Three years. Three Seasons. Three State Championships. Those on the team didn’t just win, they built a dynasty.
On Friday, Feb. 13 Lawrence North will honor the three back to back to back champion boys basketball teams for their 20th anniversary. The ceremony will take place between the JV and Varsity games against Ben Davis.
According to Athletic Director Mike Penrose, many from those 2004, 2005 and 2006 teams will be coming back to celebrate, including the number one pick in the 2007 NBA draft, Greg Oden.
“We have a lot of former athletes who were on that team who played collegiately, some professionally in Europe, and Coach Keefer will be back. A lot of the assistant coaches who were on that team will be back. So, it’ll be fun to reminisce with those guys and get them back in the gym,” Penrose said.
Those teams also had Mike Conley on them, who went on to be the number four NBA draft pick the same year as Oden and has played for Memphis Grizzlies, the Utah Jazz, Minnesota Timberwolves. Conley, however, will not be able to attend the evening’s ceremonies as he is out of the country.
Throughout the three seasons these teams went a combined 73-4. In the 2006 season they went undefeated, making them the only team in LN’s history to go undefeated. That year, in the school yearbook, Conley, who was a senior, was quoted saying that the moments had with the team would sink in later in life.
LN was one of the most dominating teams in Indiana during the early 2000s.
“All three of those teams are very big parts of Lawrence North history, just the tradition of excellence and showing how we work together to really achieve a lot of success, ” said Assistant Athletic Director JT Owens.
Owens was a part of the ‘04 and ‘05 teams.
“I’m looking forward to seeing the guys again. A lot of the guys that I was playing with, a lot of the guys that I learned from, and just had a good experience with,” he said.
Owens said playing with the guys on that team was special and that a lot of the players during that three year run had laser focus.
“It actually was almost like feeling like a celebrity to be a part of that team with a lot of things that we did in regards to traveling, places we played, and people you got to see,” Owens said. “I think one of the biggest memories was just our friendship in general.”
Penrose said there was a reason those state championship teams were so good.
“Just watching those guys play you almost took for granted how good they were when you went to see a game. You just knew they were going to win, and if it was close it was a surprise.”
According to Penrose, Oden and Conley were dominant even as freshmen.
“When Greg and Mike were freshmen, I can’t remember their record, but it was an amazing record. I think they were like 24-3 or something like that, but they got beat in regionals, and it was a close game, but they could have won four in a row. They never lost a MIC game. Every single year they were undefeated in the MIC and there were some great players in Indianapolis during that time,” Penrose said.
Yearbook accounts from those years talk about the camaraderie between the players, but also about all the attention the teams got, especially the 2006 team that finished at national champions as well.
“The crowd was always crazy. It was always packed in here.” Penrose said.
The Keefer Gym may be packed again tonight as the pregame ceremony recognizes the players and coaches from that time. JV starts at 6 p.m., with the program happening right before the 7:30 p.m. tipoff for the #8 Wildcats.
