Chris Mullen’s surgery is scheduled for March 30.
At that point, Chesterton’s multisport standout hopes to have won a state championship.
Mullen suffered a torn hip labrum against T.F. South in the second game of the football season. He played with the injury for the rest of that season and for the duration of this basketball season. His baseball season will be over before it starts.
So the final game of Mullen’s stellar Chesterton athletic career arrives at 7:15 p.m. Saturday, when the 6-foot-4 senior forward and the Trojans (29-0) play Indianapolis Cathedral (25-6) in the Class 4A state final at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
“When you have guys like this, there’s nothing you would want to do more than put your body on the line and do whatever it takes to be with this team and play with these coaches,” Mullen said. “It’s hard to put into words, but it’s special.”
Mullen, an Indianapolis football recruit, said he wasn’t quite the same quarterback after he suffered the injury. His throws didn’t have that extra zip. His mobility was just a little off. He said it also led to painful back spasms.
“We have the best trainers in the nation,” Mullen said. “They got me ready to play each week. They’re still doing a great job. If I can play through it this long, it’s not going to affect me for one more game.”
The surgery could sideline Mullen for six months. He expects to be back in three, in time for July camp at Indianapolis.
Mullen didn’t miss a basketball game because of the injury, per se. After a brief break and recovery period following the football season, he didn’t have enough practices for the basketball team’s season opener against Morton. And a case of food poisoning forced him to sit out a game against Hobart.
“He’s as tough as they come,” Chesterton coach Marc Urban said.
‘Whatever I can do’
Before the football season, Mullen had said, “If we were shooting for anything less than 14-0 and a state championship, there would be something wrong with us.”
But the trajectory of Chesterton’s season changed after he suffered the injury, and the Trojans lost 10-7 to Penn in a Class 6A sectional final.
Yet an undefeated season and state championship in basketball sit right in front of him after the Trojans broke through for their first regional and semistate titles.
Given Chesterton’s talent and work ethic, Mullen hasn’t been surprised this team is in this position.
“It’s not something that I want to dwell on, obviously not really winning anything (in football), but it’s something that’s always in the back of my head that fuels me a little bit,” Mullen said. “You didn’t really accomplish anything, and with this team, you just want to accomplish as much as you can, and that’s what we’ve been doing.”
Mullen was the starting quarterback for the Trojans for three seasons, even getting thrust into the mix late in his freshman season due to a teammate’s injury. He made the Class 6A senior all-state team and was an all-conference selection.
Mullen is more of a complementary player in basketball in his second season as a starter. He’s averaging 6.6 points and 6.3 rebounds.
“It’s just whatever I can do to help the team,” he said. “That’s very important. Whatever needs to be done. If it’s a loose ball on the ground, a shot, whatever it is, I do it.”
But make no mistake about Mullen’s ability in this sport too. He was named to the all-conference team, an exclusive group, and was Chesterton’s only other pick besides star senior guard Travis Grayson, the Duneland Athletic Conference MVP.
“He brings energy,” Grayson said of Mullen. “He has the heart of a lion. He’s a fighter. He brings effort every day, energy every day. He’s vicious, just vicious.
“The way he’s been fighting all year for us, it’s been great. I already know he’s going to do extremely well down at UIndy for football.”
Mullen’s brothers Jack, a 2016 graduate, and Nick, a 2019 graduate, both played basketball for Chesterton. Nick Mullen is an assistant on Urban’s staff.
‘One of the best leaders’
Urban related a story illustrating Chris Mullen’s commitment to basketball.
“In the summer, we went to Marian down in Indianapolis,” Urban said. “He played with us at Marian. We drove up to Indiana Wesleyan and stayed the night and played four games there the next day. He went to a camp Sunday morning at the University of Indianapolis, got burned by the sun, drove up, which was a hike, and played the last two games with us. Then he drove over to Ohio to go to another football camp.
“For a guy that football’s his first sport, understanding how important it is to be part of the summer in those games, to be able to do that, it speaks volumes about the type of kid he is.”
Mullen said he didn’t hesitate.
“The reason it’s important, it’s hard to come by a coaching staff like we have, a team like we have,” he said. “I wouldn’t want anything else than to be playing with this team right now.
“Going from football camps to basketball games in the summer, I missed some games. But coach Urban wanted me to do the best job I could to get recruited for football because he knows how much I love football. He was like, ‘If you miss a game, it’s all right. I just want you to do what you need to do to improve as much as you can for football.'”
Urban has a deep appreciation for Chris Mullen’s contributions.
“He’s done a lot for all of our athletic programs. … He’s one of the best leaders I’ve ever been around,” Urban said. “He’s relentless in everything he does. He doesn’t stop, and sometimes you have to tell him to slow down a little bit just to be smart. He does things the right way. He pays attention to detail.
“The University of Indianapolis is getting a special kid. They found a diamond in the rough. They’re going to really, really like having him leading their team. He’s done a great job for us, our school, our program and really our community.”
