When the Reggie Miller mural was announced last month, complete with the address of the location — 127 E. Michigan St. — I thought nothing of it. It sounded vaguely familiar, but that’s it. I just assumed it was the DLZ building, located at the corner of Delaware and Maryland Streets. It wasn’t until earlier this month that I realized my error when I saw photos of the mural in progress on social media. Something about the building was very familiar and when I noticed the Social Security Administration building in the background. That’s when I knew for sure: it was the former location of my mother’s law firm. They moved out of the building within the last two years and returned to Market Square Center, or as it’s popularly known as, the Gold Building. It was a surreal moment for me, I’d spent a fair share of time in the building, whether it was accompanying my mother in to work on the weekend, stopping by to have lunch with her and working there. I spent the summer of 2009 working there as a paid intern. I scanned medical records, made deliveries to other law firms or dropped off items at the court. Before I started my job at The Reporter-Times, I worked on doing discovery for several weeks. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine that a mural of one of all-time favorite players for my favorite sports team would grace the building I once worked. It’s silly, but it makes me feel more connected to the team as a whole. Humans, as a rule love to find patterns in things, create something out of nothing, put some constraints and boundaries on a chaotic world. It’s why we can look at an outlet and see a human face. Psychologists call it the principles of grouping. It’s a concept I was introduced to at Claude Cookman’s visual communication class as a sophomore at Indiana University. My time at IU overlapped briefly with current Pacer, Victor Oladipo. He was a freshman when I was a senior. I never encountered him during my time on campus, but my friend Xing did. Like Oladipo, she was a Telecom major and she ran into him in the telecom building. He was nice enough to pose for a photo with her outside of it. That giving side of Oladipo is something that’s continued in his NBA career. After the Pacers’ first game of the regular season, he could be seen signing autographs and interacting with fans on his way to the locker room. Former Pacer Lance Stephenson attended the same high school as my maternal grandmother: Abraham Lincoln High School in Brooklyn. When I met him at a signing a number of years ago, I informed him of this fact, which seemed to amuse him. It’s still funny to me to imagine my grandmother — an old Italian lady with a striking resemblance physically and vocally to Sophia Petrillo on “The Golden Girls” — sharing an alma mater with an NBA player. And much to my amusement, the Rail Splitters, as the sports teams at Abraham Lincoln are known, have borrowed the Purdue University train logo for their own use. Those Brooklyn/Pacers connections run deep. My mother, as a student at St. Joseph’s College in Brooklyn, once played a pickup game of hoops with Kathy Mullin, sister of Chris Mullin, who played for the Pacers from 1997 to 2000. Like my mother, Kathy was at St. Joseph’s College to become a nurse. My cousin Frank attended Xaverian high school with Chris Mullin, after the latter transferred from Power Memorial. These connections don’t really add up to much of anything, but it’s nice to feel connected to a team I love in some way beyond pure fandom. But that’s just how my mind works. I think that speaks to a deeper desire that most everyone has: that of wanting to belong and to be a part of a group.

MARTINSVILLE Before the start of the biggest game of the season, a contest against Mid State Conference rival Decatur Central, Martinsville High School football coach Carter Whitson informed outside linebacker and senior T.J. McGraw that he was going to lead the team out on to the field. It was a significant gesture from Whitson — it was National Guard night and T.J. had joined that branch of the armed services in March. He spent his summer undergoing basic training in Fort Benning, Ga. and now he was going to lead his teammates out on to their home field carrying the American flag. “I was really excited about that, and it felt really good to do that,” T.J. said. The way T.J.’s father Chris puts it, they went from zero to 60 when it came to the McGraw family’s knowledge of the military. “We started looking into this in January and knew nothing, and by March 21, we knew everything there was to know about the military,” Chris said. “We met with all the recruiters from different branches and finding out the ins and outs and this seemed to work best with his wants, needs and desires and our wants, needs and desires. Kind of killed two birds with one stone.” March 21 was when T.J. turned 17-years-old and became eligible to sign up for military service. and he hit the ground running. Just days after he signed up, he had his first weekend drill in Evansville. Part of the appeal of the National Guard was the freedom it gave T.J. He could complete a year of military service while still in high school, and it would still permit him to attend the college of his choice next year. The National Guard is T.J.’s future, and it’s something he takes very seriously. His deployment date for basic training came in to conflict with sectionals for baseball. T.J. spoke to his coaches about the situation and chose to prioritize his service over playing sports. He made the same decision when it came to preparing for football season. “I was very impressed with his maturity in that decision because I know if it was me in high school, I would have been like, ‘Well, I wanna play football.’ But he saw the big picture. He’s always been able to do that — a very good young man,” Chris said. Chris speaks from experience. He played baseball and football when he was a student at Decatur Central High School. He loved sports so much he got a teaching degree in physical education. “(I) did my student teaching at Ben Davis, coached at Ben Davis (High School). I got to work with Dick Dullaghan, and that’s where I got the enthusiasm for coaching.,” Chris said. He’s also coached his son since he was very young and continues to coach him in high school. “They had a few coaching changes, and the new coaches asked me to come on, just a volunteer coach, but it’s something I’m passionate about and love and especially with him,” Chris said. “(I) gotta wear a coach’s hat and a dad hat, and I’ve had a lot of practice doing that.” He tries to not let his instincts as a father override his needs as a coach, so he tries to avoid directly coaching his son. One of the first things his former high school classmate and MHS baseball coach Jeff Scott asked him is if he’d be OK with coaching his son. “And I said, ‘Absolutely, I’m not gonna do it.’ (Jeff) said, ‘That’s the answer I wanted to hear,’” Chris said. By chance, his deployment orders changed right before sectionals and he was able to play in a sectional game. T.J. said his coaches are very understanding of his commitment and accommodate his needs. “I sometimes have to miss football and do my National Guard the one weekend a month, and my football coach is totally OK with that and he supports me and everything I do,” T.J. said. Basic training T.J. faced challenges this summer; it was his first time ever being that far away from home for so long by himself. “Mentally, it was pretty tough in the beginning. Like I was thinking at the beginning, ‘What did I get myself into?’” T.J. said. “Now that I look back on it, I’m really happy that I did it, and it has helped me be a lot better person.” That change is something Chris has noticed in his son — a greater drive and determination. “Basic training turned him from a boy to a man. I tell the difference, other people that I’ve talked to at school have definitely noticed the difference. It’s very eye-opening for me to see what the military has done for him,” Chris said. During his time in Georgia, T.J. took on a leadership role, which he said came about by happenstance. “I kind of fell into the leadership role because I took things more seriously than some of the other people, and I also had friends,” he said. “It was a group of people. We all took it a little bit more seriously than necessarily other groups.” Halfway through training, his friend and leader of the platoon lost his position as platoon guide and T.J. was given that role. “It was stressful at first, there were times — it’s funny — but I would wake up and I’d yell at people, thinking that something was going wrong,” T.J. said. “It was stressful at first, but I had a lot of fun doing it and being with my friends, too, that were also leaders.” Senior year T.J.’s plan for his senior year is pretty straightforward: play sports, honor his commitment to the National Guard, and prepare for his future. He’s currently looking to study at a state college and is considering Indiana University, Purdue University and Ball State University. He’s not yet sure what he wants to study but is leaning towards business. On weekends, he has drill in Evansville, and he wakes up at around 4 a.m. to make the drive down south. “And then we get there, we start doing classwork, we learn little things and things to help us when we go back to training,” T.J. said. “That whole Saturday, we work. We go to bed around 10 p.m. and wake up around 6 a.m., which is pretty late, compared to what basic is. We would wake up at 4 a.m. every day in basic. and then we’d do more classwork.” The next day, they do more work and typically finish up around 2 or 3 p.m. Next summer, he will have another stint of training in Georgia, and after that, he will join a unit and be eligible to help out with disaster relief situations. Joining the National Guard was a transformative decision for T.J. He’s grown as a person and leader. It’s also exposed him to people from different walks of life. “It helped me realize that there’s bigger things in life and there’s different kinds of people in life. I met a lot of different people with a lot of different situations than what I have,” T.J. said. “It helps me understand that some people have different problems, different strong suits. “I’m more open to people and more understanding because you never know what someone’s background is until you spend a whole summer with them and you get a lot closer with people. and now I realize that it helps me understand people a lot better and makes me a better person.”

