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Explore Indiana's basketball craze with sports writer, editor, and lifelong hoops fan Jim Russell. Registration is required.
Jim Russell knows a thing or two about Indiana basketball. A graduate of Anderson High School and Purdue University, Russell served as a writer and editor for three Indiana publications from 1978 to 1994, principally for The Indianapolis News. He later served as sports information director for the Indiana High School Athletic Association during the years it approved and then implemented the controversial multiple class tournaments in boys and girls basketball along with three other team sports. A lifelong Hoosier, Jim had traveled through all 92 Indiana counties before he was 30. High school basketball played a significant role in that quest. During Indiana’s Bicentennial celebration in 2016, he visited every courthouse in a six-month period. Jim and his wife, Patty, a Purdue classmate, are regular attendees of Carmel basketball games and many others around the state. He has been to every state basketball finals since 1978.
Presented in partnership with Carmel Clay Historical Society and the Carmel Clay Public Library Foundation. Registration is required.