The board of directors of the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame has announced the 62^nd 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 1^st 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 1^st 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 2^nd 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 (2^nd 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 62^nd 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.

GIANT fm will air the Indiana High School Athletic Association state championship Class A and Class 3A football games Friday beginning at 11 a.m.

The Class A game kicks off two days of state championship games at Lucas Oil Stadium in downtown Indianapolis. The first title game is a rematch of the 2022 Class A state championship game.

Class A, No. 1 Indianapolis Lutheran (12-0) is seeking a third-straight state title but will have to defeat No. 2 Adams Central (14-0) for the second straight year.

Adams Central’s last loss came to Lutheran, 30-13, in the 2022 state championship game. Lutheran enters the contest with a 42-game win streak.

Adams Central’s only football state championship came in 2000.

The Class 3A state championship game also features the defending state champion and No. 1 ranked team in the class.

Top-ranked Indianapolis Bishop Chatard (14-0) will face Heritage Hills (13-1) in the 3A state championship game scheduled to start at 3 p.m.

Chatard has won three of the last four 3A state championships, including the 2019 title over Heritage Hills, 34-3.

Heritage Hills’ only state title in football also came in 2000. The program’s only loss this season came to Gibson Southern on Sept. 22, 31-28. That loss was avenged Friday in a semistate win by Heritage Hills, 23-20.

Chatard has won 16 state football championships.

Rochester 38, Peru 28

Zebras win TRC opener on the road. Rochester outscored Peru at the free throw line by shooting 15-for-20. Peru was just 6-for-8.

Rylee Clevenger led Rochester with 12 points. 

Elkhart Christian 39, Culver 29

Winamac 53, North White 17

Winamac opened a 20-5 first quarter lead.  Sadie Popejoy led Winamac with 16 points with Maggie Smith adding 13

Knox 47, Pioneer 24

First win for Knox after four losses to open season

Kouts 65, North Judson 40

Rylee Clevenger poured in a game-high 20 points on 6-for-12 three-point shooting as Rochester won for the first time this season, 40-20.

Clevenger’s total was four points more than her combined 16 points in Rochester;s first two games, losses to North Judson and Caston.

Ella McCarter, Jadyn Field and Aubrey Wilson each added five for the Zebras (1-2).

Northwestern fell to 0-3.

The loss snapped a three-game losing streak in the series for Rochester.

Isabel Scales has been an important part of three varsity sports at Caston High School since she arrived as a freshman in 2020. Upon her graduation in just over six months, Scales will go down as a highly-decorated athlete that has elevated future Comets’ expectations of success.

“I want to be remembered with this group of girls that were known as the group that pushed Caston athletics to be what it can be,” said Scales. “Where we were when we stepped in and where we are now, it’s a huge difference. I want the next grades coming in to not be satisfied.”

That drive to succeed pushed Scales to success on the volleyball court, basketball court and softball diamond at Caston. And while she may be more naturally-gifted as a softball player, her love of basketball will take her to Bethel College next fall in Mishawaka, Indiana.

Scales wanted her college decision completed before her senior year got in full swing. Playing in her final AAU basketball tournament of the summer, a Bethel coach invited Scales to visit the campus about an hour north of Caston High School. She did – twice.

“I had my first visit in the summer and I didn’t get to meet any of the girls,” said Scales. “I went back when school was in session and I met the girls. Something drew me to Bethel. They were so kind to me and open. I liked the family atmosphere.”
Looking back, Scales is surprised she never investigated Bethel in the first place.

“I don’t know why because I looked at a bunch of schools in their conference,” she explained. “It caught me off guard how beautiful it was. It would have been a good place to start.”

Scales intends to major in Education then attend graduate school to become a speech pathologist.

With her decision complete, Scales could focus in on her senior year. And while volleyball is admittedly not her favorite sport, she enjoyed the camaraderie of her fellow teammates and gained enormous respect for her coach, who fed her competitive nature.

“It’s the lowest of sports for me. I don’t think I’m the best at it,” she said. “I love the coach. I love the players with this core group of seniors. We hung out all the time. That made it fun.”

Caston finished the season 24-8 and lost to Southwood in the sectional opener. Southwood went on to win the state title Saturday at Worthen Arena on the campus of Ball State University.

Scales already has Caston off to a 3-0 start in her final basketball season where she believes the Comets can embrace an underdog role despite going 20-3 last season.

“This year, going into the basketball sectional there will be no pressure on us,” she said. “Tri-County (the defending sectional champion) has everyone back.”

Caston’s first big test of the season comes Friday at North White, the team it lost to in the sectional opener last season. The Comets are still figuring out their rotations but Scales likes her team’s athleticism.

“With a certain lineup on the floor, we are so athletic and can do things that past Caston teams haven’t been able to do,” she said.

Scales is a stat-sheet stuffer on the basketball court. Last season she averaged 16.4 points, 8.2 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 3.3 steals per game – all team highs – while shooting 40% from the field and 31% from the three-point line. She entered her senior season with 1,019 career points and 422 career rebounds.

“Winning a sectional title … that’s my angle,” said Scales of her personal goals. “There are a lot bigger goals I have like being the all-time leading scorer at Caston. That’s a huge goal. And I want to win all the tournaments (we’re in) and bring home all the trophies.”

