Indiana Mr. Basketball Explained

The Indiana Mr. Basketball honor recognizes the top high school basketball player in the state of Indiana. The award is presented annually by The Indianapolis Star.^[1] The first Indiana Mr. Basketball was George Crowe of Franklin High School in 1939.^[2] The Indiana Mr. Basketball award is the oldest such award in the nation, predating the second oldest by over a decade; California would be the next state with such an award in 1950.^[3]

Award winners

^[4]

Year	Player	High School	College	NBA/ABA draft
1939	George Crowe^[5]	Franklin	Indiana Central
1940	Ed Schienbein^[6]	Southport	Indiana
1941	John Bass^[7]	Greenwood	none
1942	Bud Brown^[8] ^[9]	Muncie Burris	Georgetown
1943, 1944	No Games (World War II)
1945	Tom Schwartz^[10]	Kokomo	Indiana
1946	Johnny Wilson^[11] ^[12]	Anderson	Anderson
1947	Bill Garrett^[13]	Shelbyville	Indiana	1951 NBA draft 2nd Rnd, 16th overall, by the Boston Celtics^[14]
1948	Bob Masters^[15]	Lafayette Jefferson	Indiana
1949	Dee Monroe^[16]	Madison	Kentucky
1950	Ronald "Pat" Klein^[17]	Marion
1951	Tom Harrold	Muncie Central	Colorado
1952	Joe Sexson^[18]	Indianapolis Tech	Purdue	1956 NBA draft 6th Rnd, 48th overall by the New York Knicks^[19]
1953	Hallie Bryant^[20]	Indianapolis Crispus Attucks	Indiana
1954	Bobby Plump^[21]	Milan	Butler
1955	Wilson Eison^[22]	Gary Roosevelt	Purdue	1959 NBA draft 4th Rnd, 28th overall by the Minneapolis Laker^[23]
1956	Oscar Robertson^[24]	Indianapolis Crispus Attucks	Cincinnati	1960 NBA draft 1st Rnd, 1st overall by the Cincinnati Royals
1957	John Coalmon^[25]	South Bend Central	Fordham
1958	Mike McCoy^[26]	Ft. Wayne South Side	Miami (FL)
1959	Jimmy Rayl^[27]	Kokomo	Indiana	1963 NBA draft 3rd Rnd, 22nd overall by the Cincinnati Royals
1960	Ron Bonham^[28]	Muncie Central	Cincinnati	1964 NBA draft 2nd Rnd, 18th overall by the Boston Celtics
1961 (tie)	Tom Van Arsdale^[29]	Indianapolis Manual	Indiana	1965 NBA draft 2nd Rnd, 11th overall by the Detroit Pistons
1961 (tie)	Dick Van Arsdale^[30]	Indianapolis Manual	Indiana	1965 NBA draft 2nd Rnd, 10th overall by the New York Knicks
1962	Larry Humes^[31]	Madison	Evansville
1963	Rick Jones^[32]	Muncie Central	Miami (FL)
1964	Dennis Brady	Lafayette Jefferson	Purdue
1965	Billy Keller^[33]	Indianapolis Washington	Purdue	1969 NBA draft 7th Rnd, 2nd by the Milwaukee Bucks
1966	Rick Mount^[34]	Lebanon	Purdue	1970 ABA Draft 1st Rnd by the Indiana Pacers 1970 NBA draft 8th Rnd, 132nd overall by the Los Angeles Lakers
1967	Willie Long^[35]	Ft. Wayne South Side	New Mexico	1971 NBA draft 2nd Rnd, 35th overall by the Cleveland Cavaliers
1968	Billy Shepherd^[36]	Carmel	Butler
1969	George McGinnis^[37]	Indianapolis Washington	Indiana	1971 ABA Draft Indiana Pacers 1973 NBA draft 2nd Rnd, 22nd overall by the Philadelphia 76ers
1970	Dave Shepherd^[38]	Carmel	Indiana Mississippi
1971	Mike Flynn^[39]	Jeffersonville	Kentucky	1975 NBA draft 7th Rnd, 113th overall by the Philadelphia 76ers
1972	Phil Cox^[40]	Connersville	Butler Gardner–Webb
1973	Kent Benson^[41]	New Castle	Indiana	1977 NBA draft 1st Rnd, 1st overall by the Milwaukee Bucks
1974 (tie)	Steve Collier^[42]	Southwestern	Cincinnati
1974 (tie)	Roy Taylor^[43]	Anderson	Vincennes University North Texas State
1975	Kyle Macy^[44]	Peru	Purdue Kentucky	1979 NBA draft 1st Rnd, 22nd overall by the Phoenix Suns
1976	Dave Colescott^[45]	Marion	North Carolina
1977	Ray Tolbert^[46]	Madison Heights	Indiana	1981 NBA draft 1st Rnd, 18th overall by the New Jersey Nets
