“I still remember thinking that championship could have been taken two different ways,” said Berger. “People were heading in different directions over the confusion. “That tournament run we had brought everyone together,” said DeBaets. It lasted a couple weeks and threatened to be a divisive situation. was reeling from a teachers’ strike that began the week of the sectionals. They were the culmination of a 27-2 season that meant more to the South Bend community than many realize. Those memories will be rekindled this year when DeBaets finally gets his due. Heck, if Plump misses that shot, it just goes overtime. “You hear about Bobby Plump’s shot (for Milan, to win the 1954 title). “People are still talking about (Plymouth’s) Scott Skiles’ shot (in the 1982 semistate) against Gary Roosevelt,” said longtime Riley coach Bob Berger. Nothing but net from the left side beyond the arc to force overtime.Ĭlay took control in the extra period, coming away with a 93-88 victory and the state title. Jaraan Cornell was the first choice Chad Hudnall, the second option then Charles Bonds. That last shot in regulation was scripted as well. They’d done it, against our JV team not necessarily against a team as talented as Valpo.” We had 20 different situations we practiced two a day. “We practiced those situations all season: Down 10 with a little over a minute to play. “I never thought we were out of it,” said DeBaets, ever the math teacher with a penchant for detail. And suddenly, Clay had the ball with a couple seconds left. “‘Let’s see now, we go first (for the award ceremony).’ I didn’t think we had a chance.” “I remember sitting there on the bench trying to figure out what the runners-up need to do,” said Greg Humnicky, Clay’s athletic director at that time. Clay trailed Valparaiso by 10 with 1:10 left in regulation. History says the 64-year-old DeBaets, who last coached in 2002, won 233 games in 17 seasons on the bench at Clay, New Prairie and Riley.īut the reason the LaSalle High grad will be admitted into the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame in March is that one victory in 1994. SOUTH BEND - Maybe it’s too simple to boil Tom DeBaets’ career as a high school basketball coach down to one game.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |