college basketball – Mikey & Nicky D Hot Corner

I’ve been asked all the time why is it basketball so important to the state of Indiana. Indiana has been a basketball state for years and years. it really is all about high school basketball and about how they really played basketball different than other states at the high school level. You can also say it goes back to the college rivalry between Indiana and Purdue, Gene Keady vs. Bobby Knight! You can also say what put Indiana on the map for high school basketball was the 1954 championship with Milan high school vs. Muncie Central high school which was the smallest school in the state of Indiana with an enrollment of 151 students against one of the biggest schools in the state which didn’t inspired the movie Hoosiers.

But this week we lost our coach, the coach brought Indiana back to glory. The passing of Bob Knight has brought back so many memories of what he did for basketball. Back in the early 70s when he first got there he led the 1976 Indiana basketball team to the only perfect record in college basketball and this is the only team to ever go through the season and postseason undefeated. And he won two more championships with two great basketball, players, and Isaiah Thomas and Steve Afford. A lot of people might not know what Coach Knight did for so many people all they know is the bad stuff that ended his career. I had his own charity, which he probably supported. I would do anything for the students of Indiana. I’m they came to while I was teaching.

The movie Hoosiers shine the light on Indiana basketball and brought to the forefront how a tiny school could go onto face giant school for the championship. Based on that true story about the Milan high school brought to the forefront Indiana high school and what it meant back in the day to the people of Indiana. Gene Hackman‘s character was based on Bobby knight as a coach actually.

But back to basketball, when November 1st hit it always became time for college and high school basketball to start. Baseball might be America’s pastime, but in Indiana basketball always came first. In all honesty, I think high school basketball was the most important part of basketball to Indiana. It’s just something about those Friday nights in a high school gym watching high school boys basketball could be the smallest school or the biggest school in the state. But it would always put on a show.

I grew up in Peru, Indiana, hearing stories about Kyle Macy, and about his greatness as a high school basketball player. I also watched many other high school basketball players come out of Indiana and be amazing. You also grew up hearing the story of Milan, Indiana. Which inspired Hoosiers about that small school came from the middle of nowhere to win state championship when they shouldn’t even been there, or there was no chance for them to be there. When November hit, you’d wake up, put that movie on and think about what was about to happen for the next three months.

Yeah, you can see basketball started with two colleges in the state of Indiana under huge rivalry that happens twice a year maybe three times a year now if they play in the Big Ten championship but it’s not the same not like it used to be. Coach Knight and Keady, are not on the sidelines roaming around yelling at each other, laughing at each other before war happen. Maybe each other after the game for a little bit before talking again about what was going to happen the next time they met it’s not the same anymore.

Since I moved to Texas, I hear people talk about Friday night lights about high school football, Texas is Friday night. Lights is like our high school basketball in the gym. Once you get five men on the team to go out there battle with the other five, that means more Indiana than any other sport and last from November to March every single year. Every single year you had new kids with the old kids on the team and start the hunt for high school greatness on a state championship.

It’s officially basketball season!