Dave Omer

Dave Omer was inducted into the Indiana

Basketball Hall of Fame in 2007. He is the

11^th former player or coach out of Washington

High School to be enshrined into the Hall.

Dave coached basketball for 40 seasons, his

last 11 at Washington High School. He took

over a Hatchet program that went 97-141

(.408) the previous 11 seasons before his

tenure started. Coach turned the program

around and his 11 Hatchet teams went

150-95 (.612). His 150 wins at WHS rank

second only to Hall of Famer Burl Friddle.

He coached the 2005 Indiana Junior All-Star

Team that included Greg Oden, the 2005

and 2006 National Player of the Year.

Dave was named the Southwestern Indiana

Coach of the Year in 2005.

Overall, Dave’s teams won 462 games, which

rank in the top 50 on the IHSAA all-time

wins list.

Robert Downey

Robert Downey graduated from Washington High School in 1917. He led WHS to its first state finals

appearance in 1917. In the spring of that year, Bob paced Washington’s record-setting mile relay team

that won the IHSAA state championship. After lettering in football, basketball, baseball and track his

freshman year at McKendree College in Illinois, Bob fell victim to the flu epidemic of 1918. He spent the

next 9 months in bed but fully recovered by early 1920. Later that summer, Bob was playing semi-pro

baseball for Brownstown when Franklin College “discovered” him. After filling in as an assistant

basketball coach at Saint Simon’s High School (now Washington Catholic) in the winter of 1920-21, he

went on to play baseball and run track for Franklin in the spring before signing a pro baseball contract

that summer with Independence, Kansas of the old Southwestern League. When the league folded the next year, Bob returned to Washington. Saint Simon’s happened to be looking for a full-time coach entering the 1921-22 season, and Bob was hired. Over 20 seasons, his teams at WCHS won 289 games while losing only 140. During his tenure, Washington Catholic won the official 1931 state Catholic championship and finished at 25-2. That 1931 team advanced to the 3^rd round of the national Catholic tournament. Bob’s 1947 team was the first parochial school in the state to win a sectional. His 1924 and 1927 teams won the mythical state Catholic championships. Bob’s 289 wins are the most ever at WCHS.

When WCHS discontinued boys basketball at the end of the 1933 season due to the depression, Bob was hired as the coach at St. Stanislaus College in Mississippi. He coached there for one season, handling football, basketball, baseball and track duties. He returned to WC in 1945 and coached through the 1953 season.

Bob was inducted into the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame in 1975.

Dave DeJernett

Dave DeJernett graduated from Washington High School in 1931. The 6-5 center scored 607

points during his 3 seasons on varsity at WHS. He led the Hatchets to the 1930 state title and

was named First Team All-State 3 times. In the 1930 championship game against Muncie

Central, Washington was down 14-12 at the half. Hall of Fame Coach Burl Friddle told Dave

that if he could control the tips in the second half, WHS would win. Big Dave (who was only

6-3 his junior year) won the center-jump time after time against Muncie’s 6-6 Jack Mann and

the Hatchets went on to defeat the Bearcats, 32-21. With this championship, Dave became the

first black basketball player to win an undisputed state title in Indiana (and probably the

nation). Initially considering professional boxing after his high school graduation, Dave went

on to earn 9 letters at Indiana Central College (now the University of Indianapolis) in

basketball, track and football. He was a 2-time College All-State selection and scored 506

points during his 4 years at ICC. He ran the dashes and threw the shot put and discus for the

Greyhounds’ track team. Dave was the state’s first dominant black collegiate basketball player

and was inducted into the University of Indianapolis Hall of Fame in 1993. Dave’s 1934 ICC

Greyhound team was inducted into the hall in 2005.

After graduating from college in 1935, Dave played semi-pro basketball for the Muncie

Monarchs. Later he played professional basketball for the New York Renaissance, Chicago

Crusaders and the Harlem Globetrotters. His pro career ended when he joined the Army in 1942. After serving in Africa and Europe during World War II, Dave lived in Indianapolis until his death in 1964.

