Union County and Hamilton Heights played in the finale of the Jon Detweiler Memorial Shootout in the Williamsburg Community Center on June 16, 2016.
WILLIAMSBURG, Ind. – A long day finally ended for Union County Head Boys Basketball Coach Mark Detweiler as the eighth annual Jon Detweiler Memorial Shootout came to a close with his Patriots playing Hamilton Heights.
Thursday’s fundraising event in memory of Jon Detweiler was at the Williamsburg Community Center along with the Northeastern auxiliary and elementary gyms.
“It’s special for me because it honors his memory and the work that he did down here and the things and the qualities he instilled in us,” Mark Detweiler said of his father Jon, who was the caretaker of the former Williamsburg High School facility. “It’s just nice to pass that on to our guys.”
“To have guys like (Hamilton Heights Head Coach) Chad (Ballenger) come down just speaks volumes to what this place has meant,” Detweiler continiued. “There’s been a lot of talent come through here and a lot of good basketball games. You want to recognize these places and you want to keep them going.”
Ballenger is a Hagerstown graduate and a long-time friend of Detweiler, who played at Northeastern.
On the court, the Patriots improved.
“We got better,” Detweiler said. “I like coaching our guys. They bring a lot of passion and energy and are fun to be around.”
Prior to the finale, the boys teams from Northeastern and Lincoln were in action.
Being involved of the event is special for Northeastern Head Coach Brent Ross.
“It was the last chance for these seniors to play at Williamsburg,” he said. “I played here in fifth and sixth grade. A lot of our elementary kids still use it.”
Lincoln won three games on the day, which had Golden Eagles Head Coach Rodney Klein smiling.
“We just think it’s a really neat idea,” Klein said. “Coach Detweiler’s father put in a lot of time and energy (here). It was about competing and competing for a cause.”
“It was a pretty good day for us,” Klein continued. “We rebounded well. We shot the ball well and we actually defended pretty well.”
The other TEC boys squads to play in the affair were Hagerstown and Union City. Richmond, Seton and Connersville also competed.
On the girls side, Union County, Lincoln, Northeastern participated in addition to Richmond and Randolph Southern.