Fuzzy Vandivier
From Hoopedia
Robert P. "Fuzzy" Vandivier (December 26, 1903 – July 30, 1983) was a well-known high school and collegiate basketball player during the 1920s. At Franklin High School he led a squad nicknamed "Franklin Wonder Five", a team that compiled an 89-9 record, won three state championships (1920, 1921, 1922) and is considered one of the greatest Indiana High School team of all-time.
Vandivier has been named All-State three times (1920, 1921, 1922), being the first player ever to achieve this feat (John Wooden, Oscar Robertson and George McGinnis repeated it). Hall of Fame coach John Wooden considers Vandivier the greatest high school basketball player of all time. He learned how to dribble with a football, because his mother didn't know the difference between a basketball and a football when she bought a present.
Following his outstanding high school career, Vandivier attended local Franklin College (1922-26). In each year he was named All-State, and in 1926 he was an All-Midwest College All-Star. Due to a painful back ailment in his senior year, Vandivier's playing career was cut short. After graduating from Franklin, he returned as basketball coach to his high school. Vandivier coached the Franklin High School team from 1926 to 1944, guiding them to the Indiana state finals in 1939.
Vandivier was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as a player in 1975. He is also a member of the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame.