The offseason can be a blessing or a curse, it’s all a matter of what the team you cheer for is like. There are some seasons where the season ending is an act of mercy. The locker room is in flames and the overall experience of watching the team is one of torture. When it’s really bad, you can see it in the faces of the players — that dead-eyed, glazed look, expressions that suggest the players have the taste of ashes in their mouth. When there’s nothing to play for, no playoff appearance and no hope of improving in the draft, it makes for some pretty noxious basketball. On the flip side are seasons you never want to end. There’s something about the team that’s just clicking — they might not be a title threat, but they’re fun to watch, they play hard and it doesn’t feel like a chore or obligation to watch. There’s joy and camaraderie. It’s not a joyless slog to game 82 or a first-round exit. Last year the Pacers were the latter. and in previous years, they’ve been the former. Going in to the season, expectations were low based on the return on the Paul George trade. Instead, the Pacers ended up surpassing expectations, becoming one of the best stories in the league, beating their projected win total and pushing LeBron James to seven games in the first round of the playoffs. Sometimes it’s impossible to recapture the chemistry and mood of a really great season. There’s always a fear that success and chemistry can’t be recreated or that the season was a fluke and the roster is not as competitive as it seems to be. It happened with the Phoenix Suns in the 2013-14 season. They outplayed expectations and nearly made the playoffs. They couldn’t repeat that feat the next season and in the time since then have been aimless and undergoing a slow and ugly rebuild. And while it’s certainly possible that the 2018-19 Pacers could follow a similar route, there’s plenty to suggest that last year was the real deal and there’s something worth building on. This offseason has been a busy one for both the players and the front office. Thaddeus Young and Cory Joseph both decided to give the Pacers another year by exercising their player option. From the draft, the Pacers got Aaron Holiday, a player with NBA pedigree and an intriguing second-rounder in Alize Johnson. In free agency, the Pacers made a number of savvy moves, including getting Doug McDermott and Kyle O’Quinn. The biggest pickup was Tyreke Evans, who was named the most underrated off-season acquisition in the annual survey of NBA GMs. Evans will give the Pacers another playmaker, one who can be used in crunch time to give Victor Oladipo more help and breathing room. Oladipo also got some acknowledgment from GMs, he was an honorable mention for best shooting guard in the league, one of the top perimeter defenders, one of the most athletic players, and one of the fastest players with the ball. The coaching staff and front also got some acknowledgment. McMillan was an honorable mention for best defensive schemes and Dan Burke came in third for best assistant coach. Indiana was one of the honorable mentions for best offseason moves. As for the players, they spent the offseason honing their craft and putting work into their bodies. Victor Oladipo, as he did last summer, committed himself to an intense workout program. That desire to better himself seems to have rubbed off on his teammates as Myles Turner also used the summer to make drastic changes to his body, including a change in diet and exercise. Turner spent his offseason practicing yoga, increasing his flexibility and working on the physical side of the game. and like Oladipo the summer before, he underwent a drastic physical change. Domantas Sabonis also got in on the act, joining Turner in Texas to do some yoga. Oladipo hosted a mini-camp in Miami and every member of the roster, with the exception of Bojan Bogdanovic who was busy with the Croatian national team, came down to work out and bond. And while it’s way too early to tell, there were signs in Thursday’s 110-100 victory over the Houston Rockets in a preseason game that the summer workouts had made a difference on the roster. Victor Oladipo scored 24 points in roughly as many minutes. He did so while shooting 50 percent from the field and 40 percent from behind the three-point line. Though some wondered whether Oladipo’s 2017-18 season was an outlier, his output on Thursday suggests that he might be able build on and improve on a campaign that resulted in him being named to the All-Defensive first team and becoming the fifth Pacer to win Most Improved Player. T.J. Leaf, the Pacers’ first round draft pick in 2017 was a team high +25 and he had a nice stat line going with 13 points on 50 percent shooting to go along with 12 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals and 1 block. Myles Turner had a respectable game, including a ferocious posterizing dunk on Marquese Chriss in the first quarter. Though he only played 21 minutes, Turner still scored 11 points, grabbed 5 boards and two blocks. Sabonis had a double-double of 15 and 12 to go along with 2 assists, 2 steals and a block. Going in to the season, Pacers coach Nate McMillan wanted to emphasize getting rebounds. On the Thursday night, the Pacers out rebounded the Rockets 48 to 41. There were also signs that the culture that was established last year will continue, players hustled for loose balls, diving to the floor, turnovers were forced. While the Pacers weren’t always the most talented team on the floor, they tended to out hustle and outwork their opponents. One preseason game is far too small a sample to tell the tale of a season, but early returns look promising and there’s plenty to be excited about for the Pacers this season. There’s an air of excitement and optimism about the team. Last year was no mirage, it was the real deal.

FRANKLIN — Jackson De Poy loves sports, especially basketball and soccer. He comes from a family of diehard Indiana University fans, and his brother played on travel soccer teams and currently plays on the Mooresville High School soccer team. Since the spring, Jackson has been deeply involved with the Franklin College men’s soccer team. He’s been a steady fixture on the sidelines, cheering and admonishing members of the team as needed during practices, training sessions and games. The 17-year-old Mooresville resident has athetoid cerebral palsy, which he was diagnosed with during the first year of his life. On Wednesday, Jackson signed a National Letter of Intent and became a member of the team. He will continue to take part in team activities like practices, games, team dinners and other events. He was given team gear, posed for a team photo and celebrated with pizza after making it official. This was all made possible through the Franklin Men’s Soccer Program and Team IMPACT, a nonprofit that helps to connect children with serious or chronic illnesses to local college teams. “I heard about Team Impact through a young kiddo at the bowling alley, believe it or not, and his dad was telling me about this program, and I was like, ‘That’s the craziest thing I’ve heard,’” Jackson’s mother Lara De Poy said. “I’m an occupational therapist, and I never heard of program like this before. And so I checked into it a little bit and got the process started. Kind of didn’t know what to anticipate, and it is has been an amazing, amazing experience.” Cody Graman, the men’s soccer coach at Franklin, got an email from Team IMPACT asking if they’d be interested in including Jackson in the program. “I was like, ‘Of course we do, there’s no question about it.’ So we just emailed them back and got in contact with Jackson’s mom and kind of set it all up from there,” Graman said. Graman and team captains gave Jackson and his family a tour of the campus in the spring, giving them insight into the life of a college athlete. They got to see where the students lived and where they attended class. “We came and coach Cody and the five captains took us on a campus tour, which was amazing. They spent lots of time telling us about what the players do, where they go to classes — it was very personable,” Lara said. “I knew from that point that it was going to be an awesome experience because they really put everything into it.” Graman said Jackson’s positive attitude has an impact on the team. “We are happy to have Jackson as part of the program. For us, when we look at the 26 other guys that are part of the program as well, a big thing for us is attitude, and you can see every time Jackson shows up, he has a big smile on his face, ready to play,” Graman said. “I think it brightens a lot of guys’ days whether they have a bad game or they have a bad practice after just looking at Jackson puts a smile on their face.” Jackson assists the athletic trainers and plays the role of motivator; he lets his teammates know when they’re doing well and when they could step up their efforts. “Whether he yells at them because he doesn’t think they’re playing hard enough, which is an actual thing. So it’s good to have someone else say it beside myself, so they usually know if he says something, it’s going to pull some weight around,” Graman said. “We’re just extremely grateful to have Jackson as a part of this program, and as long as he wants to be a part, we’re going to take him on.” His teammates, like senior Trey Floyd, have embraced Jackson and the role he plays for the team. “Out at practice, if you’re having a real bad day, Jackson sits on the sideline, and he helps with water, and you come over, and he’s there to pick you up, and he’s there to really let you know what you’re doing wrong,” Floyd said. “He’ll hoot and holler at you and he’ll tell you. You just gotta tell him, ‘I’ll work on that, and I’ll work harder.’ And he keeps you going and gives you a little more motivation to work hard.” Graman said that he wants his players to be well-rounded, as there is life beyond soccer. “After your four years, your college soccer is over. You kind of want to broaden your horizons and make everything count and have the best experience that you can,” Graman said. “We think Jackson brings that to us. He helps us at our training sessions, he’s going to help us in every aspect of soccer and being part of the program.” Lara said she appreciates the way Jackson has been treated by the coaching staff and his teammates — that they weren’t focused on his disability but what he brings to the team. “You hear so much about exclusion and not inclusion, and I think for our family, it shows us that there are still people that are willing to open their minds and their hearts to accept others for their differences. It’s taught us all a lot,” Lara said. And though the soccer team lost their game the night before, it didn’t have impact on the celebration of Jackson. “We played last night, and it didn’t go our way, but you can see that everyone’s here having a great time because we’re here for Jackson,” Graman said. “Because Jackson shows up to all of our stuff with a smile on, so we’re here with a smile on, excited to be here for him.”