1978	David Magley^[47]	South Bend LaSalle	Kansas	1982 NBA draft 2nd round, 28th pick, Cleveland Cavaliers
1979	Steve Bouchie^[48]	Washington	Indiana	1983 NBA draft 4th round, 78th pick, Detroit Pistons
1980	Jim Master^[49]	Ft. Wayne Harding	Kentucky	1984 NBA draft 6th Rnd, 127th overall by the Atlanta Hawks
1981	Dan Palombizio^[50]	Michigan City Rogers	Purdue Ball State
1982	Roger Harden^[51]	Valparaiso	Kentucky
1983	Steve Alford^[52]	New Castle	Indiana	1987 NBA draft 2nd Rnd, 26th overall by the Dallas Mavericks
1984 (tie)	Troy Lewis^[53]	Anderson	Purdue
1984 (tie)	Delray Brooks^[54] ^[55]	Michigan City Rogers	Indiana Providence
1985	Jeff Grose^[56]	Warsaw	Northwestern
1986	Mark Jewell	Lafayette Jefferson	Evansville
1987 (tie)	Jay Edwards^[57]	Marion	Indiana	1989 NBA draft 2nd Rnd, 33rd overall by the Los Angeles Clippers
1987 (tie)	Lyndon Jones^[58]	Marion	Indiana
1988	Woody Austin^[59]	Richmond	Purdue
1989	Pat Graham^[60]	Floyd Central	Indiana
1990	Damon Bailey^[61]	Bedford North Lawrence	Indiana	1994 NBA draft 2nd Rnd, 44th overall by the Indiana Pacers
1991	Glenn Robinson	Gary Roosevelt	Purdue	1994 NBA draft 1st Rnd, 1st overall by the Milwaukee Bucks
1992	Charles Macon	Michigan City Elston	Ohio State Central Michigan
1993	Maurice "Kojak" Fuller^[62]	Anderson	Vincennes University Southern
1994	Bryce Drew	Valparaiso	Valparaiso	1998 NBA draft 1st Rnd, 16th overall by the Houston Rockets
1995	Damon Frierson	Ben Davis	Miami (OH)
1996	Kevin Ault	Warsaw	Missouri State
1997	Luke Recker	DeKalb	Indiana Iowa
1998	Tom Coverdale	Noblesville	Indiana
1999	Jason Gardner	Indianapolis North Central	Arizona
2000	Jared Jeffries	Bloomington North	Indiana	2002 NBA draft 1st Rnd, 11th overall by the Washington Wizards
2001	Chris Thomas	Indianapolis Pike	Notre Dame
2002	Sean May	Bloomington North	North Carolina	2005 NBA draft 1st Rnd, 13th overall by the Charlotte Bobcats
2003	Justin Cage	Indianapolis Pike	Xavier
2004	A.J. Ratliff	Indianapolis North Central	Indiana
2005	Luke Zeller	Washington	Notre Dame
2006	Greg Oden	Lawrence North		2007 NBA draft 1st Rnd, 1st overall by the Portland Trail Blazers
2007	Eric Gordon	Indianapolis North Central	Indiana	2008 NBA draft 1st Rnd, 7th overall by the Los Angeles Clippers
2008	Tyler Zeller	Washington	North Carolina	2012 NBA draft 1st Rnd, 17th overall by the Dallas Mavericks
2009	Jordan Hulls	Bloomington South	Indiana
2010	Deshaun Thomas	Bishop Luers		2013 NBA draft 2nd Rnd, 58th overall by the San Antonio Spurs
2011	Cody Zeller	Washington	Indiana	2013 NBA draft 1st Rnd, 4th overall by the Charlotte Bobcats
2012	Gary Harris	Hamilton Southeastern	Michigan State	2014 NBA draft
2013	Zak Irvin	Hamilton Southeastern	Michigan
2014	Trey Lyles	Indianapolis Tech	Kentucky	2015 NBA draft 1st Rnd, 12th by the Utah Jazz
2015	Caleb Swanigan	Homestead	Purdue	2017 NBA draft 1st Rnd, 26th by the Portland Trail Blazers
2016	Kyle Guy	Lawrence Central	Virginia	2019 NBA draft 2nd Rnd, 55th by the New York Knicks
2017	Kris Wilkes	Indianapolis North Central	UCLA
2018	Romeo Langford	New Albany	Indiana	2019 NBA draft 1st Rnd, 14th by the Boston Celtics
2019	Trayce Jackson-Davis	Center Grove	Indiana	2023 NBA draft 2nd Rnd, 57th by the Washington Wizards
2020	Anthony Leal	Bloomington South	Indiana
2021	Caleb Furst	Blackhawk Christian School	Purdue
2022	Braden Smith	Westfield	Purdue
2023	Markus Burton	Penn	Notre Dame
2024	Flory Bidunga	Kokomo	Kansas

