Branch McCracken
(1908-1970)
Hall of Fame Induction: 1960
Card Shown:
1986-2002 Hall of Fame Metallic
Position: C/F/G
Height: 6’4″
bb
bb
Branch McCracken led his small high school team to great success before beginning his college career at Indiana University under Hall of Fame coach Everett Dean. Branch excelled as a player at Indiana, but he is best remembered as the Indiana coach who led his Hoosier teams to two NCAA championships.
Awards and Honors
- Branch led his Monrovia High School (Indiana) team to two Tri-State Tournament titles in 1925 and 1926 in Cincinnati. Teams from Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana competed in this annual event. McCracken was named the tournament MVP both years. The fact that his small high school had only 32 male students made the accomplishment even more amazing.
- Branch led Indiana in scoring three times and was an All-Big Ten selection in each of those years. As a senior, he set a Big Ten record by scoring 147 points during the season.
- McCracken was named the Big Ten Most Valuable Player in 1928.
- The basketball courts at Monrovia High School and at Indiana University were both later named after Branch.
- Branch was named an All-American after his senior year at Indiana. Another player who was an All-American that year, John Wooden, would also go on to become a legendary coach.
Points of Interest
- Branch grew up on a farm in Indiana. His first basketball was an inflated pig bladder and his first hoop was a peach basket.
- McCracken’s Indiana teams were called “the Hurryin’ Hoosiers” because of their high-energy, fast-break style and relentless defense. They trained hard in order to be able to outrun and outlast their opponents.
- Branch played professional basketball for a time after graduating from Indiana, but he felt himself more drawn to becoming a basketball coach. McCracken coached for eight years at Ball State University and 24 years at Indiana.
- McCracken coached the Hoosiers to two NCAA championships in 1940 and 1953. The first, at age 31, made Branch the youngest coach to ever to win the NCAA tournament.
- Branch was named Coach of the Year after both of his NCAA championship seasons.
Branch McCracken Cut Signature