Conventional wisdom had it that the Indiana Pacers would be one of the worst teams in the NBA last season. The expectation was, after the widely panned Paul George trade, they would tank and attempt to rebuild through the draft. That, of course didn’t happen. Victor Oladipo blossomed into a star and the face of the franchise. His best season in the NBA led to being named Eastern Conference Player of the Week multiple times, playing in his first All-Star Game, an All-NBA Third Team selection, membership on this year’s All-Defensive First Team, and now he’s been named the Most Improved Player in the league. And it wasn’t just Oladipo the rest of the league took notice of, Domantas Sabonis, who was traded from the Orlando Magic to the Oklahoma City Thunder with Oladipo on draft night in 2016, blossomed into a starting-quality center. Nate McMillan was in the conversation for Coach of the Year for how he integrated so many new players and coached the Pacers to the playoffs. He also played an important role in the development of Oladipo. Pritchard finished third for Executive of the Year and had three first-place votes. Notable transactions by him were the Oladipo trade, the sign and trade of C.J. Miles for Cory Joseph and the value signings of Darren Collison and Bojan Bogdanovic. He also left the Pacers with both cap space and flexibility. That cap space and flexibility could make the Pacers attractive trade partners for teams in need of serious cap relief. Post-draft, Pritchard has shown signs of aggressiveness. The Pacers did not pick up the team option for fan-favorite Lance Stephenson, but left open the possibility of his return after other needs are addressed in free agency. The question Pritchard must consider in the off-season is “What is to be done?” Will he opt to bring the same group back from last season, supplementing the roster with this year’s draft picks and free agent signings? Or will he sacrifice some cap space this year for assets and focus on 2019? There are several possible trade partners for the Pacers. The Denver Nuggets are interested in unloading Kenneth Faried’s contract. The Pacers were linked to the Nuggets for a possible trade just before this year’s trade deadline, but nothing serious manifested. Due to the cap space the Pacers have, they would be able to take on Faried’s contract without having to send players to Denver. The Nuggets are looking for cap room as they prepare to offer big man Nikola Jokic a five-year $147 max contract. A Faried trade is less attractive post-draft as the Nuggets would be unlikely to include future first round picks as part of the package. The Pacers have expressed interest in unrestricted free agent Will Barton. This could give them leverage in any sign and trade talks with the Nuggets. Other possibilities include offering a young asset like Trey Lyles, who played for Arsenal Tech High School. Portland is another possible target, the team’s cap is swollen with bad contracts signed during the 2016 offseason when the cap jumped and multiple free agents cashed in. Portland might be desperate enough for cap relief, they’d be willing to part with a member of their backcourt. C.J. McCollum would be a good fit for the Pacers. The Lehigh product has the skills to play both point guard and shooting guard. His scoring would ease the burden on Victor Oladipo and give the Pacers a go-to option. Especially important in the playoffs. The Cavaliers trapped Oladipo, which made scoring a challenge for the Pacers. The Pacers would likely have to send over Myles Turner or Sabonis, the latter would probably appeal more to Portland as he has two more years left on his rookie contract. The Pacers would also have to take on the contract of Evan Turner and send over one or two of their rotation players to make the money work and make the deal palatable for Portland. Another possible trading partner: the San Antonio Spurs. For the second year in a row on Father’s Day weekend, a small forward, seven years into his career playing for an ABA franchise and drafted by the Pacers, expressed a desire to play elsewhere, preferably in Los Angeles. The Spurs are in the same position as the Pacers were in last summer. Trading for Kawhi Leonard would require sending Turner or Sabonis. The Pacers have a little bit of leverage as Leonard is in the last year of his deal, has injury concerns and might not resign with the Pacers. Pritchard would make the trade with the belief that they could sell Leonard on the franchise over the course of a season and get him to stay long term. It’s a move that would come with risk, but if successful, could pay off. This would be the most unlikely scenario and atypical for a franchise that historically tends to avoid propositions. On draft night, the Pacers selected Aaron Holiday in the first round. Holiday has two older brothers already playing in the NBA — Justin and Jrue — and has a reputation for defense, despite his 6-foot, 1-inch stature. He made the All-Pac-12 first team and was also a member of the Pac-12 All-Defensive Team. He lead the Pac-12 in scoring, the first UCLA player to do so since Reggie Miller. He was second in assists at 5.8 per game and shot 42.9 percent from three-point territory. Holiday is the first UCLA player to average at least 19 points and 5 assists since Bill Walton. He started at point guard his first year of college and moved to the bench his sophomore year with the arrival of Lonzo Ball. He returned to the starting role his junior season. He also has chemistry with two of his new teammates: T. J. Leaf and Ike Anigbogu The Pacers’ second-round pick, Alize Johnson, shows promise, but is a work in progress. Johnson averaged a double-double at Missouri State the last two years and has some guard skills from his days as a 5-foot, 9-inch point guard. Shooting mechanics are an area of improvement for Johnson to work on. If he’s able to shoot at a decent clip, and add some muscle he could fill the coveted role of a stretch 4. Leaf could also play that part, but needs to fill out his frame a bit more and improve his defense in order to take on that role. Young is considering declining his player option, which could mean he’s looking to play elsewhere or for a long term deal with the Pacers. The latter is more likely as both sides have expressed an interest in him returning. Young just turned 30 so the Pacers might show some hesitancy to be locked in long term to a player on the wrong side of 30. Young was the glue guy for the Pacers, though his efforts might have not always shown up in the box score, what he did helped make the game easier for his teammates. Things like getting clean up buckets were crucial in close games. His defense against Kevin Love gave Indiana a puncher’s chance against Cleveland. Pritchard talked about a desire to get a true stretch 4. Young, the Pacers’ current power forward is not known for his three-point shooting though it’s a skill he’s worked on, it’s not his go-to shot. Positional flexibility is also key and played a major role in the success of Boston as well as for the Golden State Warriors. The Pacers stood pat on draft, but on Sunday, the real offseason begins. That’s when players and teams are permitted to begin discussion about signings. This off-season could remake the very landscape of the league, depending on where LeBron James, Paul George, Kawhi Leonard, Chris Paul, DeMarcus Cousins and others end up signing this off-season. Pritchard has earned enough goodwill that it would behoove Pacers fans to trust his process.

