In 49 other states, it is basketball . . . But THIS IS INDIANA!!!

By Jim Bleeke

While these days many people around the country identify Indiana and Indianapolis with the Colts, the long-time heritage of sports in the Hoosier state is basketball. The movie Hoosiers is a true story and captures how much basketball has meant to communities small and large for years.

From John Wooden who played high school hoops and began coaching in Indiana to Oscar Robertson, George McGinnis, Larry Bird and then adopted son, Reggie Miller basketball just resonates in the soul of many Indiana natives.

When I (Jim) was a little kid, my Mom and sister had to sit on the floor during the state basketball tournament, because they had broken a chair jumping up and down in previous years. My Uncle Bud Rector had made the longest shot ever in the state championship in Hinkle Fieldhouse (where Butler still plays) when playing for tiny Bluffton High School. As he retold the story over the years it seemed the shot was from somewhere barely inside the state line.

This year, Indianapolis' own little college, Butler, is trying to win it all in their home town and the city is electric with anticipation. It is like the college version of the movie Hoosiers, with Butler playing the role of little Milan in the finals.

My high school buddy Tim Shepler will be joining me for the game. He is a high school basketball coach at Homewood High school in Birmingham, where he coached Butler's defensive ace Ronald Nored. When Tim attended college in Oklahoma, he would always ask his friends if they wanted to go play some “Indiana,” which they all knew meant basketball.

We hope everybody enjoys the final four as much as those of us in Indiana will, whether Butler wins or not.