Tuesday, July 3, 2012

Mickeal to Return to IHCC

Ottumwa -- Former Indian Hills Community College basketball All-American and Athletic Hall of Fame inductee Pete Mickeal will be honored at a special event on the IHCC campus on Friday, July 27.


Mickeal was a member of the first-ever Hall of Fame class at Indian Hills, but was unable to attend the induction ceremony last February. He had a good excuse, though. He was busy playing in his third season with FC Barcelona in Spain.

The Rock Island, Ill. native will return to the Midwest this month and will come to Ottumwa to receive his Hall of Fame award. The special induction ceremony will take place in Warrior Junction in the Advanced Technology Center on the IHCC Ottumwa campus. The event will run from 4 – 6 p.m. Mickeal will be presented his Hall of Fame crystal and there will be an opportunity to visit with the former IHCC star.

Mickeal was a first-team All-American for the Warriors in 1998, a year in which he was also named the national Player of the Year and the MVP at the national tournament. He is the second-leading scorer in school history.

After playing on back-to-back national championship teams at Indian Hills, Mickeal went to the University of Cincinnati where he was a first-team all-conference choice both years he played for the Bearcats.

Mickeal recently finished his third season with FC Barcelona, helping them to a spot in the Euroleague Final Four and a third-place finish in the tourney. In his initial season in Spain in 2009-10, Mickeal’s FC Barcelona team won the Euroleague title as well as the Spanish League crown.

A knee injury cut short Mickeal’s 2010-11 season, but he came back strong this past season when FC Barcelona had the most wins in the Euroleague and the Spanish League.

Mickeal has had a long and distinguished professional basketball career, playing in five different foreign countries following a stint in the American Basketball Association.

The public is invited to the induction ceremony and reception for Mickeal on July 27.