Mitchell Was County's First 50-Point Scorer

We are about a week away from opening night for another boys basketball season and perhaps that means a little more for our county than others. After all, this is where it all started for basketball in Indiana.

Of course when you start talking basketball everyone wants to talk about people who can put the ball through the hoop. Scorers get the top billing. Why shouldn’t they? You have to score to win, right?

Today we will begin looking at a very exclusive club. Basketball has been played in Montgomery County since the early 1900s. That means there have been thousands of players over the years and so many games have been played. After all this time, only two individuals from Montgomery County have ever scored more than 50 points in a game.

Yes, just two.

Two out of thousands of players to have stepped on the court here have ever accomplished that feat. Therefore, I think they deserve some recognition.

Before I go any further, there is a disclaimer: Some will say there was a third player — Homer Stonebraker, of the early Wingate teams — who should be included. I have heard the rumors, like many probably have, that he once scored 75 points in a game. However, research by myself and many before me (who were probably much better at it than I will ever be), shows no documentation to collaborate that feat. If anyone has such evidence, please contact me.

So, with that said, who are the two scoring machines to total at least 50 points in a game?

The first to do it was Waveland’s Mike Mitchell.

He did it on Jan. 7, 1967 during as a junior on the team. Ironically, his scoring outburst came a game after his lowest output of the season — just eight points in a 74-55 loss to Turkey Run.

In the January 1967 shootout at Roachdale, though, Mitchell scored 51 points. He was a equal opportunity scorer with 17 field goals and 17 free throws. Box scores back then did not include the number of attempts made, but it’s interesting that he made 17 between the two.

If you are wondering, the Hornets lost that game 92-87.

And while looking closer at that game I found what may be an all-time Montgomery County record. Not only did Mitchell have 51 points, but teammate Phil Myers scored 32, meaning the pair combined for 83 of the team’s 87 points. Have two Montgomery County teammates together ever scored more than 83 points in a single game? The search is on to find out, but my gut feeling says no, especially not when the team only scored 87.

A side note to that game: The Waveland duo weren’t the only ones putting on a show. Roachdale twins Donnie and Ronnie Simpson had quite a game, too. Don scored 42 points while his brother added 26, meaning they accounted for a whopping 68 points. Anyone at that game definitely saw one for the books. Does anyone in Roachdale know if that was a school record?

Mitchell ended that season with 497 points. He averaged 22.3 points a game, while Myers scored 473 points and averaged 21.5, giving Waveland one of the best combinations ever. Mitchell, who scored 40 points in a game against New Ross his senior year, and ended his senior season with 588 points and a 26.7 point-per-game average.

For his career, Mitchell scored 1,473 points in 79 games (18.6 average). As impressive at those totals are, they aren’t even school records. Bill Greve holds the record for most points in a season with 712 in 1954-55. He had a 608 points the year before that. For his career Greve scored 1,777 points and remains the county’s third all-time leading scorer behind DJ. Byrd (1,785) and Daryl Warren (2,083).

Waveland always had scorers and they lead the county schools with six players in the 1,000-point club. Those players are: Bill Greve (1,777), Mitchell (1,473), Bill Wheeler (1,065), Keith Greve (1,048), Herschel Teague (1,035) and Phil Myers (1,014).

Mitchell stood as the lone county player to ever break the 50-point barrier for nearly 30 years. So who joined Mitchell to reach that milestone? One clue: He played during the 90s?

We will meet him next time.