When Pam Fitzgerald got the unexpected news, she didn't know whether to scream or cry.

It was as if a giant yoke had been lifted from her shoulders.

Jim Bradley, the father of her 26-year-old son Jamahl, was finally going into the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame.

Valparaiso High School graduate and former Munster varsity coach Mike Copper is also part of a 15-member class that includes longtime prep basketball writer Dave Krider of LaPorte and Bradley's 1970 state championship team.

The 6-foot-10 power forward is considered one of the Region's greatest players ever. He led E.C. Roosevelt to a 28-0 record and state title his senior year, averaging 20 points and 15 rebounds a game.

From his sophomore through senior year, the Rough Riders won 69 of 72 varsity games.

Recruited by more than 300 colleges, Bradley chose Northern Illinois and soon pushed the Huskies into the national spotlight. They were 21-4 his senior year, which included an 85-71 win over No. 5 Indiana. Bradley was being called the next Magic Johnson and made the cover of Sports Illustrated.

Much of his pro career was spent in the original ABA and by the winter of 1982, his playing days were over. Along the way, the good-natured, fun-loving Bradley had fallen in with a questionable crowd.

In the early morning hours of Feb. 20, 1982, Bradley was shot to death on a Portland backstreet after leaving the Copper Penny II, a local bar often frequented by drug pushers. Robbery was the motive, according to police.

Because of the nature of Bradley's death, the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame had chosen not to induct him. But growing public support and new HOF leadership finally kicked down the door.

ECW alum Jim Platis got the ball rolling in 2008 when he inducted Bradley into his East Chicago Hall of Fame. And last September, D-East Chicago state Sen. Lonnie Smith presented Indiana Hall of Fame officials with more than 1,600 signatures -- many of them former pro and college stars -- calling for Bradley's induction.

"James was extremely kind-hearted," Pam Fitzgerald said via phone from her Oregon home. "He was contemplating on going back and getting his degree and maybe going into coaching at a school to help the youth. A lot of people didn't realize that side of him. He loved his son very much. He was a genuine person.

"People judge others when they don't know what they're judging. There seems to be a lot of that in our society. He was a fantastic person. He was a fantastic talent. And for people to deny him (the Hall of Fame) was not right."

Fitzgerald and Bradley met in 1977. Jamahl was 7 1/2 months old when Bradley was killed.

"He's got a lot of his dad in him and there's no way he learned that. It's just in the genes," she said.

San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, a 1966 Merrillville grad, also believed Bradley's induction was long overdue.

"I'm sure Jim Bradley's family is very moved by it," said Popovich, a 2009 inductee. "His play on the court was exemplary and certainly qualifies him for this great honor."

Mike Copper graduated in 1965 from Valparaiso, where he starred for Hall of Fame coach Virgil Sweet.

Copper earned a state-wide reputation after rebuilding the struggling programs at Paoli (1969-72), Munster (1972-78) and Warren Central (1978-85).

For the last seven years, he's served as Lawrence Twp. superintendent.

"I'm thrilled and humbled," Copper said. "Fortunately, I played at a wonderful high school for a great coach and that made all the difference in the world."

Cooper shot 91 percent from the line his senior year and set a national schoolboy record with 409 consecutive free throws within a 57-minute span at practice.

"When I was a youngster, I grew up by the outdoor court at Gardner Grade School. That's where my house was," Copper said. "All the big kids from the high school always came and played on that court. As a little bitty kid, I sat on the curb and watched and got the bug early.

"Every time they'd be short a guy, they'd say: 'OK, Copper. Go ahead and fill in here. We don't have anybody else.' Finally, I got old enough to where I was paying that back to others."

INDIANA BOYS BASKETBALL HALL OF FAME

2010 Induction Class

Jim Bradley, E.C. Roosevelt, 1970

Mike Copper, Valparaiso, 1965

Larry Angle, New Salem, 1961

Tom Arnholt, Columbus, 1968

Chuck Bavis, Garrett, 1966

Norm Held, Williamsport, 1952

Ron Hughes, Kokomo, 1961

Dave Magley, South Bend LaSalle, 1978

Jerry Peirson, Royerton, 1962

Steve Rendenbaugh, Paoli, 1961

Al Rhodes, Penn, 1970

Brian Walker, Lebanon, 1976

Bob White, Jasper, 1949

Mike Woodson, Indianapolis Broad Ripple, 1976

Dave Krider, Elkhart, 1957 (St. Vincent Silver Medal for contributions other than as a player or coach)

1970 East Chicago Roosevelt team, 28-0

When: March 24, 2010.

Where: Primo Banquet Hall, Indianapolis.

Tickets: Call 765-529-1891. Reservations begin today.