KNIGHTSTOWN — They have spent their careers as rivals on the court, each racking up impressive résumés that include being in their school’s top-five of all-time leading scorers and sectional, county, and even a state championships.
Both will continue their basketball careers in college, but on the weekend of their respective high school graduations, two local players had the opportunity to put on one of the most famous basketball jerseys and spend an evening on the court on the same team.
At the Hoosier Gym in Knightstown on Friday, June 2, Lapel’s Jon Ross Richardson and Mark Albers of Pendleton Heights donned the Hickory Huskers jersey (from the movie “Hoosiers”) in the annual Hoosiers Reunion All-Star Classic.
Players from around the state took part, with half playing for Hickory and the other half wearing Terhune jerseys (the rival school of Hickory from the film.)
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In a game much higher scoring than coach Norman Dale would have ever envisioned, Hickory routed Terhune 152-130. Both Richardson and Albers contributed — Albers scored nine points and collected two steals, while Richardson scored seven points and blocked two shots. Each player grabbed eight rebounds and handed out two assists on the night.
Bigger than the final result, both players appreciated the opportunity to play with other great high school players in a historic gym.
“I watch ‘Hoosiers’ before every season,” Richardson said. “And getting to play in this gym — it’s just a really amazing feeling.”
“It was a lot of fun,” Albers added. “Ever since I had heard of this event and seen the guys who play in it, I always thought this would be a fun one to play in. It lived up to it. This is the first time I’ve ever been here. I love the movie, and I watch it all the time.”
The two schools are just 10 miles apart and enjoy a healthy rivalry, but Albers enjoyed the fact he had the opportunity to team up with Richardson for an evening.
“It was definitely cool after all these years,” Albers said. “It’s kind of a fitting way to end our little rivalry. I think it was a lot of fun, and we have a mutual respect for each other.”
While Albers will be continuing his career at Marian College in Indianapolis, Richardson will be heading farther away. He will be playing near Orlando, Florida for the Rollins College Tars this fall. Richardson said Rollins coach Tom Klusman made the difference when he was making his decision.
“What made it stand out was the coach,” Richardson said. “He was really nice, he explained where I was going to be and what I needed to do to be there.”
Klusman shares a couple similarities to Richardson high school coach Jimmie Howell. Both are coaching at their alma mater and have racked up more than 600 career wins. But, Richardson added, that is where the similarities end.
“There are a lot of similarities,” he said. But they’re “a little different — (Klusman) plays zone and says, ‘If you have the shot, let it fly.’ Plus, it will be different playing with a shot clock.”
Both players have plans to frame the Hickory jerseys they wore Friday night, but Albers is in no rush to do so.
“I don’t know if I’m going to hang it up yet,” Albers said. “I might want to wear it around a little bit.”
For Richardson, he is looking forward to heading south and loved the opportunity to wear the Huskers’ jersey for a night. But nothing matches having the word “Lapel” across the front of his uniform.
“It means everything,” he said. “Going back to Lapel and not playing is going to be different; it has meant so much to me. I’m definitely going to move back to Lapel at some point and raise my kids there.”
Richardson will study computer science at Rollins and hopes to take advantage of the growing tech industry of Indianapolis in the future.
“I love Lapel,” he said.