brandt's barn

Like every good Hoosier dairyman, Elmer Brandt knew how to multipurpose a barn - milk cows below, hay storage & basketball court above.  It was a place for his young sons to learn about hard work and fair play.  But brothers will be just that and after the second trip to the local doc for more stitches, Elmer bent the hoop up into the air, ending the spirited games.  In later years, a basket made it's way back into the barn, quietly reminding the old post & beam that its presence was still important.  CGS.

orange county patriotic

the war ball

The Batesville Bulldogs have a long history of basketball success - thirty Sectional titles, 10 Regional crowns and two Semi-State championships.  Their trophy cases are overflowing.  Nestled in the corner of one, we discovered a championship ball from 1943.  A Semi-State championship to be more specific.  After searching unsuccessfully for a corresponding trophy, we moved our hunt to more cases.  Failure.  Why would a school so steeped in basketball history (their first Sectional crown was in 1926) not have a trophy honoring a Final Four appearance?  Lost, stolen, misplaced?  AD Mark Ferguson addressed our concerns, "well, it was during the war."  Maybe all available metal and energy had been put into the war effort.  Those answers are better left to historians.  What we can imagine is, seventy years after the Allied invasion of France (D-Day), that every home front sacrifice, no matter how small, was made in the name of freedom.  CGS.

paris crossing

Just over the Jennings County line, west of Route 3 on Indiana 250 sits an old gym that on a casual viewing could be mistaken for a church or school.  Once home to the St. Paris Pirates it was built in 1953 to replace one that arsonists burned in the late '40's.  If you find the right people (at Webster's Garage), who know the right people (the St. Paris Volunteer Fire Department), you might be lucky enough to gain access to the old gym that was last used for high school play in 1961.  And, if your luck is really good, you might meet 97 1/2 year old Loretah Blake, who played for Deputy from 1932-35 and remembers taking on the Lady Pirates during those dark days of the Depression.  As I've said already, we've met some great 'ballers' on our journey, but none quite as pretty as Ms. Loretah Blake.  CGS.

the rising

We called Mark on Good Friday to let him know that much of what was left of Lawrenceburg's gym was up for grabs. Mike & I assumed that the story would end there.  But the next day he toured the gym and consulted contractors on the feasibility of removing and transporting 1500 square feet of tongue & groove maple flooring.  On Easter Sunday a fortuitous breakfast with Kevin (who owns a semi) sealed the deal.  Working through the day & into the evening with family and friends, the Tiger home court began it's move west.  Last night Mark called to let me know the final part of the journey was about to begin.  CGS.

the coach

Coach (koCH), noun: an athletic instructor or trainer, a tutor who gives specialized training, verb: to train, instruct or teach.  Example - Stacey Meyer has coached the Greensburg Pirates for the past 8 seasons, leading them to two Sectional Titles, one Regional Crown and back to back State Championships. He is only the 13th Indiana high school coach to win back to back titles. 

Greensburg & Stacey Meyer had been on our radar since we started the project back in October - they were a short drive away and were following up a State Championship with a senior laden roster.  On a cold night in January we watched a determined Madison team defeat them in overtime for only their third loss in three years.  And ultimately, the only defeat of the season.  We caught up with them again when they dispensed Silver Creek and Evansville Memorial in the Washington Regional and then as they side stepped a determined Guerin Catholic at Richmond to move into the championship game. Unable to attend that game, I listened to the radio broadcast as the commentators worried that the Pirates were only "six players deep" and wouldn't be able to handle Bowman Academy's athleticism or game long full-court press. Never underestimate a good coach with a superior game plan.  In the end, to the amazement of the folks in the radio booth, Greensburg didn't try to dribble through Bowman's press, they simply passed the ball around it.  Over & over, with surgical precision, they moved down the court and scored points.  89-76 was the final tally, but it wasn't even that close. So the boys in blue came home with another trophy to an appreciative community. And their hometown coach?  Well, he's looking forward to the 2014-15 season.  You see he's already making plans for turning his JV squad's one loss into another victory.  CGS.  

sisters

To say that Sydney Keane & Brooklyn Ronsheim are friends would be an understatement.  They've grown up together, shared countless sleepovers, fought with each other, traded secrets and for the past 4 seasons have been teammates on the Jac-Cen-Del Lady Eagles - numbers 22 and 32 in your program.  The only seniors on this year's squad, they led the Lady Eagles to a 19-4 record, a sixth consecutive Sectional title, the Regional crown and a place in the Final Four. Not bad for a couple of small town girls. On the court they display intensity and leadership with attitude thrown in.  And did I mention that they were competitive?  Their basketball careers are over now - they will attend IU Southeast next year, simply as students (and roommates), but the mark they left at JCD is undeniable and the bar they set is high. Yet somewhere out there, high in the bleachers cheering on the Lady Eagles, are the next Sydney & Brooklyn. The beat goes on.  CGS.