Star-filled group to be inducted into Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame in 2023 men's class

A star-studded group will go into the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame in the men’s induction class in March.

Former Marion star James Blackmon Sr., Terre Haute South and Indiana standout Brian Evans, Lawrence North and North Carolina star Eric Montross and Zionsville standout and former Butler and Boston Celtics coach Brad Stevens were among the names announced Tuesday for the 61^st induction class.

The following group will be honored at a ceremony on March 22. The day’s events will include a reception at the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame museum in New Castle in the afternoon and a banquet that evening at the Primo Banquet Hall in Indianapolis. Reservations will be available soon online or through mail order in early 2023.

A look at the inductees:

James Blackmon Sr., Marion

Blackmon was a McDonald’s All American at Marion in 1983 as he averaged 32.6 points per game, scoring 52 points in the afternoon of a state finals loss to Anderson. He was runner-up to New Castle’s Steve Alford for Mr. Basketball. After a college career at Kentucky, he went on to coach high school basketball at Fort Wayne Luers, winning state titles in 2008 and ’09. He came back to Marion to coach in 2013 and led the Giants to a Class 3A state championship in 2016.

Richard Butt, Huntington

Butt graduated from Huntington in 1954 and after college at Ball State, got his first head coaching job at Liberty Center from 1959-64. He led the 67-student school to a sectional title in 1964. Butt coached at Lakeland from 1964-73 and won three sectional championships. In 1983, he was one of five Indiana coaches chosen by the International Sports Exchange to conduct basketball clinics in Africa.

Henry Chapman, Fort Wayne North Side

The late Chapman was one of the first two African-American players at North Side, along with Charlie Lyons. Chapman was named all-city in Fort Wayne for three years, scoring 1,124 points for his career. As a senior in 1954-55, his team reached he state finals but lost by two points in the afternoon game to Gary Roosevelt. He was the first Allen County player to score 1,000 points. Chapman went to barnstorm with the Harlem Globetrotters before working 31 years for International Harvester.

John DeVoe, Park School

DeVoe was one of a group of businessmen to purchase an ABA team and became the first president of the Indiana Pacers. He graduated from Park School in 1952, leading his team to a 18-4 record as a senior and scored 73 points in a game. He graduated from Princeton in 1956. DeVoe was a three-year letterwinner and team captain and MVP as a senior.

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Henry Ebershoff, Lafayette Central Catholic

The 1963 graduate was a member of the Silver Anniversary team in 1988. He recorded seven games of 30 points or more and set a school record with 25 consecutive free throws. His free-throw percentage as a junior was 86.3%, a school record. Ebershoff was the school MVP in football and basketball before going on to Purdue to earn second-team All-Big Ten Conference honors as he averaged 15 points and 4.6 assists as a senior in 1966-67. He owned and operated Lafayette Ten and Awning until his passing.

Brian Evans, Terre Haute South

Evans averaged 22.5 points as a senior in 1990-91 and was named first team all-state and an Indiana All-Star as his team finished 23-4. He went on to play at Indiana, scoring 1,701 points and earning Big Ten Conference player of the year honors as a senior in 1996. Evans played professionally in the NBA and overseas from 1996-2005 and is currently the owner/founder of Arora Specialty Sleep Clinic.

Oscar Evans, Shortridge

The 1968 graduate averaged 24 points and 11 rebounds as a senior and was named first-team all-state after he was the high scorer in the final four. Evans left Shortridge as the school’s all-time leading scorer. He played at Vincennes, leading the team to the junior college national championship. Evans graduated from Butler in 1972 with a degree in management.

Darrin Fitzgerald, Indianapolis Washington

Fitzgerald was the second-leading scorer in the city his senior in 1983 as he averaged 22 points per game. He was also an all-state defensive back in football. Fitzgerald went on to play at Butler, where holds the all-time single game scoring record with 54 points and 12 3-pointers. He is third on Butler’s all-time career scoring list and seventh in assists. Fitzgerald is a member of Butler’s athletic hall of fame. He worked for Chrysler Corporation from 1989-2009.

Dennis Goins, Rushville

The 1979 Rushville graduate started as a freshman on the Lions’ state runner-up team. During his senior year, he was named an Indiana All-Star after scoring 1,080 points to rank fourth in school history. He is first on the school’s all-time assist list with 539 assists. Goins was also a four-year starter on Rushville’s football team. He went on to play at Vincennes and from 1979-81 and Southern Illinois from 1981-83. Goins was an award-winning TV sports photographer and is currently a teacher at Ben Davis High School/Area 31 Career Center and director of BDTV.