INDIANAPOLIS Hoosiers love their hoops. A popular quote sums up the special relationship Hoosiers have with the hardwood: “In 49 other states it’s just basketball, but this is Indiana.” Across the state are various destinations for students of the game to visit. There’s the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame, which is just 20 minutes from the gym in Knightstown where the movie “Hoosiers” was filmed. That gym is about an hour north of Milan, the home of the team that inspired the film. Beginning in the 2015-’16 season, the Indiana Pacers wore jerseys inspired by those worn in “Hoosiers” for select games in honor of the movie’s 30th anniversary. The Pacers unveiled new versions of the Hickory jerseys this season as part of new designs by Nike. So far, the jerseys have been good luck for the team, as they are currently 2-0 while wearing them and will wear them six more times this season. As part of Hickory games at home, the Pacers have honored teams and important figures in the history of basketball in the state of Indiana. And Monday, the late John R. Wooden got his turn to be honored by the Pacers. Wooden, who grew up in Morgan County and went to Martinsville High School, was a fitting figure for tribute as his legacy defines the game of basketball, such as the award named for him that is given to the NCAA’s most outstanding men’s and women’s basketball players. Near Bankers Life Fieldhouse, there’s a bronze sculpture of the coach. Surrounding the statue are five pairs of legs, each represents an important year in his career and each sporting the period appropriate footwear. On Monday night, the Pacers honored the legendary coach who led UCLA to 10 NCAA championships in his time there and coached several Hall of Famers, including Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Bill Walton, Gail Goodrich and Jamaal Wilkes. Apart from Wooden, the UCLA/Indiana connection is strong. The Pacers two rookies, T.J. Leaf and Ike Anigbogu played their rookie year at UCLA. Point guard Darren Collison played four seasons as a Bruin. The Pacers have the most former UCLA players on their roster in the league. The most famous Bruin to play for the Pacers is, of course, Reggie Miller, who was taken 11th overall in the 1987 NBA Draft. He was a controversial selection at the time as many Hoosier expected the Pacers to choose Steve Alford of Indiana University. Alford had just helped lead the Hoosiers to NCAA title and was a three-time All-Big Ten and a two-time first-team All-American. Alford, a Martinsville native, now coaches at UCLA. At halftime during Monday’s game against the Milwaukee Bucks, the Pacers honored Wooden and his legacy. Pacers announcer Chris Denari served as master of ceremonies and spoke with Cori Andersen, Wooden’s great granddaughter, who was joined by her husband, Brent. She was presented a Hickory jersey with Wooden’s name on the back. During halftime program, the jumbotron displayed Wooden’s famous pyramid of success as his list of accomplishments and credentials as a player and coach were read aloud, including leading the Martinsville Artesians to a state title in 1927. He also played for the Indianapolis Kautskys, a professional basketball team that was a member of one of the leagues that was a precursor to the NBA. Wooden represents the best aspects of Hoosiers: working toward a common goal, making a positive impact on the world and living with high character. If Monday’s game was indication, that spirit is alive and well in Indiana.

I’ve loved basketball since I was a kid. I’m not sure what prompted the initial love affair. Exposure to enough commercials featuring NBA players that the interest developed through osmosis? Maybe it was the presence of stars on my cereal box. I have a pretty clear memory of living in LaPorte and staring at a box of Honey Combs featuring Penny Hardaway and learning that his given name was Anfernee and that Penny was a nickname. Or maybe it was something I picked up from my dad. He had Chicago Bulls salt and pepper shakers, one red and the other black. Growing up in the 90s, it was hard to escape Michael Jordan. I was born in Maywood, Illinois. My parents worked at a hospital there. My dad adapted the Bulls as his team. He was from Idaho, so his pickings for pro teams were relatively poor, though there were always the Sonics or the Trail Blazers. Like a lot children in that era, I was a big fan of Jordan. I remember around Christmas of 1992, on the day we went out to get a tree, my dad was going to a Bulls game that night. I naively assumed that he would be taking me with him. I was wrong. When I was an elementary schooler at Northwestern Elementary School in Kokomo, we read “Flat Stanley” and as a lesson related to the book, each of us got to color and cut out our own flat Stanley to mail on an adventure. The idea was they would be returned with pictures. I sent mine to Jordan. I was naive enough not to know how popular he was and to think that he might read my letter directly. Bulls PR sent me a package in return, but not Flat Stanley. When I began attending Northwestern, I didn’t know the Indiana Pacers were even a thing. I was just shocked that anybody would root for anybody but the greatest basketball player of all time: Michael Jordan. I think another reason I gravitated towards the Bulls was that — along with being born in close proximity to the franchise, the interest of my father in them and admiration of Jordan — my favorite color was red. A fact that crystallized with “Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers,” purely because the symbol of the Red Ranger was the Tyrannosaurus Rex, my favorite dinosaur. That show was influential in other ways too, as it was likely my gateway to “The Simpsons,” but that’s a topic for another column. Anyway, basketball was a source of stability and comfort when my parents separated and later divorced. I remember being in the car reading a book on the 1995-96 Bulls while my mother did some reconnaissance work to learn more about what my father was up to and get intel on the woman he had cheated on her with. I also have fond memories of renting “NBA: Hangtime” from the video store and playing games with my brother on our Nintendo 64. The first game console we owned, because my dad didn’t want us to have game systems because he thought we would never leave the house. We moved to Indianapolis in 1997 so my mother could attend law school. One of her classmates gave my mom two tickets to the Bulls/Pacers game. It was 20 years ago on Nov. 28, 1997, that I saw my first NBA game in person. It’s a memory I’ll never forget. After Jordan retired following the second three-peat, I lost interest in basketball. I was happy for the Pacers when they made the NBA Finals and saddened when they lost. The Malice at the Palace cooled off my interest in basketball for the time being. Flash forward to me at Indiana University, I began attending basketball games during the latter half of my career, the early part of the Crean era, before the program was considered back. I remember Victor Oladipo and liking what he brought to the court. He was very easy to root for. College hoops later begat an interest in the NBA. I went all-in after seeing Roy Hibbert on an episode of “Parks and Recreation,” a show that was a comfort food when I felt homesick during grad school in Brooklyn. I went in on the Pacers big time when I moved back home. I was Hibbert’s fan section for two seasons. The last few years were rough times to be a Pacer fan, but this year is a breath of fresh air, Oladipo is a big part of that. It’s rekindled my love of basketball and now I experience joy while watching Pacers games instead of existential dread. This love of basketball and the satisfaction I derive from watching it is why I’m using my platform to stump for Bright Side of the Night, an event in its third year that sends underprivileged children to a Phoenix Suns game at no cost to the children. This year, ticket sales are a little slow. This year’s game is the Jan. 14 Suns/Pacers game. Several Pacers fans on Twitter have bought tickets for the children already. It’s a great opportunity to give underprivileged kids a memory they’ll never forget at a low cost. Each ticket costs $9. This could be a great way to show a little Hoosier hospitality and spread our love of basketball. I may not be a born and bred Hoosier, but I’ve lived here since 1992 and I deeply love this state and the people who call it home. In 49 other states, it’s just basketball, but this is Indiana. And who knows, maybe some new Pacers fans will be created from this. At any rate, a child who is a basketball fan deserves to see Oladipo live and in person the way he’s playing this season. For more information about Bright Side of the Night, visit nba.com/suns/brightside.