And then there is Scales’ softball career. As a junior shortstop, she helped Caston reach the Class A state championship game.

“I was very nervous. Addison (Zimpleman) and I walked around the school, calmed down, got on the bus and then walked into Purdue’s stadium,” she remembered of that state championship day. “I can’t even describe that feeling … nervewracking, exciting, exhilarating. There were so many people.”

In their first state finals appearance, the Comets came up short in a 6-0 loss to Tecumseh.

“Addison and I were devastated after the loss,” said Scales. “It took awhile to realize we actually went to state.”

And with Scales, who hit .538 with 11 doubles, 15 home runs and 49 runs batted in, and Zimpleman, a Purdue Fort Wayne softball commit, back in the lineup, a return trip to Purdue is a real possibility.

While Scales was a competitive travel softball player in her younger years, she gave it up to focus on basketball. Her stats, though, demonstrate why people think she could play college softball.

“Everybody says I’m going to college for the wrong sport,” she said. “I am just naturally good at softball. I agree. It comes naturally to me to excel.”

Scales admits she has thought about playing softball at the next level but after so many consecutive seasons within three sports, she is more excited about being a one-sport athlete at Bethel.

“I’ve had coaches reach out about playing college softball,” said Scales. “I am ready to focus on one sport and give it all my effort.”

Caston and Tippecanoe Valley stayed undefeated on the young season with wins on Tuesday.

#4 (1A) Caston 60, Peru 27

For Caston:   Isabel Scales 24 pts, 9 reb, 6 stls

            Addison Zimpleman  22pts, 7 reb

            Macee Hinderlider 6 pts

            Annie Harsh 6 pts

            Kaitie Hutsell 2 pts

Tippecanoe Valley 56, Culver Academies 33

For Tippecanoe Valley:    Ava Egolf 17 pts

                                              Chesness Miller 15 pts

Tri-Township 61, Culver 16

Culver trailed 12-7 after one quarter but only scored nine points the rest of the way.

For Culver: Grace Sieber 5 pts

Triton 46, Argos 22

Westville 53, Winamac 50

For Winamac: Kandace Kroft 15 pts

Lewis Cass 55, Manchester 31

Whitko 48, Central Noble 45

Bluffton 70, Northfield 46

Livestreaming has become a fact of life in the television world over the past few years. More often, programming is being moved from linear (or conventional) television to streaming platforms.

Starting this school year, livestreaming on the IHSAA Champions Network presented by Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance via IHSAAtv.org will be the only way to view IHSAA State Finals broadcasts – including football and boys and girls basketball.

For the past decade, Bally Sports Indiana (formerly Fox Sports Indiana) has been the television home for the state finals. However, Diamond Sports Group – which owns 19 regional sports networks, including Bally Sports Indiana – filed for bankruptcy this past March.

In June, according to IHSAA Assistant Commissioner Chris Kaufman, Bally Sports Indiana informed the organization that the partnership would end.

“They called and said they weren’t allowed to renew the contract with us,” Kaufman said. “It was an amicable parting and, all in all, Bally was a great partner. We enjoyed working with them and we will stay in touch.”

This means, at least for now, IHSAAtv.org will be the exclusive platform for the state finals and will be behind a paywall.

“The state finals have been on IHSAAtv.org for many years now,” said Heath Shanahan, IHSAA’s Director of Broadcasting/Executive Producer. “It’s been a destination website that people hit, not just for the state finals, but the entire tournament and regular season.

“We decided this is a great release point, except for golf, tennis and Unified sports. Those broadcasts will remain free to view.”

To see state finals events, viewers will need to download the free IHSAAtv app to their devices (e.g., a computer, phone or OTT/television appliance device) or visit IHSAAtv.org. The prices to view state finals contests will be the same as buying a ticket at the venue: generally $15 per game or $20 for an all-access pass. The IHSAAtv OTT app is available for Roku, Firestick, Apple TV, and Android TV devices allowing fans to watch in high definition on their televisions.

“We are working to make this as easy as possible for fans,” Shanahan said. “Fans can navigate to on site, click the link and follow the steps. It’s no different than getting on a phone and going to any app or website.”

Kaufman and Shanahan said IHSAA realizes there will be pushback due to a natural resistance to streaming content previously available on certain television packages.

“It can be difficult for some who aren’t technologically savvy, but that’s an issue we can’t solve alone,” Kaufman said. “The overall climate of change in television has helped as people are seeing they will get their TV (content) differently. But whether you watched on (cable) television or on a stream (streaming platform), you are paying for it.”

“With Bally,” Shanahan added, “it was rolled into your cable bill.”

Kaufman also said the quality of the production won’t change.

Since 2010, IHSAAtv.org has delivered streaming content. Shanahan said the site currently has 150 schools from across the state who contribute to games on the network, along with 30-plus independent broadcasters.

“On a recent Friday night, we had 95 football games being streamed,” Shanahan said.

While the state finals and the semistate contests are pay-per-view, the sectional and regional rounds of each state tournament – will remain free to view.

Also, the IHSAA Champions Radio Network, supported by Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance, will not be impacted. In fact, that network added seven more stations this year, bringing the total to 79.

“Television is rapidly changing,” Shanahan said, “and linear TV isn’t close to what it was even five years ago. The pandemic put an importance on livestreaming. This is the future and we’ve been preparing ourselves for it for several years.”

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