SPOKANE, Wash. — Every June for the last 35 years, one man has ruled the courts of Hoopfest with an iron fist.
With decades of experience, Larry Wendel has been a basketball referee since before the first Hoopfest.
“The game was to start officiating and I’ve just had a real fine career,” said Wendel.
He started calling junior and high school games and eventually worked his way up to college ball.
Wendel worked his first D1 game, Loyola – Chicago and Gonzaga, in Spokane.
Through the decades, Wendel’s no-nonsense attitude left a mark on some of the fiercest competitors.
“He would always come up and go ‘here’ every single time and point at you and you know it was his foul and he called it and I could never steamroll him and get extra calls,” said former NBA and Gonzaga player, Adam Morrison.
Wendel’s reputation had him called into the action for the first Hoopfest in 1990.
“When it started, there was nobody with collegiate experience to work the Elite, and so the marshal said, ‘I looked at the roster, you’re the only college official and so we need you at the center,” said Wendel.
35 years later, he is still going strong.
“The surgeon said ‘I don’t think you should do it this year. I’ve watched you for years and you’re going to get that call that you need to sell and that arm is going up and we’re going back to surgery,'” said Wendel.
However, not even his doctor’s advice could keep him from the game.
“It’s that gut feeling, to get out there and get going,” said Wendel.
Larry Wendel was inducted into the Hooptown Hall of Fame a week before Hoopfest. He joins fellow basketball legends like Adam Morrison and John Stockton.
RELATED COVERAGE: Gonzaga’s Adam Morrison headlines Hooptown Hall of Fame class
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