’m a man who is more than willing to admit when he is wrong. And I was dead wrong about the Indiana Pacers this season. Like many fans of the team, I found the return for the Paul George trade to be underwhelming at best. As an IU alumnus who was on campus the same time as Victor Oladipo, I was a fan of his and rooting for his success. But his NBA resume seemed disappointing. At times, he seemed on the verge of breaking out during his time in Orlando, but the tumultuous nature of the Magic — a franchise that has been treading water since the Dwight Howard trade in 2012 — seemed to stifle his potential. Oladipo was seen as an expendable asset, which is why he was sent to Oklahoma City on draft night along with seventh overall pick Damontas Sabonis for Serge Ibaka. Though Oladipo got to play alongside Russell Westbrook, it wasn’t in a role that fit his skill set. He’s an athletic player, not meant to park along the perimeter awaiting spot-up opportunities. He struggled in the playoffs with OKC. Since arriving in Indiana, Oladipo has played like an All-Star, currently averaging career highs in points per game, field goal percentage, three-point percentage and rebounds. He’s averaging 6.2 fast break points per game, good for fifth in the league. He’s quickly become a crowd favorite, especially after he nailed a crucial three-pointer that put the Pacers ahead of the Spurs in a close game. It remains to be seen if Oladipo’s numbers are sustainable, but his play is making his contract seem like less of an overpay. He’s also shown leadership in the locker room, offering accountability when the team loses and reaching out to teammates like Myles Turner. Turner has struggled since missing seven games due to a concussion. Oladipo reached out to him late at night before a game in Miami and Turner played more like himself, more like the player Larry Bird once said could be the greatest Pacer of all-time. Turner is super young at 21 and has so much potential, there’s little reason to panic just yet. While Turner recovered from his concussion, Sabonis started at center and like Oladipo, his game has blossomed in a new environment. The son of legendary Euro-baller Aryvdas Sabonis seems to have absorbed some lessons from his father and plays like a seasoned pro at times. His field goal percentage is much improved from his rookie year in Oklahoma and like Oladipo, Sabonis is being used in a role that better fits his skill set. In OKC, he was used as a stretch four despite being more effective in the paint and playing center. There are still plenty of issues with the Pacers roster as currently constructed, but the product on the floor is more enjoyable to watch than it has been for some time. Whether the Pacers make the playoffs or wind up with a lottery pick, they’ll be fun to watch. The future looks a little brighter in Indiana — the Paul George trade less lopsided. The Pacers current slogan is “We grow basketball here,” which Oladipo and Sabonis seem to have taken to heart.

MARTINSVILLE Hayley Taylor will be taking her talents to Franklin College after she graduates from Martinsville High School this May. Making the transition from high school to college isn’t the only change in store for Taylor. She said she would be likely switching to the outfield from first base. “I’ll be playing outfield in college, hopefully, (head coach Butch Zike) needs some speed in the outfield and hopefully I can live up to that,” Taylor said. Franklin College was an easy choice for Taylor. She said it was “the perfect fit” and she hadn’t looked too much at other colleges and programs. “Franklin College is really close to home so that’s nice for school and they have a really good exercise program and that’s what I wanna go for and it’s always been a dream to play softball in college,” Taylor said. Taylor plans to study exercise science at Franklin College, another thing that attracted her to the school. Taylor said he experience volunteering at St. Francis Hospital in the Physical Therapy Department got her interested in studying that in college. “Over my summers throughout high school I would always volunteer in the physical therapy office so I’ve always taken an interest in how it all works and helping people maintain mobility,” Taylor said. Taylor is notable for her academics as well as her extracurricular activities and is excited about the challenge of managing the demands of being an athlete and a student. “I’m excited to get more into the field of studying that I wanna do when I grow up and the challenge of managing that with softball environment,” Taylor said. Martinsville High School Softball Coach Ken Rhoden said that Taylor placed a great importance on her education. “First of all, she has the skill. She’s just a hardworking, very intelligent. She’s a student-athlete, very highly regarded student and she’s a top-notch athlete and she’s just a good person. We try to make them better softball players but we want them to be better people. She’s very a very good representative of our school and team,” Rhoden said. Rhoden said it was always a happy occasion when a student had a chance to play a sport at a college level. “It’s very gratifying because a lot of these kids, it’s helps them further their education and whenever that happens, it’s a good deal for them and for us, because they’re getting some notoriety. It’s always a time to be happy for the kids and family,” Rhoden said. Taylor is very serious about softball, she’s played the game since she was about five, according to her mother, Cheryl Taylor. Cheryl said that they spent a lot of time traveling for her daughter’s softball team. “Just about every weekend, traveling out of town and staying in hotels,” Cheryl said. Cheryl said it was difficult to think of a specific favorite memory but said her daughter’s recent play had left an impression. “She’s had a couple home runs here lately and that makes you really proud. Just having to see her work so hard to get that home run and then finally getting it over the fence,” Cheryl said. Ben Crane coached Taylor on a traveling team and said she had grown as a player and a person over the course of her time on the team. “She approaches the game with a different mindset and understands that it’s mental as much as it is physical. I think that growth has prepared her well,” Crane said. For Taylor, the love of the game is what keeps her going and the feeling she gets from it. “It’s just something to free your mind and it helps take your mind off a lot of things and I’ve been in it since the beginning of ever playing sports, so it’s just fun to keep up with it,” Taylor said.

MARTINSVILLE There are many signs of the return of spring that sports fans see each year. For some, it’s the NCAA tournament; for others, it’s the winding down of the NBA’s regular season, and still for others, it’s the return of baseball. America’s pastime is the perfect marker of lazy summer days when it’s so hot outside, a more leisurely activity is in order. Like perennial flowers blooming in April, so too does the Artesian Little League return. Opening day for the 2017 season was held Saturday at Schwab Field. Young baseball and softball players gathered in the outfield and infield to celebrate the return of the game that unites generations. This year marks the return of Mike Baugh to Artesian Little League. Following the pledge of allegiance and the national anthem — sung by Baugh’s son Kevin, himself a former Artesian Little Leaguer — Baugh talked about the history of Artesian Little League and what the league and the game itself mean to him. “You know, I’ve been gone from Artesian Little League for several years and I was pressed back into service this year. I was proud to say I would lend a hand again for Artesian Little League. This whole league here started out and there were only five diamonds. It stretched all the way to that swamp back there between the two facilities and went all the way to Douglas Creek. We only had five diamonds,” Baugh said “It was conceived by a small group of people who got excited one night about the possibility of having sanctioned Little League in Martinsville. One thing we never stopped to do was to consider what an impossible task that was to accomplish.” Baugh discussed the difficulties the original organizers of the league faced as they worked to bring sanctioned Little League play to Martinsville. “I want you to imagine how improbable that was, that Martinsville would even have sanctioned baseball or the Artesian Little League for that matter. First, we had no players. Second, we had no money. Third, we had no land. And even if all those things had magically fallen into place, we had to compete with another league that had been here for decades,” Baugh said, “So here we are, 30 years later. Our brainchild was born, it survived, it thrived — and when I see the kids playing baseball out here, I get a little sentimental. Some of this grass is 30 years old, and I was out here someplace throwing the seed down when it was just a cornfield.” Baugh also made sure to acknowledge those who helped make the league a possibility but have since passed on. “Some of the ones who helped us greatly to pull this off aren’t even with us anymore,” he said. Baugh asked those in attendance to respect the dream of those who founded the league 30 years ago. “Respect it by making a new dream. And remember, our dream was just putting the fields in. We have to have people now dream more than that. Look at this complex, look out here, look how big it is. It’s enormous now. Think of what this could be. It could be literally the best facility in the state of Indiana. It’s only limited by your imagination and your participation. So with your talent and your knowledge, this could be the best facility in the state for so many reasons,” Baugh said. Following his introductory remarks, Baugh introduced the board members and discussed respect — for opponents, umpires and others — maintaining perspective and keeping things fun. The Little League pledge and the parents pledge were recited, and then it was time for Martinsville High School baseball coach Jeff Scott to speak. “This program’s important for our high school program, to develop kids and have them continue that development when they get to high school and be productive for us,” Scott said. Scott said the coaches are important in the development of players and keeping them engaged and excited about the game. “We want kids to love the game of baseball,” he said. “We don’t them to be run off because winning and losing is so important at this age that they get discouraged and they don’t like baseball. We want them to be taught and have fun. You guys have a big responsibility, and I thank you for volunteering your time and putting in all the hours that you do to help these young kids out.” Following Scott’s remarks, the ceremonial first pitches were thrown: one for baseball and one for softball. The kickoff ceremony ended with the Little Leaguers dancing to the “Cha Cha Slide.” The Artesian Little League is back, and this season ought to be a good one.

