From Kokomo High School to Indiana University to the Indiana Pacers, Jimmy Rayl embodied Hoosier Hysteria as well as anyone. For him, basketball was far more than a game to be played. It was a genuine passion.
Rayl, who passed away Sunday afternoon at age 77, was one of the greatest long-range shooters of his era, a threat from beyond 30 feet more than two decades before the introduction of the 3-point shot. He also was one of the skinniest, weighing just 145 pounds as a 6-foot-3 guard at Indiana University. He was dubbed by state sportswriters as The Splendid Splinter, a nickname originally attached to baseball star Ted Williams.