Jasper (5,930) Built 2013
January 17, 2025: Washington vs. Jasper (Boys)
There have not been a lot of gyms built in Indiana since the dawn of the new millennium. I've only been to a handful: Lawrence Central, Indianapolis Shortridge, Fishers, Lapel, Barr-Reeve, and Northridge. If you look at my gym rankings, none of them are anywhere near the top half. It's kind of sad actually. To be given a big budget to design something completely from scratch, using today's modern technologies and design sensibilities, you would hope that athletic departments would go for something daring, bold, or at least nostalgic. I've found pretty much the exact opposite. Lawrence Central, Fishers, Lapel, and Northridge maybe look shiny, but they're all generic multipurpose facilities with no life. Shortridge is just plain weird, but not that special. Barr-Reeve is ranked the highest out of all of these, and they did do something a little unique, but it still feels devoid of any soul. It just seems like you should be able to honor the classic venues that helped make Indiana high school basketball great, while still incorporating some more modern elements. This January I finally found a place that comes close to doing this down in Jasper.
Jasper's gym history is a little odd. Since they've built this really nice newer facility, they have two gyms that they are well-known for: the current one, and Cabby O'Neill Gymnasium which is one of our crown jewels and at the top of my list of places I still need to go see. Cabby served the Jasper Wildcats from 1939-1977 (which is much longer than most gyms built in that era). Ironically the two gyms that the school is most known for are not the gyms that most adults in Jasper spent their formative years in. From 1977-2011, Jasper had a fairly typical two-level multipurpose gym. The roof of that gym collapsed in 2011 from heavy rains, and the entire thing had to be rebuilt. During the two years the current gym was being built, the Wildcats actually went back and played their home games at Cabby, which I'm sure was a thrill for those old enough to remember what it was like back in its heyday. Wherever Jasper has played, they've found success: 28 single class era sectional titles, 13 regionals, and one semistate and state championship in 1943. They've been one of the most dominant teams in their corner of the state for the better part of 112 years. The success hasn't come quite as easy in the class basketball era, but they've still held their own pretty well over the last quarter century. The last half of that time has come playing in this gym, and it's a pretty venue to watch a good ballgame in.
What I appreciate about what Jasper did with their new gym is that they took some elements of some of my favorite old gyms, but utilized them in a more modern way that doesn't feel sterile. The general concept of the gym is a two-level venue with wraparound seating except for one baseline end which only has bleachers on the lower end. It makes the place feel like a big amphitheater, only with a basketball court in the middle instead of a center stage. The place feels like it has an air of importance to it. The comparison that keeps coming to mind is the Adams Coliseum in Vincennes, but I'm not even sure that really works. This place actually is a multipurpose gym in function, but you would never think of that when just looking at it. It's disguised well. The lower level bleachers are all retractable. They're made of black plastic which most of you know by now that I don't completely hate as they tend to hold up much longer and not fade into an ugly oblivion like other plastic bleacher colors. The lower bleachers go up 12 rows all the way around, including in two of the corners. The upper bleachers are permanent, which means there are black plastic bleachers mounted on cement risers which looking at pictures seems kind of strange but I didn't really think about it in the moment. The seats going around the upper deck rise up 10 rows. The upper deck can also be accessed by little mini tunnels that make it feel like a pro stadium. Mounted on the walls up above the upper bleachers are rectangular basic athletic accomplishment plaques for various sports. They look clean but are impossible to see unless you're sitting right up by them.
The one end of the gym that sticks out the most is probably the one without a lot of bleachers. As I said earlier, the baseline end from which you enter the gym only has seats on the lower level. The upper concourse looks very wide open and grand. Above the lower corner entrances on this side are Indiana All-Star jersey displays sitting right underneath a couple of nice big press boxes built into the corners. "Jasper Wildcats" is written across the the middle of the upper wall. At the very top of the wall hang some long banners honoring past state championship teams in different sports. The only real design flaw the gym has is at this end of the gym as well. The two concession stands are in the upper corners here, and when there's a decent line, there is absolutely nowhere for people to move about. It completely blocks the flow in and out of the seats on the second level. Definitely annoying, but not a huge deal at the end of the day. For the most part I really like the floor design down below. It's extremely simple but clean. A black band goes around the perimeter with "Jasper" written in gold letters across the baselines. A big, gold "J" outlined in black sits at center court. I think the "Wildcats" script inside the sidelines maybe could have used a more subtle font, but that's a minor gripe. A big jumbotron hangs high above center court.
To many in the area, Jasper is a bit like the Carmel of the south. A lot of money comes through the town, and lately an even bigger spotlight has been shown upon it due to certain people up in the state capital who are from the area. Whatever you think of the town, you can't deny that the school has a rich basketball tradition and a bit of gravitas to it. On my way out of the gym I was looking around in search of a picture of the 1949 state title team. I couldn't find one, but I did find one of their first final four team from 1934. What struck me even more though was a picture of the 1963 Ireland Spuds team that captured a regional title that year. That team was written about in one of my favorite Indiana high school basketball books ever, One Small Town, One Crazy Coach by Mike Roos. Ireland was absorbed by Jasper in 1970. They have a fascinating story that I'll hopefully dive into more when I make it over to their old gym that is still standing. It was a stark juxtaposition with the two pictures hanging right near each other. The big school powerhouse in Jasper and the tiny cinderella story over in Ireland. It's a nice gesture to hang the picture here, they didn't have to do that. We often romanticize the plights and heroics of the little country schools, I do it all the time. At the same time, the bigger schools in these mid-sized cities deserve to be celebrated just as much. Most of them are still around, and they have stories to tell too. Recognizing the beauty of both sides of the big school/little school spectrum is something I find essential. It's all part of what makes Indiana high school basketball such a special thing.
