Editor
Three Southside girls basketball standouts have exceeded the 1,000-point career plateau already this season.
Franklin Central’s Rachel Loobie became the third Flashes player to reach the milestone with 21 points in a 53-44 win over Hoosier Crossroads Conference foe Westfield.
At Greenwood Christian Academy, Alexis Mead scored 10 points to become the first of two Cougars to exceed the scoring plateau. Mead helped lead GCA to a 51-35 win over 1A No. 20 Waldron. Teammate Izzy Reed hit the mark in the final 30 seconds in a 63-56 triumph over the 3A Sparkplugs. The Cougars are 5-2 after dominating International, 86-18 with Reed and Ellie Bigelow putting in 28 points apiece.
Volleyball honors
The Indiana High School Volleyball Coaches Association recently named its Indiana All-State teams.
Center Grove’s MJ Hammill and Ashley Eck were named to 4A first team all-state. Lutheran’s Dara Milivojac was named 1A first team. CG’s Grace Boggess and Roncalli’s Emma Halter were 4A second team.
Boggess and Franklin Central’s Carly Sobieralski were named to the 14-member Junior South All-Star volleyball team that played a North All-Star team last month.
Honor for James, Nyers
The 59th men’s induction class into the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame includes Southside coaches Mark James of Perry Meridian and retired Dick Nyers of Manual.
James, who also coached at Covington, Franklin Central and Ben Davis, is among the 20 winningest active coaches in the state. After three years at Covington, James coached Franklin Central from 1985 through 2000. James coached at Ben Davis for seven years and led the Giants to the 2017 4A IHSAA state championship.
He entered his second season at Perry Meridian with 568 career wins, 13 sectional, two regional, six conference and two Marion County championships and five county coach-of-the-year awards.
Nyers was a 1950’s city high school and college basketball star, respectively at Manual and Indiana Central College (now University of Indianapolis).
Nyers was a three-time first-team all-city standout for the Redskins, setting the school single-season scoring record three times. In college, he graduated second in career categories: points scored with 1,754; scoring average of 16.5 ppg; free throws made and attempted, 434 of 654; and 106 games played.
He played pro football with the Baltimore Colts and was the receiver for Johnny Unitas’ first touchdown pass. He later coached football at Carmel and Edinburgh high schools and Ball State University and UIndy.
The induction banquet will be Wednesday, March 25, 2020 at Primo Banquet Hall on the Southside.