Before tourney, a stop at inspiration point
Steve Hanlon's Prep Beat
Published 02/27/99 05:37:34 AM



MERRILLVILLE -- On Friday night, Andrean's overall quickness and inside play helped the 59ers head into their Class 3A Calumet Sectional opener with a sparkling 77-62 win over Munster. On the last Friday night of the regular season, just a few days before the heat and hatred of Hoosier Hysteria starts, these words will have nothing to do with star players and their hoopla.
Today, these words will deal with a story that's bigger than all the other trimmings.
Inside Andrean's cracker-box gym, Greg Hedges manned the Munster bench like a pro. The 6-foot-3 senior manager was a whiz with the towels and water bottles. And at the half, he grabbed the Mustangs' warmups, tossed them into the red-and-black cloth bag and hurried them into coach Dave Knish's locker room.
While the packed gymnasium watched the stellar play of Munster's John Richey and Aaron Jillson, along with Andrean's Shane Power, Lathaniel Staten and Mike Siwy, they missed Hedges, dressed in a white button-down and a tie, doing his thing. They missed watching the work of Munster's all-time leader in 3-point percentage.
At 1 for 1.
In Thursday night's 75-54 win over Hobart, Hedges sent the home crowd into a teary-eyed frenzy. After going out for the basketball team for four straight years and being cut for four straight years, Hedges, who stayed on as Knish's manager for four straight years, dressed and led the Mustangs out of their locker room on Senior Night.
With a little more than a minute left in the game, Hedges checked in for fellow senior Mark Shearman. The crowd rose to its feet as Hedges took a pass, turned to shoot near the foul line and had his shot blocked swiftly, poking a hole in the drama balloon. But like all those times being cut, Hedges didn't quit.
With the clock winding down, he took a pass from Steve Weck, after a crushing pick by Ryan Beemer -- and quite nicely swished a 3-pointer to put his name in the record books. The moment brought handkerchiefs and smiles to the faces of the home crowd.
"It was like Rudy," Knish said with a smile, after the Andrean game. "Here's a kid who wanted to play so bad. And after going through all the agony of tryouts every single year, he'd get cut. Every year. But it was all because he wanted to wear that uniform so bad. There are so many kids who take so much for granted.
"I knew I was going to do this at the beginning of the year. Here's a kid who wanted to have just one shot. And here is a kid that will never forget that day in his life."
A husky kid not gifted with much athletic ability, Hedges was still flying after his feat on Friday night. For four straight years he went through the hell and brimstone of football training. He hardly played. Yet he never missed a practice or a workout. The same scenario for his basketball life. But why, how, why, did you never give up and quit, in an age in which so many complain and quit at the drop of a hat?
"I just love basketball," Hedges said. "I was nervous when I first went in, but it was just great when I made the shot. I loved it when it went through. It was a great feeling."

Out of the crowd

Andrean coach Clint Swan was reaching for his coat with seven minutes left in the game on Thursday night after scouting the Mustangs when Crown Point coach Tom Johnson, also scouting for the sectional, said, "Hey, aren't you going to wait and see if the manager gets in the game? It's the kid at the end of the bench."
Swan's girlfriend made him stay. And he was glad she did.
"I was amazed by his reaction," Swan said after his 'Niners wrapped up a share of the Lake Athletic Conference title. "He didn't go nuts. He just looked at the fans going crazy, like, 'Thanks.' It was a look of appreciation. As a coach, I felt a little guilty. I'm sometimes the other way -- come on, get more intense -- but in moments like that, it centers the rest of us."
That's what Shearman believes. The Munster senior captain and all his teammates agreed to let Hedges lead this Mustangs out of the locker room. In a way, saying thanks. But no one knew he'd hit the shot that would mean so much to him in years to come.
"Everyone has respect for him," Shearman said. "I've seen tons of people quit through the years. He never quit. In running drills, he always came in long after everyone else was done. But we stood there and clapped for him. I was so glad he hit it. I just look at him and he's an inspiration. It was the same thing in football. But he never missed a practice. He never quit."
And that's a lesson bigger than any jaw-dropping slam or game-winning 3-pointer.