Pat Klein
#7
Few players single-handedly carried Marion like Pat Klein did during the 1950 state tournament. Klein’s performance propelled him to the Giants’ first Indiana Mr. Basketball and Trester Award winner for mental attitude and scholastic performance.
As the only senior starter, Klein had helped the Giants to a non-descript 9-11 regular season finish. But when the state tournament began, the 6-foot-1 forward stepped up and led the Giants to seven straight victories and the school’s fourth state final four appearance.
Marion played Madison in the semifinals, and Klein scored 22 points as the Giants dropped a 50-49 decision to the eventual state champions. After the final game, Klein received the Trester Award.
Klein later was voted Indiana Mr. Basketball by the state’s media based largely on his state tournament performance. He set the school single-season scoring record, averaging 14 points a game, and had a single-game high of 27 points in the tournament. He was also named to the 1950 Indiana All-Star team for the for the annual series against Kentucky’s best players.
Legendary Indiana University coach Branch McCracken offered Klein a scholarship, but he left the school before the first semester ended and joined the military. He was employed for many years at the Marion RCA/Thomson plant and died in 1999 at age 67, but lived long enough to see his number retired. The Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame inducted Klein in 2011.