Basketball hall selects Keefer, Wittman, Turner

 
By Pat McKee
November 27, 2006

Lawrence North High School boys basketball coach Jack Keefer was among 14 chosen for the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame's 2007 men's induction class, the hall announced today.
Keefer, 63, who has guided the Wildcats to four state championships, including the last three in a row in Class 4A, headlines a class that also includes former Indiana University and Indianapolis-area high standouts Randy Wittman and Landon Turner.
Wittman, who played at Ben Davis, and Turner, who played at Tech, both were members of IU's 1981 NCAA champions. A third player who was part of an NCAA championship team, Roger Burkman, who played at Franklin Central and the University of Louisville (1980), is another inductee.

Three players from high school state championship teams -- Larry "Jake" McIntyre of Attucks' 1959 winners, Gary Grieger of Evansville Bosse's 1962 winners and Jack Moore of Muncie Central's 1978 winners -- also are among those to be honored.

Others are 1974 Southport graduate Jim Krivacs, 1956 Shortridge graduate Robert "Biscuit" Williams, 1963 Rossville graduate Gene Milner and 1947 Fulton graduate Phil McCarter, who later was Keefer's coach at Oak Hill.

Completing the group are Frank Hamblen, a 1965 Terre Haute Garfield graduate who has gone on to become a longtime NBA assistant coach and has been a part of five NBA championship teams; Dave Omer, a longtime Southern Indiana coach who guided Washington (Daviess County) to the 2005 Class 3A state championship; and Ron Ferguson, a 1954 Milltown graduate who later coached at his alma mater and Crawford County.

Keefer, a 1961 graduate of Oak Hill High School in Grant County, has a record of 524-201 as the only coach in the history of Lawrence North. He has coached 11 Indianapolis Star Indiana All-Stars at the school, including 2006 Mr. Basketball Greg Oden and '06 All-Star Mike Conley.

In addition to state titles in 1989 and the last three seasons, Keefer's program recently set the state's all-time record for consecutive wins, mark that currently stands at 47 entering Friday's game at Terre Hatue South. Keefer's career record including four seasons at his alma mater is 585-227.

The induction ceremony will be part of a dinner on March 21 at Primo's Banquet Hall in Indianapolis. For tickets or information about the induction dinner or the New Castle-based hall of fame, call (765) 529-1891.