Dave’s brother John “Deacon” DeJernett played on Washington’s 1941 and 1942 state championship teams.

Dave was inducted into the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame in 1976.

Steve Bouchie

Steve Bouchie was inducted into the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame in 2009. He is the 12th former player or coach out of Washington High School to be enshrined into the Hall.

Fondly known as Tree by his team-

mates, the 1979 Mr. Basketball is

Washington’s all-time rebound

leader with 842. He grabbed 20 or

more rebounds in a game 7 times.

During his senior season of 1978-

79, he averaged 27.0 ppg and 15.0

rpg. When Steve graduated from

WHS in 1979, he was the school’s

all-time leading scorer with 1,311

points. He still ranks 4th on

Washington’s scoring list. He is

the only Hatchet ever to average a

double-double for his career with

an 18.0 point average and 11.5

rebounds per game.

Steve went on to play basketball at Indiana University and was a member of the 1981 National Championship team under Bobby Knight. In 2004, he headlined the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame’s Silver Anniversary Team.

Leo “Crystal” Klier

Leo Klier graduated from Washington High School in 1940. He was a 16-year old senior on the

Hatchets’ 25-5 team that lost to Mitchell in the final game of the Vincennes Semi-state. He had the

distinction of playing junior varsity for WHS as a 13-year old freshman. Although Leo never played

on a state championship team at WHS, he had an impact on the 1941 and 1942 state title teams.

According to Charlie Harmon, practicing with Klier and Rufus Arnold during 1939-40 was brutal

but prepared the younger players for the next two seasons. His brother Gene had played basketball

at Notre Dame and earned 3 varsity letters, so Leo worked on the railroad after graduating high

school to earn enough money to attend and play basketball at Notre Dame. Leo set single season

scoring records for the Fighting Irish in both 1943-44 and 1945-46, averaging 15.4 ppg and 17.9 ppg

respectively. While at Notre Dame, legendary Kentucky Coach Adolph Rupp gave Leo the nickname

“Crystal” because Rupp stated that if Klier was in the game, the outcome was “crystal clear.”

Crystal was selected First Team All-American in both 1944 and 1946, separated by a year in the Navy during World War II in 1945. In 1946, Leo played on the college all-star team that defeated the National Basketball League champions at the old Chicago Stadium.

After graduating from Notre Dame in 1946, Klier went on to play professional basketball in the NBL with the Indianapolis Kautskys and was named to the All-Rookie team in 1947. Leo and former Hatchet Woody Norris were teammates on the Kautsky team that won the All-World Tournament that same year. He became the first former Hatchet to play in the National Basketball Association in 1948-49 with the Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons (now the Detroit Pistons). Leo ended his basketball career after the 1950 season. Klier was lauded in his era as one of the first to use the one-handed set shot and his ability to shoot with either hand. He is a member of the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame’s 1965 Silver Anniversary Team. In November of 2004, Leo was one of 25 players named to Notre Dame’s All-Century Basketball Team.

Leo was inducted into the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame in 1977.

Leroy “Hook” Mangin

Leroy Mangin graduated from Washington High School in 1941. He scored 801 points at WHS and

led the Hatchets to the 1941 state championship. Hook set the state finals’ scoring record in 1941

and was named First Team All-State. He scored 23 points against Kokomo in the morning game and

followed that up with 18 against Madison in the title game that night. He was selected to the 1941

Indiana All-Star team and paced Indiana over Kentucky with his MVP performance. Hook led the

SIAC in scoring for 3 years and was named All-SIAC twice. He led the WHS in scoring in 1939

and 1941.

After graduating from high school, Mangin played freshman basketball at Indiana before World

War II ended his career at IU. 1940 teammate Leo Klier called Hook a “very fierce competitor”

who had a golden eye with his set shot. It was reported that a week after Washington won the 1941 state title, Mangin received more mail than the rest of Washington combined. Hook is a member of the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame’s 1966 Silver Anniversary Team.

Hook was inducted into the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame in 1986.

Hall of Fame, Page 2