MARTINSVILLE The Martinsville Youth and Development Center hosted a free hitting clinic from 2 to 5 p.m. Sunday for boys ages 7 to 12. The clinic is just one of the ways the center hopes to engage more with the youth of Martinsville, as well as make members of the community aware of the center and the types of services and activities provided there. “We wanted to give back to the community with baseball season kicking off. It’s a great way for us to give back and interact and just get people through our door just to know that we’re here,” Shelby Wilson, director of the Martinsville Youth and Development Center said. The clinic featured Martinsville High School baseball coach Jeff Scott and Steve Keefe, who coaches youth baseball and is on the board of directors for the center. The clinic was on a reservation basis and Wilson said 42 children signed up and it filled up in less than 48 hours. Wilson said she was pleased with the turnout, of the 42 who had reserved a spot, 38 showed. Steve Keefe thought the clinic was a good way to give back and to promote the center. Keefe said that there were still people who were unaware of the center’s existence and the type of facilities they had to offer. Participants got feedback on their swing and ways they could improve. Keefe used an app on his phone to show the children what adjustments they could make and any flaws in their mechanics. It’s something parents can use at home with their smart phones. Giving back is a matter that’s very close to the heart for Keefe. “I grew up an at risk kid, I didn’t have a father figure and never felt like anybody ever cared about me. You know kids are innocent and if you can change one kid’s life, it’s worth a thousand service hours, a thousand. Because I know how to teach someone to hit a baseball it’s probably good that I’m willing to donate my time. It’s really about giving, it really truly is, that’s why I got involved in this initiative,” Keefe said. There are a few events on tap for the center in the coming months. Keefe said that the center was planning to hold its inaugural fundraising dinner on May 16 and were in the middle of getting a speaker for the event. Keefe said he also planned to hold a pitching clinic. “Next time, we’ll scale it down a little bit. It went great, there were some kids that really needed it bad and there were a couple of really good hitters, but most of them really needed the help. It was awesome, we were happy to be able to do it, it’s all about giving time,” Keefe said. Wilson said she hoped to get transportation squared away so that more Martinsville students could take advantage of the center. “We want to get as many kids in our youth center as possible. Right now we have sixth through eighth-graders in there, that’s just due to transportation. Once we lock down transportation, we’ll be able to branch out to the younger kids,” Wilson said. In addition to a pitching clinic, Wilson said there were plans to have a clinic for softball players. Wilson said that another way she hoped to get more students involved was volunteering, which can help set students apart when they begin to apply for colleges. It’s also a great way to get experience that can be helpful in landing a job. “We’re a good way for high school kids to volunteer and beef up their resume. Any volunteer hours you can get is awesome for your resume,” Wilson said. For more information about the Martinsville Youth and Development Center, call 765-558-8137 or email director Wilson at shelby@martinsvilleyouthcenter.org Contact the rec center at 765-558-8145 or visit martinsvilleyouthcenter.org.

Cleveland in June 2016 was a busy place. The Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers were in the middle of a memorable NBA Finals series in which the Warriors, who were up three games to one, blew the lead. That was the dramatic backdrop for the Donate Life Transplant Games, which took place from June 10 to June 15, 2016. Brook Zander, a lifelong Morgan County resident, was a participant in the national games. She won a silver in women’s double bowling, a silver in mixed doubles bowling and a bronze in darts. Zander is also a transplant recipient. On March 14, 2015, she received a double lung transplant and a second chance at life. “Last June, I went to Cleveland; that was my first games. It was just an amazing experience, one just to participate, but you got to see all the recipients there and all the donors, as far as living donors, but then the donor families were there,” she said. “Everybody was one big family. Nobody knew a stranger. I didn’t want to go home after the week was over. It was amazing.” Zander is now trying to make her way to Malaga, Spain, for the Twenty-First World Transplant Games, where Team USA athletes will compete against those from 65 countries in 16 sports and more than 40 events, according to a fundraising page. She said she needs to raise between $1,000 and $1,500 to pay her way there, as flights are not cheap. It’s been a mixed bag in terms of response for Zander. “I’ve done some online and I’ve sent out letters, of course. I have gotten one letter back and I’ve gotten a couple of declines, so-so, still needing some,” Zander said. Zander bowled in college and still uses the same ball, a fact a friend of hers teases her about. “I was on the (Indiana University) bowling team for a year, but that was it. Darts, I had never played darts before, but when I decided I was going to Cleveland, I didn’t want to go to Cleveland and just participate in one sport, because you’re there for a week and bowling was only two days,” she said, “So I thought, ‘Well, let’s see, what else can I do?’ So I thought, ‘Let’s play darts.’ So three months before I went to Cleveland I started going to the bars, because where else do you practice darts? So I started playing darts and there we went. And I got a bronze.” Exercise has been a big part of Zander’s life post-transplant. “I take medications every day. I will for the rest of my life. You need to exercise daily, so I still go to pulmonary rehab three days a week. I still do 5K walks, I just did one on Sunday and I try to do as many as I can to exercise,” she said. Recovery from the procedure took a while. Zander said she started feeling a little better about three to four months after the surgery. “Six months after my transplant, I walked my first 5K. That’s when I knew I was starting to feel better,” Zander said. She is taking up a new sport for the games in Spain, petanque. According to the World Transplant Games website, petanque originated from a game played in Roman times, but emerged as it is known today in La Ciotat Provence in France. Roman soldiers and sailors brought the game to France. The name of the game comes from the expression “pes tancats” — feet fixed — in the Provencal dialect of the Occitan language. Petanque bears a resemblance to bocce ball — it’s a game that’s simple to play but requires a decent level of strategy. There are no requirements for joining Team USA for the games, apart from being the recipient of a transplant. Zander said other countries might require team members to qualify. And practice is mostly left to the individual. “I bowl in a league twice a week. As far as Team USA for the world games, it’s hard to practice. I know for the U.S. Games, Team Indiana, we would get together — like the basketball team would practice a little bit here, the volleyball team would practice a little bit here, because it was easier. But the U.S. teams, because they’re all over, they’ll probably just practice when we get there, to Spain,” Zander said. She said the contingent heading to Spain will be the largest Team USA that has competed in the games. For those looking to help Zander in her cause, she said there are two ways to help. “Donations and prayers, those are two, just good thoughts,” she said. Those interested in making a donation to Zander can visit teamusa.causevox.com/brook-zander. Zander can be contacted at bzan75@gmail.com. For more information about the World Transplant Games, visit wtgmalaga2017.com/en/.

