In “Hoosier Hysteria” lore, there are not many more famous shots.
“I’ve heard about it 1,000 times,” Lutheran senior K.J. Patterson said with a smile.
On the scale of jaw-dropping, did-that-just-happen moments, Stacey Toran’s three-quarter court last-second heave to push Broad Ripple past No. 1 Marion 71-69 in the morning game of the state finals in 1980 has to rank near the top.
K.J. Patterson’s brother, Kam, had his own moment in last week’s Class A regional at Martinsville, scoring on a three-point play with 3 seconds left as Lutheran knocked off top-ranked Bloomfield 43-40.
Neddenriep:A story about family, 3-pointers, underdogs and ‘Hoosiers’
More:Often ignored for jobs, Jim Stanbrough gets chance… at 67. He’s making up for lost time.
The two moments, nearly 43 years apart, are connected by family. K.J. Patterson, who bears a striking resemblance to Toran, and twin brother Kam, are Toran’s grand-nephews. Their grandmother, Cynthia, was Toran’s older sister. She died in 2019, but their grandfather, Royal Patterson, has kept memories of Stacey Toran and that moment in 1980 alive.
“I wish I’d been there to visualize it,” K.J. Patterson said. “But it always meant a lot to us to hear what he did in basketball and football and who he was as a person.”
Toran was a senior starter on Broad Ripple’s team in 1980, already committed to Notre Dame for football. New Albany, a 69-68 winner over Andrean in the thrilling first game of the state finals, awaited the winner of the Broad Ripple-Marion winner in the state championship game.
In a back-and-forth game, Marion tied it 69-69 with 1 second remaining when Jeff Todd slipped through the Rockets’ zone to tie the score. But instead of the game going to overtime, Marion called timeout and left Broad Ripple with one final attempt.
It was all Broad Ripple needed. Needing to go the length of the floor, Jeffrey Adkisson surveyed the scene before flipping a pass to Toran, who caught the ball, turned without dribbling and let it fly with two hands from 57 feet. It banked through, sending Broad Ripple fans into hysterics and Marion’s to tears.
Broad Ripple went on to defeat New Albany that night, 73-66, to win the state championship. Lutheran coach Remus Woods, who graduated from Broad Ripple in 2000, learned about the 1980 team from coach Bill Smith.
“I helped him in the summer time and while we were doing our work, he would watch these old VHS tapes with King Duke, Kevin Tracey, Jeff Robinson, Stacey Toran and that team,” Woods said. “He talked about how athletic Stacey Toran was and how he could guard the best players and was really strong in basketball and football.”
Toran’s story ended in tragedy. After his college career at Notre Dame, he was drafted in the sixth round by the Los Angeles Raiders in 1984. He became a regular in the Raiders’ secondary, playing 72 games with 41 starts in five seasons, making nine sacks, six interceptions and scoring two touchdowns.
After a preseason game on Aug. 6, 1989, Toran was driving near his home in Marina del Rey, Calif., when his car flipped multiple times and crashed into a tree, killing him. Toran was 27.
Funeral services for Toran were held five days later in the gym at Broad Ripple, where he had been captain of the football and basketball teams.
“I see him as a role model,” K.J. Patterson said. “To be an athlete, I want to make it too. I think he’s part of the reason we are here where we are today.”
The Pattersons have their own Hoosier Hysteria moment to share now though, unlike their great uncle, they have three more games — not one — to earn the state championship. Lutheran plays Loogootee Saturday in the Class A semistate in Washington and, with a win, would face the winner of Rock Creek Academy and Jac-Cen-Del on Saturday night with a state finals bid on the line.
“It’s a great moment for their family,” Woods said. “I didn’t realize the connection until I met Kam and K.J. when they were in about fourth grade. Their grandfather told me their relation to Stacey Toran. I was like, ‘Oh, I used to watch him on VHS tapes with Bill Smith.’”
Call Star reporter Kyle Neddenriep at (317) 444-6649.
