By Al Hamnik
Times Columnist | Tuesday, August 26, 2008
In football, they call it a handoff. And when the ball is tucked firmly in your gut, run like the room is on fire. Do not bobble or drop the precious cargo.
Value it like a Ming vase.
That was the request Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame Executive Director Roger Dickinson e-mailed on Aug. 22 to Bill Maldonado, athletic director at E.C. Central.
Dickinson needs names, addresses and phone numbers for members of the 1970 E.C. Roosevelt and 1971 E.C. Washington boys state championship teams, scheduled for induction in March of 2010 and 2011, respectively.
Roosevelt and all-everything Jim Bradley went 28-0 in 1969-70, beating E.C.W. twice, including 58-55 for the sectional title. Washington continued the dominance a year later, going 29-0, averaging 95.4 ppg for the regular season, 91.0 overall, and with its top eight players all getting scholarships.
No team in our state tournament history has matched either in talent.
After all the years of Region fans complaining about the constant lack of respect downstate for their teams, the door has finally opened at the Hall of Fame.
Dickinson wants the 411 on everybody associated with the Roosevelt and Washington champs, including the teams' student managers, if available.
"I got the e-mail (but) I didn't know it was urgent that he wanted the information," Maldonado said Monday. "I'll put that on my priority list to get contact information for those guys. Just within the last few months, I could probably name a couple that I ran into, so that'll be a start."
Roosevelt coaches Bill Holzbach and Hank Zawacki still live in the Region, as do Washington coaches John Molodet and Pete Auksel. Former Senators Pete Trgovich, Darnell Adell and Mike Monagan are all employed by the school system. Tim Stoddard's cousin lives in East Chicago.
Like a huge puzzle, several pieces already are in place.
"Once the word gets out, everybody comes out of the woodwork and somebody knows somebody," Maldonado said. "We'll be able to hunt those people down."
Dickinson noted that E.C.R. coach Bobbi DeKemper's 1977 and 1979 championship teams, which were a combined 91-2 in the first four seasons of girls hoops, will be inducted on April 25, 2009. They had previously received Silver Anniversary honors, so Dickinson already has information on most of those players.
Maldonado said he will have his secretaries begin assembling the rosters of both boys champions today. Anyone who knows the whereabouts of the Roosevelt and Washington players should contact him at (219) 391-4000, ext. 4052.
"The next few years are going to be important years for East Chicago and the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame," Dickinson said.
That Ming vase has been handed over. Let's see if the city can deliver it in one piece.
This column solely represents the writer's opinion. Reach him at ahamnik@nwitimes.com.