Lawrenceville Basketball Coach Ron Felling Honored at Halftime Ceremony

Left to right are, Rick Leighty (former player), Hyleri Bowlin, Legislative Director for Rep. Adam Niemerg, Coach Ron Felling and his wife Cammy Felling.

State Representative Adam Niemerg (R-Dieterich) passed House Joint Resolution 41 earlier this year to honor the accomplishments and impact of former Lawrenceville High School Basketball Coach Ron Felling by designating a portion of Illinois Route 1 as the “Coach Ron Felling Highway.”

During halftime of the Lawrenceville and Teutopolis basketball game on Thursday, November 29, a ceremony was held to present Coach Ron Felling with a copy of the resolution.

“It is an honor for me to sponsor this legislation on behalf of the many players, colleagues, and family members who wanted to pay respect and honor Coach Ron Felling,” commented Rep. Niemerg. “Coach Felling has a long history of commitment to teaching athletes and has touched the lives of many as a coach and athletic director at Lawrenceville High School.”

In 1982, Coach Felling was inducted into the Basketball Museum of Illinois located in Bedford Park by the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association.

Coach Felling’s highlights include 16 seasons as head coach at Lawrenceville High School where he coached the team to 388 victories and only 77 losses. His teams won four IHSA (Illinois High School Association) State Championships (1972, 1974, 1982, 1983) and a third place finish in 1976.

His final two seasons at Lawrenceville High School (1981-82 and 1982-83) the squads were a perfect 68-0.His squads won 12 North Egypt Conference titles; 18 Thanksgiving and Christmas tournaments; 12 IHSA regional titles; 7 IHSA sectional title; and five super-sectional wins.

Coach Ron Felling was hired as assistant coach under Coach Bobby Knight at Indiana University from 1985 to 1999 where they claimed four Big Ten titles, reached two Final Fours and won the 1987 NCAA Basketball Championship.