Current Run Reminiscent of Pacers’ ABA Glory Days

The Indiana Pacers may be playing for the organization’s first NBA championship this month but there are those of us old enough to remember when Indianapolis was title town in the early 1970s.

Roger Brown, Mel Daniels, Freddie Lewis and former Purdue star Billy Keller played on three ABA championship teams back in the days of the red, white and blue basketball and the 3-point shot.

Playing their home games at the Indiana State Fairgrounds until Market Square Arena opened in 1974, the Pacers were the Boston Celtics of the ABA. In addition to the three championships, Indiana won six Eastern Conference titles during the league’s nine-year existence.

Those Pacers were so talented, three players and coach Bobby Leonard are members of the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. Daniels was the first Pacer in the Hall of Fame in 2012. Brown was elected posthumously in 2013, and Leonard was inducted in 2014. George McGinnis, who starred on the 1972 and 1973 title teams, entered the Hall of Fame in 2017.

Keller’s style of play was perfect for the ABA, which had the 3-point rule years before it was adopted by the staid NBA. Keller’s 506 career 3-pointers ranked second in ABA history. Keller also won free throw percentage titles in 1973 and 1976.

But as he did at Purdue, surrounded by Rick Mount and Herman Gilliam, Keller was a pass-first guard for the Pacers. During the 1970 title run, Keller handed out 437 assists.

Most of those passes went to Daniels, a 6-9 center who averaged 21 points and 18 rebounds a game on his way to winning his second ABA Most Valuable Player award. Brown led the Pacers at 23 points a game and was named the Most Valuable Player of the ABA playoffs.

Brown scored 45 points to lead Indiana past the Los Angeles Stars 111-107 in the decisive Game 6 of the championship series. Nearly 5,000 fans welcomed home the team on Monument Circle.

Two years later, Lewis was named Most Valuable Player of the ABA playoffs after the Pacers topped the Rick Barry-led New York Nets in six games. Daniels was again dominant, averaging 19.2 points and 16.4 rebounds.

These Pacers were a juggernaut offensively. Brown put up 18.5 points a game. McGinnis averaged 16.9 on his way to winning ABA Rookie of the Year. Lewis was fourth with a 15.4 average, just ahead of forward Bob Netolicky’s 15.1 average. Purdue legend Rick Mount started 50 games that season and averaged 14.3 points. Keller just missed giving Indiana seven double-figure scorers, averaging 9.7 points while leading the team with a 33.3 percent shooting percentage from behind the 3-point line.

The Pacers outlasted their bitter rivals, the Kentucky Colonels, to win the 1973 title 4-3. Playoff MVP McGinnis scored 13 of his 27 points in the third quarter of Game 7, helping the Pacers expand a one-point halftime lead to 66-52. Indiana held on for an 88-81 victory at Freedom Hall in Louisville.

The 1973 squad was the most talented of the three championship teams. Gus Johnson, who was voted into the Naismith Hall of Fame in 2010, was playing his final season. The 6-6 Johnson only averaged six points a game, but he’ll be remembered by Pacers fans for guarding Kentucky 7-2 center Artis Gilmore in Game 7 when Daniels was in foul trouble.

Darnell Hillman, whose Afro hairstyle made him look taller than 6-9, was a spectacular leaper whose slam dunks were SportsCenter highlights before ESPN existed.

Donnie Freeman was obtained from the Dallas Chaparrals after the Pacers traded Mount to Kentucky. Freeman started 71 games and averaged 14.3 points.

Backup point guard Don Buse was beginning a 13-year pro basketball career after leading the University of Evansville to the 1971 NCAA Division II title.

To learn more about the early days of the Indiana Pacers, I suggest reading Mark Monteith’s book “Reborn: The Pacers and the Return of Pro Basketball to Indianapolis.” I also recommend the documentary “Undefeated: The Roger Brown Story” by filmmaker Ted Green, a former sports copy editor for The Indianapolis Star.

Big Ten football gossip

Granted anonymity by Athlon Sports for its 2025 College Football Preview, Big Ten football coaches offered their opinions on Purdue and Indiana. As you might have guessed, their peers don’t expect much from the Boilermakers.

“This is a really tough rebuild, and it’s not going to be an add-NIL, instant-win situation like Indiana was.”

“Barry (Odom) is going to be a steadier hand than Ryan (Walters); he brings a lot of experience in and knows how to sustain a program.”

“If you’re looking for something to build on this season, it’s line play on both sides. [Josh] Henson is a good offensive mind and a good OL coach, too.”

“They’re still pulling guys in from the portal and auditioning at spots right now. They don’t have a quarterback settled, and they don’t really have a receiving corps.”

“It’s going to be rough for a while, but they’re banking on the more experienced head coach being able to compete long-term in the league.”

“How do they respond to what Indiana’s doing with NIL? That’s the bigger question than anything on the field.”

Indiana’s Big Ten peers don’t think the 2024 season that ended with a College Football Playoff berth was a fluke.

“Maybe the biggest culture change at a program in the history of the sport. IU is a case study for putting your money where your mouth is. They invested heavily in NIL and support. Cig (Curt Cignetti) is a fantastic coach, obviously, but he wouldn’t come without that commitment.”

“Everyone is asking who the next Indiana is, but there’s no real reason why it itsn’t Indiana again. Will they win as many games? Probably not, but they’re going to be in the hunt for a playoff spot again.”

While not as bullish on the Hoosiers as some Big Ten coaches, CBSSports.com writer Tom Fornelli’s preseason Big Ten rankings place IU sixth behind Ohio State, Penn State, Oregon, Michigan and Illinois.

“I couldn’t justify putting the Hoosiers lower than this, even if I’m skeptical they’ll have the same kind of lightning-in-a-bottle season they had last year,” Fornelli writes. “Even if the Hoosiers don’t hit a home run on every transfer this year, they have returning talent and should hit enough singles and doubles to stick around that eight-win mark. For context, if Indiana wins eight games in 2025, the 19 wins between 2024 and 2025 would be the most in a two-year span in the program’s history.”

Fornelli expects “a lot of losing” from Purdue, picked once again to finish last in the 18-team Big Ten. He also acknowledges that he picked Indiana to finish last a year ago.

“A new coaching staff always brings optimism because anything is possible. But there probably isn’t much possible in 2025,” Fornelli writes.

Noteworthy

Jaraan Cornell, a standout guard in the late 1990s for Purdue, was found dead in his South Bend apartment on June 6. He was 48.

Cornell led South Bend Clay to the 1994 Indiana state championship before coming to Purdue. His 3-point shooting helped the Boilermakers reach the NCAA Sweet 16 in 1998 and 1999, and advance to the Elite Eight in 2000.

He scored 1,595 career points and left Purdue with a record 242 3-pointers. …

Zach Edey could miss the start of his second NBA season with the Memphis Grizzlies after it was determined he would need surgery to stabilize his left ankle.

The two-time National Player of the Year at Purdue was working out when he once again sprained his left ankle. Edey missed 12 games during his rookie season due to injuring that ankle.

Edey earned first-team NBA All-Rookie honors after averaging 9.2 points and 8.3 rebounds.

Kenny Thompson is the former sports editor for the Lafayette Journal & Courier and an award-winning journalist. He has covered Purdue athletics for many years.