Schools with multiple winners

School	Number of Awards	Years
Anderson	4	1946, 1974, 1984, 1993
Marion	4	1950, 1976, *1987, *1987
Indianapolis North Central	4	1999, 2004, 2007, 2017
Washington	4	1979, 2005, 2008, 2011
Kokomo	3	1945, 1959, 2024
Lafayette Jefferson	3	1948, 1964, 1986
Muncie Central	3	1951, 1960, 1963
Bloomington North	2	2000, 2002
Bloomington South	2	2009, 2020
Carmel	2	1968, 1970
Indianapolis Crispus Attucks	2	1953, 1956
Ft. Wayne South Side	2	1958, 1967
Gary Roosevelt	2	1955, 1991
Hamilton Southeastern	2	2012, 2013
Indianapolis Manual	2	1961, *1961
Indianapolis Pike	2	2001, 2003
Indianapolis Tech	2	1952, 2014
Indianapolis Washington	2	1965, 1969
Madison	2	1949, 1962
Michigan City Rogers	2	1981, 1984
New Castle	2	1973, 1983
Valparaiso	2	1982, 1994
Warsaw	2	1985, 1996

* – Indicates a tie in which both recipients attended the same school

Colleges with multiple winners

College	Number of Awards	Years
Indiana	29	1940, 1945, 1947, 1948, 1953, 1959, 1961, 1961, 1969, 1970, 1973, 1977, 1979, 1983, 1984, 1987, 1987, 1989, 1990, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2004, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2018, 2019, 2020
Purdue	13	1952, 1955, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1975, 1981, 1984, 1988, 1991, 2015, 2021, 2022
Kentucky	6	1949, 1971, 1975, 1980, 1982, 2014
Ohio State	3	1992, 2006, 2010
North Carolina	3	1976, 2002, 2008
Cincinnati	3	1956, 1960, 1974
Butler	3	1954, 1968, 1972
Notre Dame	3	2001, 2005, 2023
Evansville	2	1962, 1986
Kansas	2	1978, 2024
Miami (FL)	2	1958, 1963
Vincennes University	2	1974, 1993

See also

• Indiana Miss Basketball award

External links

• Indiana's Mr. Basketball
• Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame
• Indianapolis Monthly story on award winners
• Pictures of all former Mr. Basketballs

