During his tenure, 1980 to 2002, as head basketball coach of Warsaw High School, Al Rhodes helped the team bring home numerous championships. In 2008, after stints at Logansport and Northrop High Schools, Rhodes decided to try his luck at his alma mater.

“I graduated from Penn High School [in Mishawaka] in 1970,” says Rhodes, who has his sights set on bringing the school it’s first state championship.

“We’ve been building towards that,” he stated. “Its not out of the realm of possibility.”
Rhodes is more than cut out for the task. His coaching efforts helped the Warsaw Tigers win over 400 games and bring home a plethora of championship titles.

He coached Warsaw to an IHSAA State Championship in 1984. The Tigers also won 10 Northern Lakes Conference championships, six Warsaw Holiday Tournament championships and a Hall of Fame Classic Championship with Rhodes at the helm.

Rhodes was elected NLC Coach of the Year seven different times while at Warsaw. He’s an Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame coach. In 1991, “South Bend Tribune” named him “Winningest Coach of the Last 10 Years.”

Given his overall IHSAA tournament record, 75-30, Rhodes has a pretty good shot at bringing a state championship to Penn High. The coach also has some hi-tech strategies that should help his team bring home a state title.

“We take a scientific approach to basketball,” says Rhodes, who holds degrees in mechanical engineering and mathematics. He uses a NOAH machine to analyze his player’s shooting technique.

Rhodes also uses some gadgets of his own design. One in particular, which helps players stay low, he invented for NBA champion Rick Fox years ago.

To get that IHSAA championship Rhodes will have to get past Warsaw and many other talented teams from the Hoosier state. The Tigers haven’t won a state championship since Rhodes departure – although they got close in 2010.