54 Howard Dardeen

Howard Dardeen was born Charles Howard Dardeen on July 28, 1939, in Terre Haute, Indiana, to Rose and George Dardeen.

Dardeen gained state and national recognition as an all-around sports star at Terre Haute Gerstmeyer High. In basketball, he was twice All-State in Indiana and named on the schoolboy All-America teams picked by Dell and Scholastic magazines. He led his team in scoring during his junior and senior years, recording 618 for his final high school campaign. Dardeen played both forward and center. He was also a center on the football team one year, earning honorable mention All-Valley selection, and was All-Conference twice during four years as a catcher/first baseman for the school baseball team. He served as president of Gerstmeyer’s senior class.

As a freshman at Kentucky, he was one of the most promising youngsters in Baron Adolph Rupp’s 1958-59 cage stable.  He had good size, at 6-4 and 190, and speed, plus an excellent variety of shots that made him the second-best scorer and number three rebounder on Harry Lancaster’s highly successful UK freshman team. He scored 288 points for a 16.9 average and grabbed 159 rebounds in the Kittens’ 17 games. During early-season play, he led the team in point production.  He was second on the freshman squad in point proficiency, behind only Johnny Cox, who would later be named All-American.

Dardeen did not enroll at Kentucky for his sophomore season.

He continued his athletic and academic career at Indiana State University instead, earning his Bachelor of Science in 1962 and his Master’s degree in 1965.

Howard Dardeen began his professional journey as a teacher and basketball coach at Indianapolis Manual High School, serving from 1962 to 1972. He later founded a successful insurance business and worked faithfully in that field for 35 years until retirement.

Dardeen passed away on May 5, 2025, at the age of 85.