IndyStar Mr. Basketball Caleb Swanigan uses 4A state title as springboard to honor

Caleb Swanigan was big — as in, well north of 300 pounds big — when he moved from Utah to Fort Wayne prior to his eighth grade year to live with longtime family friend, Roosevelt Barnes.

After Swanigan's first night in his new home, Barnes told him to grab some breakfast before they'd head to the gym and get in a workout. By the time he descended to the kitchen a few minutes later, Swanigan had finished off a super-sized box of Special K and a gallon of milk.

"'I told you to get breakfast, not eat the whole box!'" Barnes said.

Barnes, a former Purdue and NFL linebacker, and Swanigan can both laugh about it now. Just the other day, they watched old basketball videos of Swanigan from his eighth grade year and could hardly recognize what they were watching.

"I needed that structure," Swanigan said. "There were people around me who cared about me doing the right things. (Barnes and I) had our ups and downs but everything really clicked and I got into much better habits."

Everything clicked for the now 6-9, 260-pound Swanigan as a senior at Homestead High School. Following Homestead's Class 4A state championship — the first in program history — Swanigan was named on Tuesday as 2015 IndyStar Mr. Basketball. Swanigan was selected on 177 of the 373 ballots submitted by coaches and media. Carmel's Ryan Cline was second with 69 votes and Howe's Harris Brown third with seven votes. No other individual received more than five votes.

As a senior, Swanigan averaged 22.6 points and 13.7 rebounds. "Biggie" came up big in some of Homestead's biggest games, including a 40-point, 19-rebound effort in a semistate win over South Bend Riley. Swanigan set school records for scoring in a career (1,649 points) and season (704) and rebounds in a career (1,048) and season (424). He also made 364 free throws and 625 field goals to set school records and ranks second in blocked shots (106) and fourth in assists (204).

Swanigan did all it despite reclassifying after his sophomore year and skipping his junior season.

"Caleb is a phenomenal player who has worked extremely hard to put himself in a position to not only be the best player in the state of Indiana, but one of the best in the nation," Homestead coach Chris Johnson said.

Swanigan is considered one of the top prospects in the nation. Recruiting sites Scout, Rivals and 247sports rank him between No. 11 and 17 in the 2015 class. The next question to be answered is where he'll attend college. It will likely come down to Cal, Duke, Michigan State or Purdue for Swanigan, who said he will announce on Saturday at the Hoop Summit in Portland, Ore. Arizona, Kentucky and Chicago State are also listed in Swanigan's top seven.

"I have a pretty good idea," Swanigan said of his college choice. "It's just hard to eliminate anyone with the few that I have left."

Barnes said he's recommending that Swanigan holds off on making a decision.

"The plan now is for him to decide (Saturday)," Barnes said. "We may push it back. It's a business decision, so you don't want to rush into anything and there's really no reason to rush. I'd like to slow it down, personally, but there's a possibility it could happen at the Hoop Summit."

Swanigan was 6 when he first met Barnes, a longtime family friend who was then mentoring Carl Swanigan, Caleb's older brother. Barnes asked if he was going to be as tough of a basketball player as his brother, a talented 6-8 forward who led Hunter to a Class 5A state championship in Utah in 2004. Carl briefly attended New Creations, a Christian boarding school in Richmond, and signed with Ole Miss but never attended.

In 2006, he was shot in the face in a hotel parking lot in Salt Lake City.

"He never did play in college," Barnes said. "He had an unfortunate accident and was shot and lost one of his eyes. He can still shoot the basketball, though. He's the best one-eyed shooter in the world."

In Barnes' first interaction with then 6-year-old Swanigan, he asked him if he was going to be as good of a player as his brother. "Even better," Caleb said.

Barnes, who has three grown children and considers Caleb the "baby" of the family, told Swanigan he was going to be the best power forward in the country.

"That was back when he could not even jump over a piece of paper," Barnes said.

Not everyone could see the potential Barnes saw in Swanigan. But with structure in place, Swanigan thrived both on the court and in the classroom.

"There's always an adjustment," Barnes said. "But I believe children will rise to your level of expectations. I expected more out of him and he rose to that level."

Barnes admits there were a few rough patches. Swanigan nearly returned to Utah prior to his sophomore year, even telling the Salt Lake Tribune that he planned to enroll at Salt Lake City East. But he wound up staying put with Barnes and at Homestead.

"We were butting heads a little bit," said Swanigan, considered a talented football recruit before he quit playing prior to his sophomore year. "That's pretty much all it was. I think it's fate. I don't know how it would have turned out if I'd gone back, but probably not as good as this."

