IndyStar high school sports Insider Kyle Neddenriep identified the 64 “best” high school teams of all-time. That means the best team you can put together,not just the 1971 East Chicago Washington team, but players across all eras of basketball.
One rule: No school would have more than a 10-player roster. There are some that have eight or nine, but most have 10.
BUILD-A-TEAM:Check out more historic rosters Kyle has put together
Our seventh matchup in the northeast bracket features No. 7 Kokomo vs. No. 10 Warsaw.Check out Warsaw's rosterand compare it to Kokomo's, then vote for the team you'd think would win.
D.J. Balentine – The 6-3 Balentine was an Indiana All-Star in 2012 after he averaged 18.2 points, 4.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists. He graduated No. 3 on Kokomo’s all-time scoring list with 1,280 career points. Balentine helped Kokomo to reach the state finals as a junior in 2011. He went on to become a star at the University of Evansville, where he led the Missouri Valley Conference in scoring three seasons in a row and was named first-team all-Valley all three seasons. Balentine set the Evansville career scoring record with 2,464 points. He averaged 17.7 points per game for his career at Evansville, including 20.5 points and 4.4 assists per game as a senior in 2015-16 for a 25-win team. He has played professionally overseas since his graduation.
Tico Brown – Brown wasn’t considered a big-time player at Kokomo, though he grew to 6-5 by his senior year of 1974-75 and was also a standout in track and football. After a year of junior college ball at Emmanuel College in Georgia, he was recruited to Georgia Tech. Brown thrived there, averaging 16.1 points and 4.8 rebounds in 81 games over three seasons. He was selected with the No. 23 overall pick of the 1979 NBA draft by the Utah Jazz. He went on to play eight years in the Continental Basketball Association for the Anchorage Northern Lights, Detroit Spirits and Savannah Spirits. He played on two championships teams and retired in 1988 as the CBA’s all-time leading scorer with 8,538 points.
Charlie Hall – Hall led the North Central Conference in scoring as a junior and senior in 1972-73 and 1973-74. He finished his Kokomo career with 1,163 points and averaged 23.7 points per game. Kokomo reached the regional final in 1974, losing to Anderson. Hall went on to play at Division II Columbus State (Ga.), where he set a school record for single-game scoring (43 points) in 1979 that stood for several years. Hall went on to coach the Kokomo girls to a state championship as a coach. He was inducted into the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame in 2017.
Brian Hogan – The 6-2 Hogan was an Indiana All-Star in 1987-88 as the point guard averaged 14.4 points per game. He led Kokomo to a 24-3 record and regional championship. Hogan went on to play at the University of Florida, where he set a school record with 120 3-pointers. He was team captain as a senior in 1991-92 and helped trigger a turnaround to a second-place finish in the Southeastern Conference’s East Division and 19 wins. Hogan averaged 4.8 points as a junior and 4.7 points per game as a senior.
Ron Hughes – The 6-1 Hughes was No. 3 on the Indiana All-Star team in 1961 behind co-Mr. Basketball winners Tom and Dick Van Arsdale. As a senior, Hughes made two free throws with three seconds left to give Kokomo a 68-66 win over Manual for its first state championship. Hughes averaged 17.9 points per game as a senior and finished his career with 1,147 points at Kokomo (still ranks seventh in school history). He was also a star quarterback on the football team and pitched for the baseball team. Hughes went on to play at Purdue, where he averaged 7.6 points in 58 games over three seasons. He was inducted into the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame in 2010.
Jim “Goose” Ligon – The 6-7 Ligon was considered one of the best players in state history at the time, earning Indiana All-Star honors as a senior in 1961-62. He led Kokomo to a state championship in 1961 as a junior and scored 839 points as a senior with a single-game record of 53. Kokomo reached the final four in 1962, losing by one point to East Chicago Washington in the afternoon game of the state finals. He still holds the Kokomo career scoring record with 1,900 points. Ligon was also first-team all-state in football. He didn’t play college basketball, spending three years in the state penitentiary. He played five seasons in the ABA with the Kentucky Colonels, averaging 14.4 points and 11.7 rebounds. Ligon also played one season with the Pittsburgh Condors and two with the Virginia Squires. In eight ABA seasons, Ligon averaged 12.8 points and 10.9 rebounds per game.
Jimmy Rayl – The 6-1 Rayl was one of the premier scorers in the state history, averaging 26.8 points in 61 games over two seasons at Kokomo to finish with 1,632 points. He scored more than 40 points in a game six times as a senior and was the runaway choice for Mr. Basketball in 1959 as Kokomo reached the state championship game, losing to Crispus Attucks. He set a tournament record with 114 points. Rayl went on to star at Indiana, where he scored 1,401 points for his career. He averaged 29.8 points in 1961-62 and 25.3 points in 1962-63. Rayl played two ABA seasons for the Indiana Pacers, averaging 11.1 points in 101 games. He is a member of the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame and IU Athletics Hall of Fame.
Tom Schwartz – The 6-5 Schwartz starred in basketball, football, track and golf at Kokomo. He was named Mr. Basketball in 1945 after helping the Wildkats to a state runner-up finish in 1944. Kokomo lost in the semistate by one point to Huntington in 1945. For his four-year high school career, Schwartz averaged more than 12 points per game and led Kokomo to a 22-4 record and North Central Conference title in back-to-back seasons. He went on to play at Indiana, where he started a center for three seasons and averaged 5.8 points. Schwartz was inducted into the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame in 1995.
Russell “Rut” Walter – Walter was Kokomo’s first star player and considered on the state’s best all-round athletes of the 1920s. Walter played four seasons for Kokomo, earning all-state honors as a junior in 1925 as Kokomo was state runner-up. He also was awarded the Gimbel prize for mental attitude. Also a track star, played both sports at Northwestern. As a sophom*ore, he was second in the conference in scoring and was named team captain as a senior. Walter won the NCAA’s 440-yard race as a junior. He was inducted into the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame in 1970.
Brandon Wood – The 6-2 Wood averaged 19.1 points and 5.1 rebounds as a junior and 21.0 points per game as a senior in 2006-07. He was a four-year letterwinner at Kokomo and set a single-game school record with 10 3-pointers. Wood scored 1,114 points at Kokomo. Wood started out at Southern Illinois, averaging 3.7 points in six games before a season-ending injury. He spent a year Highland Community College before transferring to Valparaiso. He starred there for two seasons, averaging 17.7 points and 16.7 points in his two seasons, earning first-team all-conference honors. Wood transferred to Michigan State in 2011-12 and averaged 8.8 points for the 29-win Big Ten champions. He has played eight seasons professionally overseas, most recently in Argentina.
