Even in Crisis, Basketball Connects Us
Hoops is a way of life in a state built on tradition, success and national respect
UNSCRIPTED
By Keith Edmonds
Of Fort Wayne Ink Spot
Indiana basketball is something that other states look at and marvel.
Hoosiers (as we are called) often get asked the question, “Why is basketball such a big deal in your state?” The usual reply: It just is!
For many of us, playing basketball in the state of Indiana became an obsession from the first time we touched a ball. We didn’t need a scoreboard or timer or even great shoes – even though I would argue that my high-topped Converse Chuck Taylors were the best. We just loved playing the game, and whenever we had the opportunity to play then that’s what we did!
We didn’t allow weather, or lack of equipment, stop what we were trying to do, which was play and play and play. I was fortunate that I had some tough competition that groomed and challenged me daily to be the very best that I could be. I didn’t have to look far for a great game or travel too far to find tremendous competition.
From Brooklyn to Long Beach, from Detroit to Houston, there are people who say the same thing about why basketball is important in their cities and states. So, what sets Indiana apart from the other 49 states?
I guess the best way to answer this question would be to look at the level of interest in our schools, communities, and players that have come from these schools and built a tradition that has come to be a “way of life” for those of us that live here.
So many talented players that have come from Indiana such as Oscar Robertson, Larry Bird, Rick Mount, Bobby Plump, Shawn Kemp – and this is just a start. If we wanted to talk about coaches then we would name John Wooden, Bobby Knight, and Gene Keady who all have been tremendously successful teachers that either played here or have taken their collegiate teams to national success. How about Tony Hinkle, who thought that orange was a better color for a basketball than brown and coached for over 41 years at Butler University?
To bring things home to Fort Wayne, you only have to look at Deshaun Thomas, Jim Master, James Hardy (Jr.), Eugene Parker and Walter Jordan (and too many more to mention) to see some of those that have experienced collegiate success from our city.
This state just exudes basketball out of its pores. We build high school gyms larger than the population of not only the school but entire communities. That’s what sets us apart from every other state. Where in the country can you find 13 of the top 15 largest high school gymnasiums with the top six seating almost 8,000 fans? Need I say more about this obsession?
Hoosier Hysteria is not an illness, but it does cause people to lose their minds during our state tournament. It’s unique in that every school gets to be in the tournament! There are no qualifying rounds; season records don’t mean anything, and it’s not seeded. It’s truly what sets this state apart from the other 49.
And the season never ends. Just take a drive throughout our state and you’ll find a hoop hanging on a pole, a barn, or mounted to a garage with kids getting shots up all day long, we love our hoops! The passion never stops and continues from generation to generation.
When someone asks, “Where are you from are and you say Indiana” the next response inevitably is “So what school did you play ball for”? It’s just a nationally programmed response! I think that the historical marker that sits next to a bank in downtown Crawfordsville, Indiana, sums it up best as it reads: Indiana, the Cradle of Basketball.
Pandemic or not, our state will find a way to play basketball because to many Hoosiers, this state is where basketball was born and will continue to reside for years to come.