Swanigan said he never focused on winning Mr. Basketball but figured it was a possibility if his team accomplished its goal of winning state. It did in dramatic fashion, rallying from a 10-point fourth quarter deficit to defeat Evansville Reitz 91-90 in overtime.

"The way the game was going, I never felt like it was over," Swanigan said.

The next chapter for Swanigan will be at the college level and then, possibly, professional basketball. But he won't soon forget the journey of his senior year.

"I'll have a lot of memories," he said. "The way the team and the school pulled together was great."

Call Star reporter Kyle Neddenriep at (317) 444-6649.

IndyStar Mr. Basketball winners

1939: George Crowe, Franklin.

1940: Ed Schienbein, Southport.

1941: John Bass, Greenwood.

1942: Bud Brown, Muncie Burris.

1943, 1944: No award due to World War II.

1945: Tom Schwartz, Kokomo.

1946: Johnny Wilson, Anderson.

1947: Bill Garrett, Shelbyville.

1948: Bob Masters, Lafayette Jeff.

1949: Dee Monroe, Madison.

1950: Pat Klein, Marion.

1951: Tom Harold, Muncie Central.

1952: Joe Sexson, Tech.

1953: Hallie Bryant, Crispus Attucks.

1954: Bobby Plump, Milan.

1955: Wilson Eison, Gary Roosevelt.

1956: Oscar Robertson, Crispus Attucks.

1957: John Coalman, South Bend Central.

1958: Mike McCoy, Fort Wayne South Side.

1959: Jimmy Rayl, Kokomo.

1960: Ron Bonham, Muncie Central.

1961: Tom Van Arsdale and Dick Van Arsdale, Manual.

1962: Larry Humes, Madison.

1963: Rick Jones, Muncie Central.

1964: Dennis Brady, Lafayette Jeff.

1965: Billy Keller, Washington.

1966: Rick Mount, Lebanon.

1967: Willie Long, Fort Wayne South.

1968: Billy Shepherd, Carmel.

1969: George McGinnis, Washington.

1970: Dave Shepherd, Carmel.

1971: Mike Flynn, Jeffersonville.

1972: Phil Cox, Connersville.

1973: Kent Benson, New Castle.

1974: Steve Collier, Southwestern, and Roy Taylor, Anderson.

1975: Kyle Macy, Peru.

1976: Dave Colescott, Marion.

1977: Ray Tolbert, Anderson Madison Heights.

1978: David Magley, South Bend LaSalle.

1979: Steve Bouchie, Washington (Daviess).

1980: Jim Master, Fort Wayne Harding.

1981: Dan Palombizio, Michigan City Rogers.

1982: Roger Harden, Valparaiso.

1983: Steve Alford, New Castle.

1984: Troy Lewis, Anderson, and Delray Brooks, Michigan City Rogers.

1985: Jeff Grose, Warsaw.

1986: Mark Jewell, Lafayette Jeff.

1987: Jay Edwards and Lyndon Jones, Marion.

1988: Woody Austin, Richmond.

1989: Pat Graham, Floyd Central.

1990: Damon Bailey, Bedford North Lawrence.

1991: Glenn Robinson, Gary Roosevelt.

1992: Charles Macon, Michigan City Elston.

1993: Maurice "Kojak" Fuller, Anderson.

(Sherron Wilkerson was voted Mr. Basketball but relinquished the title.)

1994: Bryce Drew, Valparaiso.

1995: Damon Frierson, Ben Davis.

1996: Kevin Ault, Warsaw.

1997: Luke Recker, DeKalb.

1998: Tom Coverdale, Noblesville.

1999: Jason Gardner, North Central.

2000: Jared Jeffries, Bloomington North.

2001: Chris Thomas, Pike.

2002: Sean May, Bloomington North.

2003: Justin Cage, Pike.

2004: A.J. Ratliff, North Central.

2005: Luke Zeller, Washington (Daviess).

2006: Greg Oden, Lawrence North.

2007: Eric Gordon, North Central.

2008: Tyler Zeller, Washington (Daviess).

2009: Jordan Hulls, Bloomington South.

2010: Deshaun Thomas, Fort Wayne Bishop Luers.

2011: Cody Zeller, Washington (Daviess).

2012: Gary Harris, Hamilton Southeastern.

2013: Zak Irvin, Hamilton Southeastern.

2014: Trey Lyles, Tech.

2015: Caleb Swanigan, Homestead.