By RICHIE HALL
A plaque shows Bill Shepherd’s accomplishments. (Richie Hall)
The Shepherds are the first family of Carmel basketball. Last Saturday, they came together to honor the patriarch.
The basketball court at the Eric Clark Activity Center was officially renamed the Bill Shepherd Court last week, and a ceremony took place during halftime of the Carmel-Westfield boys basketball game. Members of the Shepherd family attended the ceremony, including all four of his children and numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
Bill Shepherd served as the coach of the Greyhounds from 1958 to 1970. During his tenure, Carmel broke a 41-year drought by winning a sectional title in 1966, starting a nine-year run of sectional championships. In 1970, the ‘Hounds made their way to the state championship game, marking their first appearance at state since 1925.
Along the way, Shepherd coached both of his sons, who went on to become Indiana Mr. Basketballs and score over 2,000 points for their careers. Billy Shepherd graduated from Carmel in 1968 and David Shepherd graduated in 1970.
“It was just a great evening to celebrate a lifelong feeling of basketball and sharing basketball with my family,” said Billy Shepherd. “With brothers and sister, kids, grandkids, nieces, nephews. It was just a fun evening and just very satisfying.”
Billy Shepherd said that anytime there’s “an opportunity in this state to have a gymnasium or a basketball court named after you, it’s quite an honor, because there’s no better state around than the state of Indiana” for high school basketball.
“So, for this to happen, it just brings recognition to the family, but more important, it brings recognition for my father,” said Billy Shepherd.
In addition to being a championship coach, Bill Shepherd was a championship player as well. He graduated from Hope High School in 1945 (since consolidated into Hauser) and led Hope to its lone sectional and regional titles in 1945.
Shepherd went on to play basketball at Butler University, was named to the 1970 Silver Anniversary Team and was inducted into the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame in 1975. Shepherd also served as Carmel’s athletic director from 1960 until his retirement in 1992.
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