DES MOINES, IOWA -- Former Drake University basketball standout Dolph Pulliam will be among 14 athletes to be inducted into the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame in New Castle, Ind., March 25.

The ceremony will take place at the Primo Banquet Hall, which is located on the south side of Indianapolis, Ind.

"This was a total surprise," said Pulliam, who is director of community relations at Drake, while also serving as a  basketball radio analyst for the Bulldogs. "I had never thought about being enshrined. It is the biggest honor I have ever received, especially in light of the other players being inducted. So this is quite an honor for my family."

Pulliam was a two-year staring forward at Roosevelt High School in Gary, Ind., earning all-state honors while leading the team to the semifinal round of the 1965 Indiana State High School Tournament.

He was a three-year standout forward at Drake from 1966-69, guiding the Bulldogs to the 1969 NCAA Final Four where the team finished third.

Pulliam will have a plaque on permanent display at the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame located in New Castle, Ind.

Steve Alford ? 1983 Indiana high school “Mr. Basketball” for New Castle, a two-year All-American and 1987 NCAA champion for Indiana, and a 1984 Olympic gold medalist ? also will be inducted along with current NBA coaches Gregg Popovich of the San Antonio Spurs (Merrillville, Ind.) and Scott Skiles of the Milwaukee Bucks (and 1982 state champion Plymouth).

Popovich, who played college basketball at the Air Force Academy, is one of five men who have coached four or more NBA championship teams.

Skiles, an All-American and Big Ten Player of the Year for Michigan State, has a spot in Indiana high school lore for his long game-tying basket at the end of regulation time and 39-point contribution to Plymouth's 75-74 double-overtime upset of Gary Roosevelt in the 1982 state championship game.

2009 INDUCTION CLASS ANNOUNCED BY
THE INDIANA BASKETBALL HALL OF FAME
Steve Alford, New Castle, 1983
Denny Bishop, South Bend Central, 1958
Steve Bouchie, Washington, 1979
Phil Cox, Connersville, 1972
Fred Fleetwood, Southport, 1962
Dick Hickox, Fort Wayne North, 1956
Bill James, Scottsburg, 1969
*Charles Jenkins, Providence, 1957
Ted Kitchel, Cass 1978
Gregg Popovich, Merrillville, 1966
Dolph Pulliam, Gary Roosevelt, 1965
Wayne Radford, Indianapolis Arlington, 1974
Bob Sakel, Jasper, 1945
Scott Skiles, Plymouth, 1982
Vaughn Wedeking, Evansville Harrison, 1967
**Indianapolis Washington Team 1969