Fort Wayne Blackhawk (1,200) Built 1993
February 8, 2025: Westview vs. Fort Wayne Blackhawk (Boys)
February 8, 2025: Westview vs. Fort Wayne Blackhawk (Boys)
Fort Wayne Blackhawk (or Blackhawk Christian, whatever you want to call them. John Harrell calls them the former so that's what I'm rolling with here) has a complicated history with fans of Indiana high school basketball. To some, they're the poster child for everything that is wrong with the current postseason tournament (I'd argue it's still pretty dang good) and the unintended consequences of class basketball. They're the number one example people have pointed to over the years when blaming small private schools for "recruiting": handpicking the best talent from an area while still getting to play in the 1A or 2A tournament and gaining an unfair advantage over small public schools. Over the first decade of the new millennium, I would say these people were probably right. With the advent of school choice around 2010 and the relaxing of rules regarding transfers over the last few years, I'd argue the playing field is pretty much level at this point. Public schools can and are "recruiting" as much as anyone. To other people, Blackhawk is everything that is right about the heart of high school basketball. The legendary coach Marc Davidson who unfortunately passed away due to cancer a few years ago, instilled a spirit of excellence and sportsmanship that was rooted in the faith he and his teams lived out on the court. The tradition of praying with the opponent after a hard fought game while sharing his faith and story was something that went viral across the state, but you knew that wasn't the reason he and his teams did it. They did it because they thought it was important. Regardless of how you feel, the program has had unparalleled success in the class basketball era amongst the smaller schools. Their gym doesn't quite live up to that standard, but it is a private school. You can only expect so much.
I was a little surprised to learn the Blackhawk gym was built in 1993. It feels like a late-70s/early-80s gym that got remodeled about 20 years ago and hasn't been touched since. It's a little weathered and worn which gives it a bit more grit and character than I was expecting from a private school that's been dominating for nearly 25 years. There are old plastic blue bleachers on each side that go up about 11 rows and have definitely seen better days. Some light-colored wood ones would look great in a place like this. I was sitting in the top row and there were some chipped boards where the bleachers meet the wall which added to the "rustic" feel. A thick blue and yellow stripe runs along the wall right above the top of the bleachers and all the way across the gym. It's the focal point of the whole color scheme and it looks great. I also enjoy the old-timey block font they used to write the seating section designations inside the stripe. Above the sideline wall behind the team benches is the coolest feature in the gym which is a little balcony that can only be accessed by an exterior door. People were using it for filming the game. A little deck railing encloses it which looks a bit quirky. I'm always in favor of more crow's nests in gyms.
The rest of the walls and the gym in general are much less exciting. Big, blue state championship and final four banners cover two other walls of the gym. They're nothing special, but they're at least more creative than the standard vinyl kind shaped in the outline of Indiana you see at all the big schools. The baseline wall above the entrance has banners in the same style displaying more normal athletic accomplishments in different sports. This wall also has a "Blackhawk Christian Braves" mural which is expertly done right next to a nice scoreboard that actually displays the number of points for each player on the court. The other baseline wall has a cool litle Braves Pep Band logo displayed. The court is pretty basic and unimaginative. There's a very generic blue "BC" logo at center court. It features two of the most boring shades of tan you'll ever find on a hardwood surface. The lone positive is the "Marc Davidson Court" script written right inside the sidelines along with the "Work heartily, as for the Lord, Colossians 3;23" verse that is written underneath it. It's just another example of the legacy and impact he left on program and school as a whole.
I picked this game specifically because Westivew was making the trip down to play Blackhawk and I had only watched them once so far this year in person. It was a good game, but as usual Blackhawk pulled away and was just too dominant down the stretch. It was a packed crowd for a Saturday afternoon game that was being played while an ice storm raged on outside. The ceiling in the gym is pretty low which makes it feel louder than you'd expect and a bit like an old school bandbox. A Westview fan got thrown out for yelling something pretty standard at an official (you're often going to have a shorter leash in a Christian school gym). It was a great environment even in a gym that doesn't really stand out much. I'm sure the great players like Mr. Basketball 2021 Caleb Furst who chose to come here and continue to elevate the Blackhawk basketball tradition didn't regret it at all. Some people may dismiss it, but it's undeniable that they've built something special here. As a public school apologist, I'll be the first to admit they're the kind of program I would've hated back in my high school days. I still don't love it now, but I definitely respect it.
