Doug Ogle’s entire reason for coming to Warsaw was Al Rhodes.

“I was looking for a basketball mentor, and in retrospect it was the smartest thing I could have ever done,” Ogle said.

He was a student at Purdue University when he and his girlfriend, Melissa – now his wife – watched Warsaw’s 1984 state championship victory over Vincennes Lincoln.

Rhodes and the Tigers left a gleaming first impression on Ogle.

He began as an eighth grade basketball coach in Warsaw’s program in 1985, before becoming a varsity assistant in ‘86 and adding junior varsity head coach to his resumé in ‘87.

That same year, Pete Smith left to take the head coaching job at Manchester. He took with him a wealth of knowledge acquired from Rhodes, and went on to have an illustrious career in his own right.

He went from Manchester to Noblesville before coaching at Penn, Carmel and Guerin Catholic. By the time he was finished, he’d won eight sectional titles, three regional championships, two semistate titles and two state championships.

As one protege departed, another began to come into his own. Ogle learned in awe of Rhodes’ intelligence and passion for basketball, like Albert Einstein and John Wooden combined.

“Every day he would say something that I hadn’t thought of before,” Ogle said.

What Jim Miller foresaw was correct: Rhodes’ intelligence and time at Tri-State led to basketball excellence on a computerized level.

Rhodes and Warsaw assistant Dennis VanDuyne created a computer program that measured the Tigers’ efficiency in all areas of the game. Rhodes handled the basketball aspect, while VanDuyne crafted the computer component.

“We were probably 10 years ahead of everybody else in that way,” Rhodes said.

The program went beyond simple statistics like points scored and free throws made to complex measurements such as points per possession and offensive rebounding percentage.

Warsaw had four statisticians who kept track of each basic statistic, such as steals and blocked shots. The assistants entered the statistics into the computer after each game.

“It didn’t take a lot of time, but it was time for us to reflect about the game,” Ogle said. “And, usually they were good times, because usually we had won.”

Rhodes could be as daring as he was calculating. Ogle fondly recalls his risky strategy in the 1992 semistate championship game against Kokomo.

The Tigers were trailing and in foul trouble with around five minutes to go. Most coaches would have tried to score. Rhodes told his players to hold the ball.

“The one official is just looking at him like, ‘What are you doing?’” Ogle said. “Al wanted to shorten the game.”

The Tigers held the ball for a few minutes before attacking the basket and scoring. They ended up winning on Jason McKenzie’s three-pointer from the top of the key and advanced to the final four in Indianapolis.

“It’s something that very, very few coaches would have had the courage (to do),” Ogle said.

Ogle soaked it all up from Rhodes; the planning, the attention to detail, the in-game strategy. He also learned how to relate to high school kids.

“If (Rhodes) was mad about something, or upset, he would talk about it,” Ogle said. “But not in a way that would call somebody out individually, and he was usually pretty positive.”

Rhodes’ players responded with a desire to win. Jason Zimmerman, a 1990 graduate who is the head coach at Emory University in Atlanta, said he felt pressure in being a Tiger.

“When you didn’t work hard or you didn’t commit to being great, you felt like you were letting somebody down,” Zimmerman said. “Whether it would be (Rhodes) or your teammates, or the people in town.”

Zimmerman, as well as many others, found high value in great responsibility.

“You had to give up some things that some other 14- or 15-year-old kids were doing, because you made this team to be a good basketball player,” Zimmerman said. “But, it was well worth the commitment.”

Zimmerman went on to play for Bob McKillop at Davidson College. Though the three words Zimmerman emphasizes at Emory – trust, care, commitment – are from McKillop’s vernacular, he said he learned the same values under Rhodes.

“I got a little blessed to grow up in Warsaw, Ind., and play for coach Rhodes,” Zimmerman said.

Rhodes put his entire being into his team, and Ogle learned from him just how much work had to be done to succeed.

“(Rhodes) told me this more than once: ‘My mind is on the team most of the time,’” Ogle said.

That didn’t mean Rhodes couldn’t have fun. He was an avid lover of sports cars like Camaros and Porsches.

He also had a hot hand for rolling the dice. Ogle and Rhodes developed a bond through their time together, and would go to Las Vegas for coaching clinics.

One night, Ogle opted for sleep. Rhodes favored the craps table at a casino.

“I don’t know what time he came in, but he must have got hot,” Ogle said. “Because he came in and announced to me that he had a good run, and we were gonna go see Siegfried & Roy.”

