The board of directors of the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame has announced the 62nd induction class, to be honored in ceremonies on Wednesday, March 20, 2024.
Among them is a Rochester alum.
Pete Smith put together a Hall of Fame coaching career. He retired from the basketball sideline in 2018.
The 1979 Rochester graduate led the Zebras to a 16-5 record his senior campaign while being named Defensive Player of the Year, Mental Attitude Award Winner, and team captain.
Smith attended Bethel College, where he was injured prior to his sophomore year, so began his coaching career his junior year. He was an assistant at Rochester, South Bend Adams, and Warsaw before becoming head coach at Manchester, Noblesville, Penn, Carmel, and Guerin Catholic.
Smith started the basketball program at Guerin Catholic in 2002, where he was crowned State Champion in 2012 and 2016.
Smith amassed 389 wins in his career, and a winning percentage of 61% and earned numerous honors from the IBCA including District Coach of the Year. Smith had the honor of being an assistant coach for the McDonald’s All-American game, Director of the IN/KY All-Star Series, and a director of 5-Star Summer Basketball Camps for 24 summers.
Among other inductees in the '24 class:
Dan Dakich graduated from Andrean in 1981, where his junior and senior teams went a combined 47-6, where he averaged 23.3 points per game and roughly 7.5 rebounds as well. During Dakich’s senior season, he was selected All-Sectional, All-Regional, All-Semi-State and All-State 1st Team. He was a 1981 Indiana All-Star, and a 2006 Silver Anniversary Team member.
Dakich went to Indiana University where his sophomore season, the Hoosiers were Big Ten Champions. As a senior, Dakich was named Team Captain along to the All-Hoosier Classic Team.
Dakich later went on to be a graduate assistant at Indiana, then coached at Bowling Green from 1997-2006 while serving as interim coach at Indiana in 2008. After coaching, Dakich had a radio show on 1070 in Indianapolis, and currently hosts of a radio show on OutKick.
The late Chuck DeVoe, graduated from Park School in 1948, where his senior season he was named Captain, All-Conference, All-Tourney and his team was Runner-up in the Gold Medal Tourney. DeVoe attended Princeton, where he was a three-year letter winner, earning 1st Team All-Ivy League and was named team Captain and MVP as a senior.
DeVoe, along with his brother, were instrumental in forming the ABA, and bringing the Pacers to Indianapolis, later getting them into the NBA. He succeeded his brother as the second President of the Indiana Pacers.
From 1952-1954, DeVoe served in the U.S. Army, earning rank of 2nd Lieutenant, passing away in 2013.
The late Emery Druckamiller captained his Syracuse teams all four years, until graduating high school in 1922. In one game, “Druck” scored 32 points in a 52-50 win and 18 of the team’s 20 points in a sectional victory. He was a unanimous All-State selection, while also earning All-County, All-Sectional and All-Regional honors.
Druckamiller went on to attend Indiana University where he played four years of basketball and baseball, and earning team captain in 1926 after the team won the 1925 Big Ten Championship. He went on to coach at Syracuse and Angola High Schools, and taught for 35 years.
In 1937, he started and coached basketball and baseball at Tri-State, which he did for 11 years. Druckamiller passed away in 2001.
Gene White, a 1954 graduate of Milan High School, earned All-Sectional, All-Regional, All-Semi State his junior and senior seasons, and All-State his senior year. He was on the 1954 Milan State Champion basketball team, before heading to Franklin where he graduated in 1958 with a bachelors and a masters in 1967 from Indiana University.
At Franklin, in addition to playing basketball, White also played baseball.
After graduation from Franklin, White served in the U.S. Army, and became AD and basketball coach at Milan, where he won the 1985 sectional title.
White coached at Franklin College from 1987-1994, where he led the women’s team to 158 wins (2nd all time), and then again served as Franklin Colleges women’s coach from 1999-2000. He was the three-time Indiana Collegiate Athletic Conference Coach of the Year. He is retired from Franklin Schools.
The Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame’s 62nd Men’s Awards Banquet is planned for Wednesday, March 20, 2024. The day’s events will include a reception at the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame Museum in New Castle that afternoon with a banquet that evening at the Primo Banquet Hall in Indianapolis.