MORGANTOWN Pay a visit to the house of Brad and Diana Pearson in Morgantown, and two things are immediately obvious: the decor exudes the warmth of the people who call it home, and the Pearsons adore their son Grant Pearson. The walls are covered in framed photographs capturing Grant at various life stages. Tragically, Grant was killed in a car accident on Dec. 12, 2015, at the age of 27. Though he is gone, he continues to have an impact on the lives of others. One way is through fantasy football. Grant was a member of the Limestone League for four years. His second year, his parents joined the competition. Fantasy football “Diana and I started watching him and seeing how involved he was and how much fun they were having, and so the next year they had an opening so we started playing,” Brad said. And discussion of fantasy football became a common feature at family gatherings, something that perplexed Brad’s brother and sister-in-law, Craig and Kerry Pearson. Brad said the rest of them would be talking fantasy football jargon and it was like a foreign tongue to them. Trash talking is a big part of fantasy football and the Limestone League “A lot of our family get-togethers around Thanksgiving and Christmas involved trash talking about the fantasy football teams of each of us — my nephews, and of course Grant. When Grant passed, I asked my brother and sister-in-law if in honor of Grant they’d take over his team. And they did. And they managed to be the winners this year,” Brad said. Brad requested that his brother and sister-in-law not change the name of Grant’s team from Clever Team Name and that they keep his keeper player, Arizona Cardinals running back David Johnson. A keeper is a player from the current season that the team holds onto for the next season. Diana said Grant’s team started slow, but everything worked out and it managed to make it to the playoffs and ended up winning the whole thing. “They had a lot of Atlanta Falcons team members, and one week they were on bye, so they lost about four or five team members but they didn’t even fill the roster and they still won,” Diana said. Diana said she came home the Thursday before Grant died and Grant was really excited because his team had done so well. After Grant swapped Eddie Lacy for Adrian Peterson, his team got hot and made the playoffs. Out of respect for Grant, opponents of his team pulled their players so that Grant’s team would move on. But Brad said that Grant’s team was going to win anyway. “I was calculating it myself as to what the scores really were, and he beat them anyway. He beat everyone anyway. It didn’t really matter. So I was kind of glad of that. I made sure everyone knew that. It was a nice gesture that they did, but he was gonna win it, regardless. That made it more legit,” Brad said. At this year’s draft, Brad proposed that the winning owner would select a charity of their choice and donate whatever amount they chose and Brad and Diana would match it. Grant’s team won again this year, and Craig and Kerry Pearson selected the Children’s Organ Transplant Association, a national nonprofit group headquartered in Bloomington, as their charity of choice. “When I started researching the organization, I don’t see how he could have made a better choice. It sounds pretty neat,” Brad said. Brad and Diana plan to donate $500 to COTA later this month. The organization helps children and young adults who need organ transplants with fundraising assistance and family support. Grant Pearson, the individual Grant took after both of his parents. His father, Brad, played basketball in high school and played alongside Terry Stotts on a Bloomington North team that won sectionals. Grant played basketball at Indian Creek High School. His mother, Diana, is the daughter of a pastor and grew up singing in church. Grant had a real passion for music and would amaze his parents with the facts he knew about various bands and artists. Grant loved music, especially from the 1970s. He played bass in a ’70s-influenced band in high school called the Modern Dukes. Brad joked that Grant unfortunately inherited his singing voice from him instead of his mother. The Modern Dukes had memorabilia made up, including shirts and stickers. “My nephew Erik (Pearson) asked me if we had one of his shirts and that he would like to have it. He coaches at Bloomington North, and he wears that shirt under the baseball uniform at their games all the time. It’s just kind of something that he likes doing, keeping Grant with him, so to speak,” Brad said. Brad said Grant was a sweet boy. The last night of his life, he traded a lengthy series of texts with his uncle about an impending surgery his uncle was worried about. “My brother read them at Grant’s funeral,” Brad said. “They went back and forth. Diana’s father was a minister and he passed away in 1995. I swear, it was like if her dad or Chris Page (the pastor at the church the Pearsons attend, Hoosier Harvest) was counseling my brother. This was our son doing it. At the end he told him, ‘Everything’s gonna be all right. And if it’s not, you’ll be with Pops,’ that’s my dad who had just passed away six months earlier. I was so proud of that. I just didn’t realize how much comfort that brought to my brother, but that was just him.” Grant loved to help others. Following high school, he attended Indiana State University, where he studied human resources. He enjoyed working in the field, but hated having to fire people. When he interned at IU Proton Health Therapy, he would go around to the other side of the building on the way to his office to speak to patients and say good morning. Grant especially liked to talk to children. He won intern of the year during his time there. Brad said that before he passed away, Grant had gotten involved at Emmanuel Church in Greenwood and served as a parking lot greeter. He’d also become part of a small social group around his age. Brad said the group attended the funeral, and they and others who didn’t know each other kept telling him the same thing about Grant, that he was a great listener. “They said that when Grant was talking to you, whatever you were talking about was the most important thing in the world,” Brad said. Though Grant has died, he continues to touch the lives of others. The Pearsons hope that their donation will inspire others to take up a charitable cause or otherwise match their efforts, helping to extend Grant Pearson’s legacy.

Nici Denney is in her first season as a Pacemate, but you wouldn't think that by looking at her, the Indiana Pacers cheerleader already has the bearing of a veteran. Dancing is a comfort zone for this Columbus native, one that has instilled confidence and helped her come out of her shell. The road from Columbus East High School to the Pacemates involved a lot of hard work, dedication and perseverance and began when Nici was young. Her mom, Sonya Denney, described dance as a source of confidence as well as joy for her daughter. "She's a little shy until you get to know her and then when you get to know her she really comes out of her shell, and that's kind of funny because on stage you wouldn't even be able to tell that she was shy, " Sonya says.