Leave it to Rhodes to pick a show involving a tiger.



Rhodes More Traveled

The secret had long been out about Rhodes’ monumental abilities, and Shaun Busick jumped at the chance to work under him.

Busick was in his final year at Grace College in 1990-91 when he was hired as a volunteer assistant at Warsaw.

Like the others, Busick was taken by Rhodes’ successful feeder program, his attention to detail, and his tireless work ethic. Busick also learned from Rhodes’ player development.

This included individual workout programs and practice of skills like proper footwork for a shot-fake and the correct dribbling for various post moves.

“We went into a lot of the games we played not as physically talented or gifted as the teams on the schedule, but we would, most of the time, win because our skill level was so great,” Busick said. “That was a direct result of what the kids did in the off-season with the guidance from Coach Rhodes.”

Busick learned from those workout sessions, and made them a staple of his program at Zionsville.

Though he would have liked to have coached at Warsaw for more than one year, he still gained a wealth of knowledge in his brief window there.

Not to mention, a major resumé booster. Busick likened having coached under Rhodes on his resumé to the high school equivalent of having coached for University of North Carolina legend Dean Smith at the collegiate level.

“He’s a basketball genius,” Busick said. “He really understands the game, he really studies the game, and he’s willing to help his former assistant coaches.”

Rhodes’ assistants were just as willing to help him, and even question his methods.

“What they all would offer is (the question), ‘Why do we do it that way?’” Rhodes said. “And sometimes, that would make us make changes.”

The assistants’ proactive nature is part of what made them succeed. Rhodes gave them the tools, but they still had to execute.

“To have a good mentor, that’s probably 50 percent of it, and the other 50 percent of it is your own doing to taking that knowledge and to be able to teach it and get it across,” Ogle said. “And (to) have the toughness to hang in there through difficult times in coaching.”

Not long after Busick left Warsaw, he found himself competitively at odds with his mentor.

His first head coaching job was with Argos, which faced Warsaw in a 1993-94 sectional title game.

“It was probably a little bit of a scary game for Coach Rhodes, because we led at every stop and we were the heavy, heavy underdogs,” Busick said.

Warsaw ended up winning, bringing Rhodes’ sectional title total to 11.

Rhodes picked up another assistant in the mid-90s: Jim Speicher, who went on to coach Angola to sectional and regional hardware in 1999.

By 1998, Rhodes had taken the Tigers to the state finals four times and coached two Indiana Mr. Basketballs, Jeff Grose (1985) and Kevin Ault (1996). 

“(Rhodes) was like this bigger than life figure, and I always dreamed of playing for him,” Ault said. “I would say my work ethic and my practice habits were formed and shaped by him.”



Hello, Old Friend

Rhodes’ pedigree was so strong by this point that even a seasoned veteran like John Wysong wanted to learn from him.

Wysong had already won a regional championship at Elkhart Memorial, but arrived in Warsaw to coach with his old friend and teammate.

“I liked the opportunity to work with him,” Wysong said. “I just didn’t want to pass on it.”

A great basketball mind in his own right, Wysong completely bought into Rhodes’ system. He was particularly impressed with Rhodes’ teaching methods.

“Sometimes I’d just have to stop,” Wysong said. “It was such a good presentation on how to (teach).”

Wysong’s role was to reinforce the multiple defensive sets Rhodes had in the game plan.

“(Rhodes) also was an outstanding defensive coach,” Wysong said.

The fruits of their collaboration included a trip to semistate in 2000, falling to eventual state champ Marion and Zach Randolph, who is still in the NBA.

“I just was really proud to be a part of the stuff we did,” Wysong said.

A year after Wysong arrived, Aaron Wolfe was added to the mix as an assistant. His first experience with Tiger basketball was at one of Rhodes’ camps in 1999.

While there, he was struck by how the Tigers valued basketball at a high level.

“It did not take long for me to come to the realization that I was in the right place,” Wolfe said.

Wolfe learned from Rhodes how to instill in players a belief in themselves.

“He felt strongly they could do great things not only on the basketball floor, but off the court,” Wolfe said.

Wysong departed in 2001 for a second stint with Fairfield. He took with him ideas from Rhodes’ zone offenses, and won three sectionals and a regional in 10 years with the Falcons.

One year later, a momentous shift occurred when Rhodes stepped down at Warsaw.