As part of the PHM Education Foundation naming rights campaign, Dr. and Mrs. Jerry Thacker have donated $10,000 to the Education Foundation to have the basketball court in Penn High School’s Main Arena named after Hall of Fame and Penn’s legendary coach, Al Rhodes, renaming the court “Al Rhodes Kingsmen Court.”
The Penn-Harris-Madison Board of School Trustees voted to approve the sponsorship agreement at the Monday, Oct. 9, Board meeting. The donation will be paid in one lump sum to the Foundation.
Coach Rhodes retired at the end of the 2022-2023 school year, with a 28-2 record.
Rhodes also played for the Kingsmen from 1966-1970. He went on to play for Tri-State University before embarking on his coaching career.
Starting his head coaching career at Warsaw in 1980, Rhodes coached the Tigers through the 2002 season. His 1984 Warsaw team claimed the State Championship.
Rhodes and his Kingsmen teams cut down the nets six times as Sectional or Regional Champions. Penn reached the Final Four in Indiana’s revered Hoosier Hysteria state tournament for the third and fourth times in the school’s 65-year history.
Rhodes posted an overall record of 693-320 in 42 seasons, including an overall state tournament record of 101-41. The Kingsmen won 18 Sectional Championships, nine Regional Championships, four Semi-state Championships and one State Championship. Coach Rhodes retired as the winningest coach in Kingsmen Boys Basketball history with a record of 239-128 in 15 seasons.
The unveiling of the new court signage is scheduled to take place at the Penn-Clay game on Dec. 1. The new court name will be displayed above the scoreboard.