Point guards are the players who run the show; they rely on excellent court vision, passing and an understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of their opponents as well as teammates. Point guards are often referred to as the coach on the floor, because theirs is the hand guiding the offense, making the decisions and calling the plays. Another nickname for the position is floor general. It’s one that’s especially apt for Ally Lehman. Lehman graduated in May from Northern Illinois University. She was a standout player on the women’s basketball team where she set several records including the single-season record for rebounds (329) and 10 rebound games (21). Lehman set a single-game scoring record for the program with a 48-point game that also tied the single-game record for Mid-American Conference. Lehman averaged 18. 3 points, 10 rebounds and 6.6 assists her senior year. And Lehman did all this while being a member of the NIU’s ROTC program. Prior to her days at NIU, Lehman was an Indiana All-Star at Indian Creek High School. Senator Tammy Duckworth, an NIU alum and former Black Hawk helicopter pilot spoke at a ceremony where 8 NIU ROTC cadets — Lehman among them — were commissioned as officers in the U.S. Army. Lehman was one of 10 women selected for infantry. “To be able to get somebody like Senator Duckworth to come, that’s a pretty big moment, especially for NIU. She has kind of paved the way for us. If you go back and research Senator Duckworth, she has seen combat and she’ll be the one to tell you that females have been in combat roles since the Revolution,” Lehman said. “To think that there aren’t some women that are capable, that’s irritating. When she went there and spoke, she did a phenomenal job, it gives me a lot more respect for her.” Lehman was also the first NIU student-athlete to complete the ROTC program while still continuing to play her sport. Lehman said that time management was the key to her success as well as the support she had. “My basketball coach, Coach (Lisa) Carlsen and Lt. Col. (Jay) Morrison, they worked well with each other, they understood if I had to miss one thing for another, it just balanced out a lot easier. It’s a lot easier than what people expect,” Lehman said. Lehman said she’d had an interest in joining the military from an early age, when military recruiters came to Indian Creek High School, she’d seek them out, do some pull-ups and talk with them about military service. “I always had the urge. I grew up next to Camp Atterbury and between the span of 2001 and 2005 there were soldiers everywhere and that was really inspiring,” Lehman said. Lehman said she wanted to play basketball ever since she was young, but something changed for Lehman during his first two years of college; she began to lose interest in basketball. “There was some complication with the staff that we had and then I went to ROTC as an outlet,” Lehman said. Along with ROTC, taking a class on military science had a major impact on her life. The arrival of Coach Carlsen to NIU made for a better basketball environment for Lehman and her passion for basketball returned. Lehman said that her time in ROTC had a positive impact on her game. “They kind of go hand-in-hand, I would say I’m a better leader on the basketball court because of ROTC. And as a point guard, there’s times in the game when you have to be the one to make the call: whether coach is talking to someone on the bench and you can’t get her attention you have to know which play to call that will benefit the team. Or you have to be the one to get your team motivated,” Lehman said. “And I think out of that too, being a point guard, in the offseason you’re looked at a lot to lead from the front, that can translate back from ROTC as well.” Lehman said she was unsure of where her military career will take her. She said she would someday like to coach basketball preferably at the collegiate level. “If you look at coaches like Pat Summitt who had an impact on all their players, who kind of shaped them into young women ready to go out into the real world. I’d like to have that effect on people,” Lehman said. Lehman report to Fort Benning in Georgia on Sept. 25 for Infantry Officer Basic Leadership Course, a 17-week long class that will give Lehman the skills she needs to lead a platoon into battle. Lehman said she was looking forward to the experience. “I’m excited to hopefully make a difference. That’s kind of a main goal: make a difference, break down some barriers for females,” Lehman said. Lehman said she was looking forward to the many opportunities ahead of her. “I think it’s going to be an amazing thing,” Lehman said.

“A screaming comes across the sky. It has happened before, but there is nothing to compare it to now.” that’s how Thomas Pynchon’s 1973 novel “Gravity’s Rainbow” begins. The passage refers to the V-2 rockets that Germany fired at England during World War II. It’s a sentence that could also describe the feeling an opponent gets when Steph Curry launches one of his devastating three pointers. It’s also a feeling Pacers fans experienced on Sunday when The Vertical’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweeted “Sources: All-Star- Paul George tells Pacers he plans to leave franchise in 2018 free agency, prefers Lakers.” Wojnarowski’s tweets of this nature are colloquially referred to as Woj Bombs and they — like the weapons of war they suggest — can have an explosive impact. In this instance, it’s the trade value of Paul George, already diminished from not being moved during the trade deadline of the 2016-17 NBA season. With the news that George, 27, prefers to play for Lakers, any team that trades for him would only be getting a rental. It seems like a pretty dire situation, but things are quite as bad as they seem. The Pacers missed out on the best return they could have gotten for George by turning down all offers, including the Boston Celtics who dangled at least one of the Nets picks in trade discussion or the Atlanta Hawks who offered four first-round picks for the talented small forward. Though those picks probably wouldn’t have translated to high draft position. A team doesn’t expend assets to snag a player like Paul George without intending to contend. In theory those picks could have been used for other moves: trading up on draft night or trading for young assets that could be developed. Though the Pacers have less leverage since George’s preference was leaked to the press, there’s still a chance the Pacers could get a some type of return on George, particularly if they can get other teams into a bidding war if there’s worry that George might not leave the to which is he is traded if that team is a contender: enter the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Cavaliers lost in five games to the Warriors, despite LeBron James averaging a triple double. The Cavaliers got crushed when James sat and they lacked the lineup versatility of Golden State. George would bolster the Cavalier’s perimeter defense and has enough overlapping skillsets with Kevin Love that the Cavaliers won’t suffer too much from trading Love. This would likely require the involvement of a third team as the Pacers ideally want young players and picks. Kevin Love would just lead the Pacers to tread water and would be unlikely to resign with the Pacers. There’s certainly concern that George could leave whatever team trades for him as a rental, but if he gets a taste of what playing in a Finals is alike, assuming the Cavaliers return for a fourth-straight year, that could entice him to sign on, at least for a little bit longer. If the Lakers fear that they would lose out on him instead of just waiting for free agency, they might try to cut a deal with the Pacers to guarantee seeing the Palmdale-native in gold and purple. Whatever team George is traded to also gets his Bird rights go with him, meaning a team can exceed their salary cap to resign him That Paul George would be moving and a rebuild on the horizon is not entirely surprising. The Pacers have been mediocre for the last three seasons, compiling a 125-121 record, not the type of results that inspires a player of George’s caliber to stick around during his prime. Particularly when the measure of an NBA player’s career is predicated on championship rings, MVP awards and other hallmarks of success. The Pacers were on the clock as soon as George signed a contract extension in September 2013. George lived up to his end of the bargain, he improved each season and even returned for the final six games of the 2014-15 campaign to give the team an emotional lift as it made a playoff push. That failed and the Pacers wound up in the lottery that netted them a player that is now the future of the franchise: Myles Turner. Low playoff seeding is purgatory for an NBA team: there’s not a realistic shot of winning a championship or even making a deep playoff run and the type of players available in the low teens in the first round of the draft generally aren’t franchise changers. When it comes to small market teams, the draft is crucial. High draft picks alone aren’t going to be a franchise savior, but it gives teams a better shot at finding players who have the potential to develop into something. Larry Bird stepping down and Kevin Pritchard taking over indicates that the franchise will take a different approach to team building. Since 1988, the Pacers have never won less than 33 games in a season and since 1994 have the most Eastern Conference Finals appearances. That’s all likely going to change in the next couple years. It’s unlikely the Pacers delve into the depths of basketball nihilism of the Philadelphia Seventy-Sixers under Sam Hinkie. It’s much more enjoyable as a fan to cheer for a group of young guys with potential than to cheer for mediocre players with a well-defined ceiling. The Pacers can’t afford a repeat of the post-Brawl era of competitiveness. Paul George must be traded before the season begins, hopefully on draft night, dragging this out will only make the divorce that much uglier. It’s not going to be pleasant on opening night for anyone involved if George is in the starting lineup and he gets booed during introductions. General Manager Kevin Pritchard has a difficult task ahead of him as the draft night draws close, but if anyone has a shot at wringing something valuable out of this situation, it’s Pritchard. A decade ago as part of the Portland front office, Pritchard developed a reputation for winning trades. A phrase punning on that ability to win trades was coined: the Pritch Slap. He rebuilt the Blazers on the fly and if not for injuries to Greg Oden and Brandon Roy, they might have been Western Conference contenders for a long time. The Pacers are likely better off with Pritchard in the driver seat. Bird hated to lose and was pretty stubborn when he made up his mind. Pritchard will likely be more flexible and with his guiding hand, could help navigate the Pacers through the franchise’s most turbulent era since the Brawl. What could possibly go wrong? Not like Pritchard’s ever had bad luck with a Nate McMillan-coached team featuring a frontcourt player who played college ball at Texas.