Robert Orville Dille (July 2, 1917 – December 10, 1998) was an American professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player and championship high school coach. Dille was an All-American forward at Valparaiso, where he was a member of "The World's Tallest Team" and later coached Fort Wayne's

Northrop High School Northrop High School is a Fort Wayne Community Schools high school located in the northern suburbs of Fort Wayne, Allen County, Indiana. Northrop is classified as 5A by the IHSAA. Northrop High School has had a sister school, the Goethe Gymnasium ...

to an Indiana state championship in 1974. He was inducted into the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame in 1989. Dille starred at

Chesterton High School Chesterton High School is a public high school serving grades 9-12 located in Chesterton, Indiana. It is the only high school in the Duneland School Corporation. History In 1833, Jesse Morgan, the area's first postmaster, opened the first educ ...

Chesterton, Indiana Chesterton is a town in Westchester Township, Porter County, Indiana, Westchester, Jackson Township, Porter County, Indiana, Jackson and Liberty Township, Porter County, Indiana, Liberty townships in Porter County, Indiana, Porter County, in the U. ...

and matriculated at

Valparaiso University Valparaiso University (Valpo) is a private university in Valparaiso, Indiana. It is a Lutheran university with about 3,000 students from over 50 countries on a campus of . Originally named Valparaiso Male and Female College, Valparaiso Universit ...

as a 26-year-old with a wife and son. He played varsity basketball while working 48 hours a week at a local company in addition to his full courseload. In 1944, Dille was named Valparaiso's first nationally recognized All-American. Following his collegiate career, Dille played for the Detroit Falcons of the Basketball Association of America, averaging 5.2 points per game in his lone season with the club. Dille was an assistant coach for

during the 1947–48 season, and he later coached high school basketball in his home state of

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 s ...

. He coached at

Valparaiso High School Valparaiso High School is a public high school in Valparaiso, Indiana. History Valparaiso High School opened in 1871 as Valparaiso City Public Graded School in a facility that had been built in 1861 by the local Presbyterian members as the Val ...

, Berne-French Township High School and Fort Wayne North before taking the reins at Fort Wayne Northrop in 1971. Dille coached at Northrop for seven years, winning a state championship in 1974.

BAA career statistics

Regular season

References

1917 births 1998 deaths All-American college men's basketball players American men's basketball players Basketball players from Fort Wayne, Indiana Detroit Falcons (basketball) players Forwards (basketball) Hammond Ciesar All-Americans players High school basketball coaches in the United States People from Chesterton, Indiana People from Valparaiso, Indiana Philadelphia Warriors draft picks Toronto Huskies draft picks Valparaiso Beacons men's basketball players {{1910s-US-basketball-bio-stub