Pop would likely be excited about the Class A basketball final this weekend between Lutheran High School of Indianapolis and No. 3-ranked Triton at Conseco Fieldhouse.

That’s because there’ll be a Davis on the sidelines.

My brother, Bill, served as an assistant coach for the freshman Saints at Lutheran this season and has been on the sidelines with the other coaches as the varsity squad has made its way through the tournament.

Among those other coaches, of course, is head coach Tom Finchum.

Like all us Davises who grew up on East Hoefgen Street, Tom, or Tom-Tom as we knew him when he’d visit his grandparents two houses down the street, is a graduate of Emmerich Manual High School on the southside of Indianapolis. Unlike all us Davises, though, Tom played for the Redskins. I was, however, a student manager, including two of Tom’s seasons (he was a couple classes ahead of me).

Bill’s son, Brandon, played for Lutheran before graduating last spring. He’s a freshman at IU Bloomington this year. I’m sure Brandon will be in the stands rooting on his alma mater, and his dad.

While I’m excited for Tom and his wife, Audrey, who was a good friend through grade school and high school, I’m also excited for my brother.

Bill’s coached his own children through Little League, football, baseball and softball for what seems like forever. Oh, and possibly soccer, too. Like a lot of youth league coaches, he’s labored many years with little fanfare about the hours he’s put in with practices, dealing with parents, getting fields ready, dealing with parents and juggling his home schedule around practices and games. Did I mention dealing with parents?

Back to Pop. Unlike his sons, he played high school basketball. He was likely a guard for Helmsburg High School in Brown County back in the late 1930s. I say “likely” because I don’t know, but his nickname was “Shorty.” I also know he played basketball and earned a letter sweater. It was either dark blue or purple (it’s been a long time since I last saw it in Mom’s cedar chest).

When I moved to Jackson County in 1984, I mentioned to Peck Forgey, who was then the Jackson County building and planning commissioner, that Pop, who died in 1979, had played at Helmsburg. Peck, who played at Freetown, said he recalled watching a scrappy, hard-nosed Davis boy who played for Helmsburg. It sounded a lot like Pop, so I’ve always imagined it was him. But who knows.

Anyway, I wish Tom, Bill and the Indianapolis Lutheran Saints the best as they prepare to take on Triton in the state final.

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