Notes and References

1. News: Mr. Basketball winners . April 10, 2005 . . 2010-01-24 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20090901043207/http://www2.indystar.com/articles/1/235705-5971-036.html . 2009-09-01 .
2. http://www.hoopshall.com/inductees/mrbasketball.html Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame - Mr. Basketball (1939 to Present)
3. Web site: IndyStar Mr. Basketball Caleb Swanigan uses 4A state title as springboard to honor.
4. Web site: IndyStar: Indianapolis Star, Indiana news, breaking news and sports.
5. Web site: George Crowe. October 5, 2015. hoopshall.com.
6. Web site: Ed Schienbein. October 5, 2015. hoopshall.com.
7. Web site: John Bass. October 5, 2015. hoopshall.com.
8. Web site: Kenneth Brown. October 5, 2015. hoopshall.com.
9. News: Kenneth Jacob Brown Jr. October 5, 2015. thestarpress.com.
10. Web site: Tom Schwartz. October 5, 2015. hoopshall.com.
11. Web site: Johnny Wilson. October 5, 2015. hoopshall.com.
12. News: November 10, 2015. The Herald Bulletin. Anderson High School will be home to Johnny Wilson statute. Hirsch, Stuart. November 12, 2015.
13. Web site: Bill Garrett. October 5, 2015. hoopshall.com.
14. Web site: Bill Garrett and the Integration of Big Ten Basketball, Part II . 17 March 2016 . Indiana Historical Bureau . August 3, 2018. Also: Web site: 1951 NBA Draft. basketball-reference.com. August 3, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20091009114245/http://www.basketball-reference.com/draft/NBA_1951.html. October 9, 2009. live.
15. Web site: Bob Masters. October 5, 2015. hoopshall.com.
16. Web site: Dee Monroe. October 5, 2015. hoopshall.com.
17. Web site: Ronald Klein. October 5, 2015. hoopshall.com.
18. Web site: Joe Sexson. October 5, 2015. hoopshall.com.
19. Web site: 1956 NBA draft.
20. Web site: Hallie Bryant. October 5, 2015. hoopshall.com.
21. Web site: Bobby Plump. October 5, 2015. hoopshall.com.
22. Web site: Wilson Eison. October 5, 2015. hoopshall.com.
23. Web site: 1959 NBA draft.
24. Web site: Oscar Robertson. October 5, 2015. hoopshall.com.
25. Web site: John Coalmon. October 5, 2015. hoopshall.com.
26. Web site: Mike McCoy. October 5, 2015. hoopshall.com.
27. Web site: Jimmy Rayl. October 5, 2015. hoopshall.com.
28. Web site: Ron Bonham. October 5, 2015. hoopshall.com.
29. Web site: Tom Van Arsdale. October 5, 2015. hoopshall.com.
30. Web site: Dick Van Arsdale. October 5, 2015. hoopshall.com.
31. Web site: Larry Humes. October 5, 2015. hoopshall.com.
32. Web site: Richard Jones. October 5, 2015. hoopshall.com.
33. Web site: Billy Keller. October 5, 2015. hoopshall.com.
34. Web site: Rick Mount. October 5, 2015. hoopshall.com.
35. Web site: Willie Long. October 5, 2015. hoopshall.com.
36. Web site: Billy Shepherd. October 5, 2015. hoopshall.com.
37. Web site: George McGinnis. October 5, 2015. hoopshall.com.
38. Web site: Dave Shepherd. October 5, 2015. hoopshall.com.
39. Web site: Mike Flynn. October 5, 2015. hoopshall.com.
40. Web site: Phil Cox. October 5, 2015. hoopshall.com.
41. Web site: Kent Benson. October 5, 2015. hoopshall.com.
42. Web site: Steve Collier. October 5, 2015. hoopshall.com.
43. News: September 10, 2015. The Herald Bulletin. Anderson High star Taylor, 1974 co-Mr. Basketball, dies of cancer. Bremer, George. October 5, 2015.
44. Web site: Kyle Macy. October 5, 2015. hoopshall.com.
45. Web site: David Colescott. October 5, 2015. hoopshall.com.
46. Web site: Ray Tolbert. October 5, 2015. hoopshall.com.
47. Web site: David Magley. October 5, 2015. hoopshall.com.
48. Web site: Steve Bouchie. October 5, 2015. hoopshall.com.
49. Web site: James Master. October 5, 2015. hoopshall.com.
50. Web site: Dan Palombizio. October 5, 2015. hoopshall.com.
51. News: July 23, 2012. Northwest Indiana Times. Where are they now? Roger Harden. Nieto, Mike. October 5, 2015.
52. Web site: Steve Alford. October 5, 2015. hoopshall.com.
53. News: February 1, 2011. The Herald Bulletin. Life after basketball. Bremer, George. October 5, 2015.
54. News: January 4, 1987. The Chicago Tribune. Fallen star rising again. Stanton, Mike. October 5, 2015.
55. News: May 19, 2015. WNDU. Former Mr. Basketball Delray Brooks named boys hoops coach at Clay. DiCarlo, Angelo. October 5, 2015.
56. News: January 14, 1988. Los Angeles Times. Grose's Net Gain: The Mr. Basketball that Hoosiers didn't want is something special to Wildcats. Norwood, Robin. October 5, 2015.
57. News: June 29, 2015. The Indianapolis Star. Former IU player Jay Edwards wants a different shot at NBA. Neddenriep, Kyle. October 7, 2015.
58. Web site: March 23, 2015. 1070 The Fan. One on One with Lyndon Jones. Monteith, Mark. October 7, 2015.
59. News: November 21, 2013. Journal & Courier. Former IU player Jay Edwards wants a different shot at NBA. Baird, Nathan. October 7, 2015.
60. News: November 13, 2014. The Indianapolis Star. Where are they now? Remembering the Hoosiers of '89. Ostermann, Zach. October 7, 2015.
61. News: May 18, 2014. The Indianapolis Star. Indiana basketball legend Damon Bailey joins Butler women's staff. Keefer, Zak. October 7, 2015.
62. News: February 12, 2014. WRTV6. Maurice 'Kojak' Fuller uses life experiences to reach out to kids. Monet, Ebone. October 5, 2015.