Alvin Trisler slowly shuffles his way to an old friend and pulls him closer as he shakes his hand. Clad in a red vest and tie, Trisler struggles to share a story amid the Assembly Hall madness. \nThe 87-year-old usher, known as "Doc," might seem out of place among the legions of screaming students, but he's right at home at an IU basketball game. For 80 years, Trisler's held the Hoosiers in his heart, ever since his first game as an 8-year-old in 1927.\nSince then, Doc has lost a lot. His Hurryin' Hoosiers of the 1930s and '40s came and went, as did his favorite Hoosier, Bobby Knight. \nBut for all that time, Doc's held on to two things: his \ndevotion and his memories.\n
Doc remembers the early days
\nBloomington born and Bloomington raised, Trisler's life has always been tied to IU basketball. As a child, Trisler would stand below the elevated court at the original IU Fieldhouse and wait for the most exciting play -- an errant pass.\nIn those days IU used the Seventh Street Fieldhouse for all of its athletics, so below the elevated hardwood was merely a dirt floor. The players never wanted to get their feet dirty, so kids like Trisler were in charge of scooping up loose balls and tossing them back up to their heroes. \n"I was thrilled to even get ahold of the basketball," Trisler said. "I had a little rubber ball, maybe eight inches in diameter, and that was my basketball. So when I got over there and retrieved that big basketball -- it was almost as big as me."\nAs Trisler got older, he took a local job with RCA, and though he never intended it to happen, one question would bring Trisler back to the place he always adored. \nIn the middle of the 1960s, Trisler's boss came to him and asked him if he would like to usher IU basketball games. Doc said "sure," and that simple answer landed him courtside -- again.\n
Doc remembers the glory days
\nTrisler witnessed the first one-handed shot taken by a Hoosier. He saw IU's first seven-footer in the 1930s. And Doc was there to watch the first black player in Big Ten history take the court when Bill Garret debuted for IU in 1949.\nBut he never saw anything like Bobby Knight.\nTrisler's favorite years are the Knight years, because he considered "The General" a show in himself. Regardless of team talent or the level of opponents, Trisler said he always had to watch because "you never knew what coach Knight was going to do."\nIn 29 years, Trisler said he and Knight never exchanged more than a dozen words, but if there was ever a small child around, Knight would always come by, pat the child on the head and ask about his or her school work. \n"He wasn't all bad, he had some good sides to him," Trisler said. "I didn't appreciate his mouth much, but I don't think there was a better coach."\n
Doc remembers the changes
\nThe action on the court attracted Trisler to IU basketball, but the people around it made him fall in love.\nIn 80 years, finesse passing has been replaced by thunderous dunks, just as the laid-back IU Fieldhouse gave way to a raucous Assembly Hall. \n"I don't enjoy (the atmosphere) very much because I grew up in a quieter time," he said. "But the reason I come out here is to be with the people."\nTrisler could have easily left once the game evolved, but his IU love affair has changed a bit over the years.\nNow Trisler spends most of his time shaking hands with old friends and sharing stories with passersby. He and fellow usher Mel Williams have been working the same gate since Assembly Hall opened in 1971, and they continue to make quarter bets on every game. Of course, they don't bet on who'll win -- they bet on how much IU will win by.\n"Doc's taught me to just try and hang on to every moment," Williams said. "Because it may be your last -- you never know." \n
Doc's not done
\nThis story has no end -- as well it shouldn't. Being 87 years old isn't an excuse for Trisler to leave the game, and so long as the Hoosiers are playing, his story remains unfinished.\n"I enjoy being around the younger folks," he said. "I've got a lot of friends that come in through the years. So I'm going to be out here until the very end."\nA lot of people have said it about a lot of different things, but few can make the claim quite like Alvin "Doc" Trisler.\n"I'm Indiana," he said. "I live and die with them"
