University of Evansville assistant basketball coach Ben Wierzba will be inducted into the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame Saturday in the IBCA's 38th annual induction banquet at Illinois State University Union Ballroom in Normal. Also in the induction class of 46 are Wierzba's brother, Rhet, and the late Eric Ottens.

Wierzba has been an assistant at UE for the past three years under head coach Marty Simmons. He led Farmington High School, coached by his father, IBCA Hall of Fame member Tom Wierzba, to a three-year record of 66-23. As a senior, Wierzba guided Farmington to a 27-3 record and to conference and regional championships. He was chosen first team all-state and was the Peoria Journal Star Player of the Year. Wierzba played on the University of South Alabama's 1998 NCAA Tournament team. He transferred to SIU Edwardsville and was all-Great Lakes Conference in 1999. Wierzba served as a student assistant at SIU Edwardsville in 2000 and later coached at North Dakota, Saint Joseph's College, Lewis University and West Point before returning to SIU Edwardsville in 2006 while Simmons was head coach there.

Rhet Wierzba also has Evansville ties, having served as director of operations for the UE basketball program under previous head coach Steve Merfeld before joining the University of Maryland women's basketball coaching staff.

Ottens was an all-state player at Fulton High School in 2001, and lettered four times during his five years at the University of Evansville. He was killed March 17, 2006 in a traffic accident near Dubuque, Iowa. Ottens graduated from UE in 2005 with a degree in management, and was working on his master’s degree in health service administration at the time of his death. Ottens was recipient of UE's 2002-03 Basketball Memorial Scholarship, and the 2005-06 Carol Ann Kittinger Scholarship. Both scholarships reflect the qualities of teamwork, dedication and attitude.