Carmel (3,870) Built 1958
February 20, 2024: Indianapolis Crispus Attucks vs. Carmel (Boys)
February 20, 2024: Indianapolis Crispus Attucks vs. Carmel (Boys)
There's probably not a more polarizing school in Indiana than Carmel. Just hearing the name aloud produces visceral reactions from people. On one hand, it's the gold standard for public education. Top of the line facilities in every capacity. More parent involvement than you could ever wish for. Any resource you can imagine available for students. On the other hand, what it represents to most people outside of the community is everything that's wrong with our schools. They are the haves because of the wealth in the community, and everyone else is the have-nots. Not only do they have everything, the people there really like to remind you of it. Right or wrong, that's the perception. It's a real Eagleton/Pawnee situation with Hamilton County and the rest of the state. I tried to go in with a open mind as I have never actually visited Carmel before in any capacity, and the first thing I was greeted with as I pulled in was a giant boulder with "We Run the State" painted on it in giant letters. Not off to a great start. Everything after that was about what I expected. No cash accepted, highest ticket price I've encountered yet (tied in infamy with Lawrence Central), and everything as big and ritzy as you could possibly imagine. As I was taking it all in though, I thought how just as the public perception of the school as a whole is really a two-sided coin, so is the image of the basketball program. Yes people hate them because they're the biggest school in the state and everything just feels easy for them, but on the other hand they've had a ton of success even before they were this behemoth, and the gym is begrudgringly pretty historic and sweet.
Carmel has the only sunken gym that I'm aware of north of Indianapolis. They are usually a southern staple of the sport. While it may seem out of place geographically, it fits perfectly in this setting. It has 13 rows of permanent wooden bleachers that go all the way around the hardwood playing surface. The bleachers are a beautiful lighter wood color and have sharp blue lettering on them to number the seats. I'm not kidding when I say they are some of the most comfortable wooden bleachers I've ever sat on. The fact that I even noticed that tells you all you need to know about them. Like all sunken gyms, the arrangement makes it so that there's not a bad seat or vantage point in the whole gym. I sat in a couple different places throughout the game and they were all great. There is a single tunnel coming out of one baseline end leading from the locker rooms to the court. The court is two-toned with a medium shade of brown everywhere except the center court circle and the wing areas inside the three-point lines. It doesn't get more understated then the small blue "C" at center court. It's an homage to the original center court logo on the old floor which you can see hanging on the wall up on the concourse. It's classy. There are also two subtle greyhounds (the mascot) painted along each sideline which are a nice touch. The blue with yellow lettering "Carmel" and "Greyhounds" around the perimeter of the court ties it altogether nicely.
If you're sitting at center court on either side, you will see something a little unique looking across the way. Opposite of the team benches is what looks like another scorer's table at the floor level. It looks like it's just used as a broadcasting row (I counted what looked like 4 different broadcast teams working the game. 2-3 of them were definitely student productions. It's just different here). Above that is a normal seating section, but there's a wooden divider running right up the stands that looks like something you would see in a church. I couldn't really see what purpose if any that it served. Right behind the team benches you'll find one of the more boujee scorer's tables and press rows around. The press row is kind of walled off from the fans behind it. Above this section is a railing that runs about 3/4 of the court length. It's a pretty nice place to stand up and stretch your legs while keeping an eye on the game. There is also one on the opposite side, but it's filled with a bunch of cameras and broadcasting equipment.
There's a concourse all the way around the top of the arena like in all sunken gyms. They've actually brought in a lot of removable sections of blue plastic temporary bleachers. All but one section were in use from what I saw. The extra seating capacity wasn't really needed on this Tuesday night, but I'm sure it's useful for big events like Sectional 8 when it's hosted at Carmel. When you have big concourses like this, there is a ton of wall space to utilize, and boy do they use it. There's barely a square inch that isn't covered in some type of team photo or trophy from sectional up to state titles. No one has more of them across all sports than Carmel. The couple that really interested me were the photo of the 1977 state championship team and the section honoring brothers and Mr. Basketball winners Bill and Dave Shepherd. Two absolute legends of the sport that starred at Carmel when it was still a relatively normal town school.
I'm not sure anything I saw or experienced tonight would have changed my opinion of Carmel as a whole. I'm conditioned to dislike it like everyone else in Indiana who isn't from there. There's no denying though that they've done a marvelous job of preserving the heritage of a great gym amidst all the other grandiose nonsense surrounding the rest of the school. The Shepherd brothers put Carmel on the map right after the gym was built along with their father who was the coach and eventually athletic director. The winning has only increased since then. No matter how you feel or may think about how that winning has come about, the plaques and pictures are all over the place to remind you that it happened. I watched them play a really good Indy Attucks team tonight, and Carmel flatly outhustled them consistently for 32 minutes on their way to a close win. It was the difference in the game. It goes to show that no matter the resources you have to start with, you still have to put the work in, at least in basketball. I can admit that and still not like them. Right or wrong, that'll never change. Pawnee > Eagleton. It's the Indiana way.