Ken Gunning, Shelbyville

The late Gunning graduated from Shelbyville in 1933 and was a three-year letterwinner in basketball, baseball and track. He earned the Paul Cross award for basketball his senior season. Gunning went on to play basketball at Indiana, where he led the team in scoring for three seasons. He was a senior captain and second-team All-American and also lettered in baseball and track. Gunning went on to coach at Western New Mexico and Wichita State before coaching at Connersville.

Jack Hogan, Broad Ripple

Broad Ripple’s “Pocket Rocket” graduated in 1963 and led his team to a 21-6 record and a semistate appearance. He was named Broad Ripple’s outstanding senior athlete as he was also a member of the baseball and cross-country teams. He went on to be a standout player at DePauw, where he was named to Time Magazine’s best college players under 6-foot. He led DePauw to victories over Evansville, Indiana State and Butler. Hogan went on to be a standout tennis player and was in real estate until his retirement in 2019.

Kirk Manns, North Judson

Manns, a 1986 North Judson graduate, averaged 34.2 points and 9.4 rebounds as a senior on a team that finished 18-6. He was all-state in basketball and football, scoring 1,962 career points. He was an Indiana All-Star and runner-up for Mr. Basketball. Manns went on to score 1,212 career points at Michigan State, where he scored a career-high 40 points against Purdue. He is currently the athletic director at Seymour.

Eric Montross, Lawrence North

The 7-foot Montross averaged 21.3 points per game on Lawrence North’s 1989 state championship team. His senior year, he was a McDonald’s All American and Indiana All-Star. Among other accolades, he was also named USA Today first-team All-American. Montross went on to play at North Carolina, where he played for a national championship team in 1993, averaging 15.8 points per game. He was a Naismith All-American as a senior. Montross played in the NBA from 1994-2003. He has been a commentator on the Tar Heel Sports Network since 2005.

Drake Morris, East Chicago Washington

Morris was the Mr. Basketball runner-up in 1977 as he averaged 25 points and 12 rebounds on a team that went 24-4. He was first-team all-state and a McDonald’s All American. Morris went on to play at Purdue, where he was named all-Big Ten in 1981. He scored 1,250 points for the Boilermakers. Morris played in Italy for three years and is currently a case worker for the Lake County prosecutor.

Jim Oler, Economy

The late Oler graduated from Economy in 1952. He scored 1,260 career points, though he missed much of his junior season with an ankle injury. After Economy, he played at Florida State, where he held the scoring record for 39 years with 1,817 career points (now ranking second). He scored a career-high 42 points and holds the single-season record with 29.7 points per game. He also holds numerous free-throw shooting records. Oler coached in Florida at McArthur High School and Brevard Community College. He is a member of the Florida Community College Hall of Fame.

Phil Snodgress, Kennard

The late Snodgress, a three-sport athlete in basketball, baseball and track, graduated in 1954. After graduation, he played baseball for four years at Ball State. He went on to coach at Blue River Valley, Liberty and Union County before a 22-year stint in Greensburg. He has a career record of 350-221, while earning 1974 IBCA coach of the year, 1999 Virgil Sweet Service Award and was inducted into the Union County athletic hall of fame in 2008. He won 11 sectional titles and one regional championship.

Brad Stevens, Zionsville

Stevens, a 1995 Zionsville graduate, set school records for points (1,508), steals (157) and 3-pointers made (138) and averaged 26.8 points per game as a senior. He went on to play at DePauw, where he was a three-time academic All-American. Stevens worked at Eli Lilly for one year before joining Thad Matta’s staff at Butler. He was an assistant at Butler until 2007 before becoming the head coach. He twice led Butler to the national championship game before he was hired to lead the Boston Celtics in 2014. Stevens coached the Celtics until 2021, when he moved into the front office.

Mike Lightfoot, LaVille

Lightfoot, a 1974 LaVille graduate, is the recipient of the 2023 Silver Medal Award for contributions to Indiana basketball other than as an Indiana high school player or high school coach. He led the Bethel University coach from 1987-2017, leading the Pilots to 794 wins and three NAIA national championships and four NCCAA national championships. Lightfoot coached the Pilots to 36 all-time No. 1 rankings, the most in NAIA Division III history. He was an all-state player at LaVille and played at Bethel for Homer Drew. He coached at Mishawaka Marian from 1978-87.

Call Star reporter Kyle Neddenriep at (317) 444-6649.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame 2023 men's induction class