Five teams were picked by our players in this round. The most popular pick was 6A #7 Ben Davis, which lost a 29-28 overtime thriller to the unranked Avon Orioles on a 2-point conversion (after being ranked preseason #1, the Giants are now 0-2). Three contestants chose 3A #16 Mississinewa, and the Indians recorded their second consecutive 35-0 shutout for this week's largest margin of victory, this time over the Marion Giants. For perhaps the first time in contest history, the majority of our teams went down to defeat: Ben Davis, 2A #10 Southmont, 5A #7 Bloomington South, Penn, and Evansville North all suffered losses.

Ranger20's pick of Mississinewa moved him into first place in our standings after Week 2 with 63 points. Ed Stachulak and Mr. B.A. are tied for second with 56, followed by Nick Jenkinson in fourth with 52. CoachC dropped from first to fifth in this round with 50 points. We have a very competitive contest as we head into Week 3!

Here are the games for Week 2 with scores, point margins, and the number of players who picked each one:

Mississinewa 35, Marion 0 (35 points, 3 players)
North Judson 32, LaVille 8 (24 points, 1 player)
Leo 28, Angola 13 (15 points, 2 players)
Batesville 27, Milan 26 (1 point, 2 players)
Avon 29, Ben Davis 28 OT (-1 point, 4 players)
North Putnam 32, Southmont 27 (-5 points, no players)
Martinsville 41, Bloomington South 35 (-6 points, no players)
Mishawaka 27, Penn 7 (-20 points, no players)
Evansville Memorial 35, Evansville North 14 (-21 points, no players)

Here are the standings after Week 2:

63 points
Ranger20

56 points
Ed Stachulak
Mr. B.A.

52 points
Nick Jenkinson

50 points
CoachC

36 points
TheGorilla23

29 points
HickoryHusker
Rob Deweese

27 points
hhsdawg
kyleajolly

20 points
Quad Runner
ysuindy

If you haven't already sent in your pick for Week 3, be sure to email it to shsfan475@gmail.com by 6:00 pm ET on Friday, Sep. 6!

Seeking help with new Record Book category - Most Missed Free Throws in a game.

In the course of researching for other record, I kept running across these noteworthy “performances.” I made note of enough to get it started, but I know I have just scratched the surface. If anyone has a memory or story they recall hearing about a team missing a slew of charity shots, please let me know, and I will try to get it researched and confirmed. Once I have a decent enough list, I will get the whole category added. Here’s what I have as a start..

Most Missed Free Throws in Game
(B) 21 Cuzco vs. Petersburg 1939-40
(B) 20 FW Central vs. Anderson 1937-38
(B) 18 Franklin vs. Rushville 1979-80
(B) 18 Rochester vs. Elwood 1948-49
(B) 17 EC Roosevelt vs. Lafayette Jeff 1969-70
(B) 17 EV Bosse vs. Jeffersonville 1989-90
(B) 16 Brownstown vs. Austin 1959-60
(B) 16 Chatard vs. Brebeuf 1985-86
(B) 16 Greenwood vs. Beech Grove 1984-85
(B) 16 HSE vs. Sheridan 1980-81
(B) 16 Kokomo vs. Maconaquah 1989-90

(G) 28 Waldron vs. Whiteland 1984-85
(G) 25 South Knox vs. EV Memorial 1988-89
(G) 22 Center Grove vs. Plainfield
(G)22 Whiteland vs. Avon 1980-81
(G) 19 Edinburgh vs. Monrovia 1981-82
(G) 19 EV Bosse vs. BNL 1982-83
(G) 18 Southridge vs. Princeton 1986-87

There were several high school football games Friday night which were halted due to weather and scheduled to finish on Saturday. These included three games with a team used in our contest this season. Your humble contest administrator (me) will be away from his computer on Saturday and Sunday, and therefore publication of the Week 2 results will be delayed until Monday morning.