(Ethete, Wyo.) – Saturday night was an historic one at Wyoming Indian High School when its gymnasium was named after legendary coach Alfred P. Redman, Sr. With most of his former assistants and many of his former players on hand, the honor was bestowed on Redman between the boys and girls basketball games before a standing room only crowd.
The Lady Chiefs and Chiefs made the evening more memorable with wins over their rival Wind River Cougars, 70-32 in the girls game and 77-63 in the boys game.
During the ceremony, Fremont County School District #14 Superintendent Owen St. Clair noted that Redman changed the way basketball was played in the state, introducing the pressing full-court defense and fast break offense that led to consistent state tournament appearances, winning six state titles and finishing second six other teams. Redman’s record as the WIHS Boys Coach was 426 wins and 118 losses in 26 seasons. Early in his career, Redman’s teams set the bar for consecutive victories in the state with 50 straight wins over the 1983-86 seasons, a record that still stands today. His teams also finished the state tournament in third place twice and won the consolation championship a total of four times with dozens of conference and regional titles.
St. Clair the noted success of Redman’s program led to the building of, at the time, the largest high school gymnasium in the state behind only the University of Wyoming’s Arena Auditorium and the Casper Events Center Arena.
Redman wasn’t the only one honored on Saturday night. The undefeated Lady Chiefs team honored one of their own, Alex Trosper. This past week Trosper was named as a finalist for the McDonalds All American Basketball Team. Her teammates presented her with gifts and balloons.
