IUPUI Athletics Hall of Famer Carlos Knox was impressed Friday morning as he made his first visit to his alma mater’s new basketball venue. Starting this past season, the IUPUI men’s basketball team played its home games at the newly-renovated Indiana Farmers Coliseum at the State Fairgrounds.
“This is incredible,” Knox said. “Just understanding where it started, over at The Jungle, which is a small arena. Coming into this is just a beautiful feeling to see the progress that the program has made.”
Over the last seven months, the 1998 IUPUI grad completed his first year across the border as head coach of the London Lightning (National Basketball League of Canada), so he wasn’t around for IUPUI’s first game — or any game — in their new location.
Carlos Knox’s retired jersey at Indiana Farmers Coliseum.
Once inside, one of the first things he did was look up and around for his retired jersey. The school retired his No. 34 jersey on the evening of his final home game back in 1998.
There are just two jersey in program history retired, his and George Hill of the Pacers. That impressed the Fever players.
Knox is atop so many of the program’s historical lists — and he expects it to stay that way.
“Forever will be,” with a big grin he spoke of his school-record 2,556 career points, which was scored in just three seasons. He began his college career at Tennessee Martin.
He also holds school records for single-season points (927), single-game points (51), single-season scoring average (32.0) and career scoring average (30.1).
George Hill’s retired jersey hangs on a rafter at the other end of the floor.
Knox made the trip to Indiana Farmers Coliseum with the WNBA’s Indiana Fever, who were playing a preseason game at the facility. He’s worked with many of the players for quite awhile, but he’s officially in his second season as the Fever’s Player Developmental Coach.
Overall, the basketball floor design and locker rooms stood out the most to Knox, a proud Jaguar.
“The locker room is state-of-the-art,” he said. “They have everything in there painted. It’s real nice. And this floor is one of the things that stuck out to me. Just having the logo, IUPUI, and the skyline, it’s just a beautiful thing over there. That’s beautiful. I like the way they set it up.”