In his duties as executive director of the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame in New Castle, Chris May meets many out-of-staters whose window into Indiana high school basketball was the 1986 movie "Hoosiers."
"The majority of people who come into the Hall of Fame want to talk about the movie and Milan (the small school 1954 state champion the movie was loosely based on)," May said. "They want to know how much of it was true. For a lot of them, that's where their interest in Indiana high school basketball comes from."
With that in mind, the Hall of Fame will honor Indiana natives David Anspaugh and Angelo Pizzo in its 2013 men's induction class as winners of the St. Vincent Health Silver Medal Award, which recognizes contributions to Indiana high school basketball other than as a player or coach.
"They did it in a way that told an exciting story and a story that was true to Indiana high school basketball," May said. "It's perfect. This is recognition of how special that movie was and still is today."
Pizzo, the film's screenwriter and producer, and Anspaugh, the director, will be honored along with the rest of the class March 20 at Primo Banquet Hall on the Southside.
The rest of the class:
LaVern Benson, Crispus Attucks (1958): Played in consecutive state championship games, as a sophomore for the 1956 championship team and as a junior on the runner-up.
Phil Dawkins, East Chicago Washington (1960): Was the captain on the 1960 state champions and scored a game-high 21 points in the championship victory over Muncie Central.
Gene Demaree, New Marion (1961): Scored 1,361 points and led school to its first sectional championship as a senior.
Chuck Franz, Clarksville (1979): Scored 51 points in a sectional championship victory over New Albany in 1979 and tied or broke 24 school records.
Scott Haffner, Noblesville (1984): Averaged 28 points as a senior and led Noblesville to an undefeated regular season.
Bob Heady, Frankton (1960): Scored over 1,100 points at Franklin before winning 383 games as a coach, including state finals appearances at Shenandoah (1981) and Carmel ('93).
James Master, Harding (1980): Won Indiana's Mr. Basketball in 1980 and scored a Fort Wayne city record 1,592 career points.
Carl Meditch, Tech (1955): Outscored Oscar Robertson and Willie Merriweather as a senior in 1955 to lead city and North Central Conference in scoring.
Alan Nass, Huntingburg (1959): Was an Indiana All-Star and led Huntingburg to a 40-9 record his final two seasons before going on to captain Georgia Tech.
Bill "Fig" Newton, Rockville (1968): Averaged 23 points and 19 rebounds as a senior and later played with Indiana Pacers for 1973 ABA champions.
Dan Palombizio, Michigan City Rogers (1981): Was Mr. Basketball in 1981 and graduated as state's ninth-leading scorer with 2,092 career points.
Dick Piper, Chester Township (1948): Led his team to undefeated regular season and school's only regional championship in 1948.
Robert Rousey, Anderson (1949): Was the leading scorer in the North Central Conference and later played at Kansas State.
Chad Tucker, Cloverdale (1983): Scored 1,338 points before becoming Butler's all-time leading scorer (2,321 points).
John Forest Crane of Wingate will be named the Centennial Award winner, which recognizes those who contributed to the high school game more than 100 years ago. He scored the game-winning baskets in the 1913 state finals game against Rochester and in the overtime championship game against South Bend.
