Basketball is passion, and that passion is shown throughout the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame. That passion continues as the board of directors of the Hall announces its 63rd induction class, to be honored in ceremonies on Wednesday, March 19, 2025.
Eighteen men are in the class, including three individuals with connections to Anderson High School:
Ron Hecklinski posted a 434-245 record in 30 seasons as an Indiana varsity basketball coach, leading teams to six conference championships, six sectional titles and one regional crown in a career that included stops at Wapahani (36-30 from 1981-84), Jasper (14-7 in 1984-85), Edgewood (44-21 from 1986-89), Anderson (274-138 from 1993-2011) and Mishawaka (66-49 from 2017-22). He also served as a college assistant for five seasons, 1985-86 at Illinois State and 1989-93 at Ball State (including a spot in the 1990 NCAA Sweet 16 and a 1993 NCAA Tournament berth). Hecklinski is a 1974 graduate of South Bend Saint Joseph, where he played two varsity seasons for teams that finished 15-8 and 10-11. He averaged 10 points, six rebounds and won the best defender award as a senior. Hecklinski attended St. Edward’s University in Texas for a semester, then transferred to play three seasons at Manchester College. He averaged 11.1 points for a 17-11 squad that reached the NAIA District 21 final as a sophomore, had norms of 15 points and 10 rebounds in being named honorable mention all-conference as a junior and had a 9.0-point average as a senior. Hecklinski began his coaching career in 1978-79 as freshman coach at Knox, then was Richmond JV coach from 1979-81 before his first head coaching opportunity at Wapahani. He was head coach for the East team in the 2003 McDonald’s All-American Game in Cleveland, assisted in the McDonald’s game four other times and was the 2010 Indiana All-Star head coach. Twenty-one of his former assistant coaches have become head coaches. Also, 38 of his former players have gone into teaching and coaching, with 11 of those ex-players becoming head coaches. Hecklinski accomplished much of his success after undergoing a life-saving liver transplant in July 1996. Notably, the IHSAA granted Anderson special permission for a benefit game in Washington, D.C. On Jan. 29, 1998, Heck’s Indians – No. 1 in Indiana Class 4A and No. 14 nationally – posted a 68-63 victory over national No. 2 DeMatha (Md.) and coach Morgan Wootten, who also had recovered from a liver transplant in the summer of 1996.
Troy Lewis was the 1984 Indiana co-Mr. Basketball after he totaled 1,966 points, 508 rebounds, 238 assists and 131 steals while leading Anderson to a three-year record of 68-11 that included two sectionals, two regionals, one semi-state and a 1983 state runner-up finish. After playing no varsity as a freshman and netting 8.4 points and 3.5 rebounds as a sophomore for a 20-4 squad, Lewis became a state-wide name as a junior when he tallied 30.0 points, 8.1 rebounds, 3.3 assists and was MVP of the ’83 State Finals for the 24-5 Indians. He completed a magnificent high school career by averaging 35.3 points, 7.6 rebounds and 3.9 assists as a senior for a 24-2 unit that fell in the semi- state. Lewis, who had a career high of 50 points as a senior against Muncie Central, was named a 1984 McDonald’s All-American, played in the Capital Classic national all-star game and was USA Today third-team all-USA. He also was selected 1984 AP and UPI first-team All-State, 1983 AP second-team All-State, 1983 UPI Junior All-State and had his jersey No. 23 retired at Anderson. Lewis matriculated to Purdue, where he is sixth on the career list with 2,038 points, totaled 465 rebounds and is 14th on the career list with 398 assists. The Boilermakers went 96-28 during his four seasons with two Big Ten championships and four NCAA Tournament berths. Lewis averaged 10.4 points as a freshman, 18.4 points as a sophomore, 18.5 points as a junior and 17.9 points as a senior en route to being selected second-team all-Big Ten in 1986 and first-team all-Big Ten in 1987 and 1988. He had career highs of 39 points vs. Michigan (Jan. 5, 1987) and 14 assists vs. Indiana (Feb. 21, 1988). Lewis won a silver medal in the 1987 World University Games, was named to the AP’s high school second- team 1980s all-decade squad in 1990 and was chosen to Purdue’s all-time Centennial Team in March 1997. After college, he played for the Dayton Wings in the World Basketball League. That led to a job as a sales executive with Victory Wholesale Grocers in Dayton, Ohio, where Lewis has worked for more than 30 years. He also has been an assistant coach at Springboro and Centerville high schools, helping guide the latter school to the 2021 Ohio Division I state championship and state final four berths in 2022, 2023 and 2024. Lewis was inducted into the Purdue Athletics Hall of Fame in 2010.
Jim Shannon posted a 616-292 record in 39 seasons as varsity basketball coach, including a 451-153 mark in 25 seasons from 1998 to 2023 at New Albany. During his time with the Bulldogs, he guided five Indiana All-Star players – including 2018 Mr. Basketball Romeo Langford – while directing the team to 12 sectional titles, three regional crowns, one semi-state trophy and the 2016 Class 4A state title at 27-1. Over his career, Shannon’s teams won 15 sectional titles, 18 conference championships and two Hall of Fame Classic crowns (2007, 2016). Shannon was a conference Coach of the Year 19 times, a three-time IBCA District Coach of the Year (2002, 2008, 2016), the 2016 NFHS Indiana Coach of the Year, the 2008 Ball State Alumnus Coach of the Year, a 2002 Junior All-Star assistant, a 2005 Indiana All-Star assistant and 2018 Indiana All-Star head coach. Shannon is a 1978 graduate of Anderson, where he was a two-year varsity regular and an all-sectional player in 1977. He attended Anderson College for one year, then transferred to Ball State where he earned a bachelor’s degree in 1982 and a master’s degree in 1986. He started his coaching career while in college, assisting at Anderson from 1980-84. Shannon’s first head coaching position was at North Decatur, going 23-41 from 1984-87. He then went 74-55 at South Dearborn from 1987-93 and 68-43 at Lebanon from 1993-98. He completed his coaching career with a .678 percentage and entered the 2024-25 season as Indiana’s 16th all-time winningest coach.
The Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame’s 63rd Men’s Awards Banquet is planned for Wednesday, March 19, 2025. 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.
Reservations will soon be available online or through mail order in early 2025. Call the Hall at 765- 529-1891, visit www.hoopshall.com or email [email protected] for more information.