Wilfred Otto "Gus" Doerner (February 27, 1922 – December 10, 2001) was an American professional basketball player for the

Fort Wayne Pistons A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

and

Indianapolis Kautskys Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of U.S. state and territorial capitals, state capital and List of U.S. states' largest cities by population, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat, seat of ...

of the National Basketball League (NBL). He won two championships with the Pistons and one with the Kautskys, although he is best known for his career at

Evansville College The University of Evansville (UE) is a private university in Evansville, Indiana. It was founded in 1854 as Moores Hill College. The university operates a satellite center, Harlaxton College, in Grantham, England. UE offers more than 80 differ ...

. A native of

Evansville, Indiana Evansville is a city in, and the county seat of, Vanderburgh County, Indiana, United States. The population was 118,414 at the 2020 census, making it the state's third-most populous city after Indianapolis and Fort Wayne, the largest city in ...

, Doerner attended Mackey High School and was a stand-out basketball player. In three years on the team, he earned all-county and all-sectional accolades twice apiece, and in his senior year was named a team captain. When he graduated in 1938, he decided to stay close to home and attend Evansville College (now known as the University of Evansville). He played on the Purple Aces basketball team for all four years, lettering each season. Doerner was a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

and had a breakout senior season in 1941–42. That year, he recorded the third-highest scoring average in the nation and led

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th ...

collegians in scoring for the second time. He guided Evansville to the

1942 NAIA Division I men's basketball tournament The 1942 NAIA basketball tournament was held in March at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Missouri. The 6th annual NAIA basketball tournament featured 32 teams playing in a single-elimination format. The championship game featured Hamline ...

where they would lose in the second round. He was named to the all-tournament team and was also selected as the NAIA Tournament MVP. Doerner became the first Evansville player to receive All-America status when he was honored as a consensus Second Team All-American selection. After college he played in the NBL, the only viable professional basketball league in the United States at the time. From 1942 to 1946, Doerner played on the

Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division and play their home games at Li ...

and won two league championships. He then played for the

and won one more NBL championship. In his later life he was a basketball coach at

Fort Branch High School Fort Branch Marlette High School, commonly known as Fort Branch High School, was a public high school located in Fort Branch, Indiana. History Fort Branch High School, established in 1922, was one of the three high schools under South Gibson Sc ...

Fort Branch, Indiana Fort Branch is the largest town and second largest community in Gibson County, Indiana after Princeton and ahead of the county's other city, Oakland City. The population was 2,771 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Evansville, Indiana, Metrop ...

and won one sectional title. Doerner was inducted into the

Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame The Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame is a sports museum and hall of fame in New Castle, Indiana. While it honors men and women associated with high school, college, and professional basketball in Indiana, an emphasis is placed on the athlete's high ...

for his success at the high school, college and professional levels of basketball, all within the state of Indiana.

References

External links

NBL statistics
{{DEFAULTSORT:Doerner, Gus 1922 births 2001 deaths All-American college men's basketball players American men's basketball players Basketball players from Indiana Evansville Purple Aces men's basketball players Fort Wayne Pistons players Forwards (basketball) High school basketball coaches in Indiana Indianapolis Kautskys players Sportspeople from Evansville, Indiana