M
att Waddell has fond memories of his time playing basketball at Tipton High School. Though he played his freshman year at Western, his last three years were at Tipton, where his dad was an assistant basketball coach. “Tipton was a great experience,” Waddell says. “Fans were really supportive and we had a full gym at every home game.” Following games, he and his teammates would hang out at one of their houses or go to Pizza Shack by the track. Waddell recalls their games against rival Tri-Central as always being loud. The teams faced off each year around Thanksgiving to vie for the Pilgrim Cup. During his junior
and senior year, they played Anderson at the a practical joker who liked to laugh, make fun of himself and make fun of us. I liked Wigwam in front of a giant crowd. that balance.” “I remember walking into gyms like that where they didn’t expect Tipton to be much Having Glenn Robinson as a teammate was or bring much, and then showing them what a dream. we could do,” Waddell says. “Those were fun “Playing with Glenn made my job easy games.” because he was so good every single night,” He describes playing for Purdue University’s Waddell says. “Our job was to get him the ball in the place he could score.” former Coach Gene Keady as difficult but enjoyable. Keady had a passion and excitement for the game and for his players As Robinson often got double teamed, Waddell and his teammates needed to be that was palpable. available to hit open shots. That’s precisely what happened during one of Waddell’s “What I appreciated about Coach Keady all-time favorite matchups - when Purdue was that when he walked onto the court there was nobody more competitive, but off played Michigan. It was the second to the court he had fun,” Waddell says. “He was last game of the 1994 season and the TownePost.com / MARCH 2022 / TIPTON MAGAZINE / 5
