Ron Hecklinski posted a 434-245 record in 30 seasons as an Indiana varsity basketball coach, leading teams to six conference championships, six sectional titles and one regional crown in a career that included stops at Wapahani (36-30 from 1981-84), Jasper (14-7 in 1984-85), Edgewood (44-21 from 1986-89), Anderson (274-138 from 1993-2011) and Mishawaka (66-49 from 2017-22). He also served as a college assistant for five seasons, 1985-86 at Illinois State and 1989-93 at Ball State (including a spot in the 1990 NCAA Sweet 16 and a 1993 NCAA Tournament berth). Hecklinski is a 1974 graduate of South Bend Saint Joseph, where he played two varsity seasons for teams that finished 15-8 and 10-11. He averaged 10 points, six rebounds and won the best defender award as a senior. Hecklinski attended St. Edward’s University in Texas for a semester, then transferred to play three seasons at Manchester College. He averaged 11.1 points for a 17-11 squad that reached the NAIA District 21 final as a sophomore, had norms of 15 points and 10 rebounds in being named honorable mention all-conference as a junior and had a 9.0-point average as a senior. Hecklinski began his coaching career in 1978-79 as freshman coach at Knox, then was Richmond JV coach from 1979-81 before his first head coaching opportunity at Wapahani. He was head coach for the East team in the 2003 McDonald’s All-American Game in Cleveland, assisted in the McDonald’s game four other times and was the 2010 Indiana All-Star head coach. Twenty-one of his former assistant coaches have become head coaches. Also, 38 of his former players have gone into teaching and coaching, with 11 of those ex-players becoming head coaches. Hecklinski accomplished much of his success after undergoing a life-saving liver transplant in July 1996. Notably, the IHSAA granted Anderson special permission for a benefit game in Washington, D.C. On Jan. 29, 1998, Heck’s Indians – No. 1 in Indiana Class 4A and No. 14 nationally – posted a 68-63 victory over national No. 2 DeMatha (Md.) and coach Morgan Wootten, who also had recovered from a liver transplant in the summer of 1996.