The Most Memorable "Hoosiers" Scene

 

It should be of no surprise that Hoosiers (1986) is one of my favorite movies. It is an inspiring film that should be seen by all young basketball players because of its important message about teamwork, believing in yourself, and overcoming adversity. From the rural Indiana landscape montage scene at the beginning of the film to the final sequence with the little boy shooting baskets in an empty gym, there are many scenes throughout the film that we can relate to.

While every Hoosiers fan has their favorite scene, I wanted to write about a couple of my favorites that perfectly capture the real-life emotions tied to sports.  Moments like these are cemented into our memory from the days when basketball played a larger part in our lives, so when watching Hoosiers, we relive those real-life moments once again. 

Who doesn’t remember, as a player or coach, the first time running out of the locker room onto the court? You first hear the pep band and the crowd cheering and then you see everyone in the stands as you take the floor. At that moment the hair on the back of your neck stands straight up as though electricity is flowing through the gym.

The “Welcome to Indiana Basketball” scene exemplifies this moment the best I have seen on screen. While newly hired coach Norman Dale (Gene Hackman) pauses before opening the door leading to the gym, you can faintly hear the fans cheering on the other side. While he opens the old gray wooden paneled door, he steps into an electric atmosphere like no other. As a basketball fan and having lived similar moments, I have never watched that scene without getting goosebumps as it reminds me of days past.

Hoosiers director, David Anspaugh, has said that this film sequence was one of his favorites in the movie. It was one of the more personal ones for him. He tried to capture in that shot the feeling that he used to get as a kid when he would walk into his gymnasium on a Friday night. He said that he would get smacked in the face with all that color, sound and excitement. 
 

"Welcome to Indiana basketball"

Although this scene brings back memories as a high school player, in recent years I was able to recapture the same experience on two occasions, both as a fan while watching high school basketball in Indiana.

My first experience was in 2004 while attending the 50th anniversary reunion of the 1954 Milan vs. Muncie Central state championship game, which inspired the movie Hoosiers. This game featured the present day teams playing one another. The game took place at the famous Muncie Fieldhouse that holds 6,547 spectators and was also broadcast live on ESPN 2. 

From the player introductions until the final horn, the crowd cheered throughout. And they were loud, extremely loud. The emotions on the court would carry over to the bleachers.  The reaction of the fans would change from excitement to nervousness to frustration and back to excitement; all in one possession. The ups and downs were felt by all; the way it should be when watching the sport.

The woman sitting next to us said it best after we told her that we drove from Missouri overnight to watch the game. She turned to us and said, "It doesn't get any better than watching Indiana high school basketball." With those words, she was pretty much saying exactly what coach Norman Dale told himself before taking the court for the first time, "Welcome to Indiana Basketball" and the hysteria that follows it.

Hoosier Gym door leading to gym floor

It was during the second occasion years later that I truly got that electric feeling one would experience as a player. It was while I opened the same gym door that Gene Hackman opened twenty-five years earlier on set.  I walked into the same atmosphere when attending the 2009 Hoosiers Reunion All-Star Classic game held annually every June in Knightstown's Hoosier Gym. Again the crowd was screaming, shouting, and singing. This was a All-Star game representing the best senior basketball players throughout the state and the crowd was as raucous as you would expect in a state championship game. It gave us the feeling that we were watching something special. In a way, we were, although many would say that any game, regular season or post season in Indiana would generate a similar atmosphere.



2009 Hoosiers Reunion All-Star Classic

My favorite scene in Hoosiers also takes place in the Hoosier Gym. It is the last scene in the movie when the camera panes across the gym floor where a young boy is shooting hoops and then zooms in on the Hickory Huskers 1952 State Championship photo in the corner.  During this scene, you hear the voice of coach Dale during the challenging, rewarding, and emotional times as he gets to know his team throughout the season. His echoing voice is a reminder of the importance of teamwork which made the team stronger and ultimately come together as one single unit.

In the Hoosiers 2-Disc DVD Collector's Edition (2005 release), Director David Anspaugh and Screenwriter Angelo Pizzo provide commentary throughout the movie as a bonus feature. It was Angelo Pizzo who said about the final scene, "we felt all along to end the movie on the basketball court would have made it feel like a big cliche. In a sense, we had to bring us back down to earth, back to the land, and give us a sense of continuity, tradition and the importance of basketball in Indiana. And how the legacy lives on."


A copy of the original photo still hangs in the gym

This scene is timeless. The moment on film could have taken place a month after the championship game or decades later. The scene not only spoke of a team and coach coming together but also illustrated tradition being carried on through a future generation of younger players. I can imagine the future Hickory players looking up at the 1952 photo and being inspired like many young players in their own hometown gyms today.  Our surroundings play an essential part in our upbringing and to stay motivated in what you enjoy in life, such as basketball, the environment around you and the presence of all the tradition that surrounds you must provide inspiration. Ending the film this way, brought forth that sense of tradition and how the legacy lives on through future generations of players.

I too have shot around in an empty Hoosier Gym.  It is very inspiring and peaceful. A Zen type of moment. Many people enjoy shooting around because it reminds them of basketball past. More importantly, I hope young kids go there to dream of the future. 

This scene does bring out the young kid in each of us, like the young boy shooting baskets during this memorable final scene.



Shooting at Hoosier Gym

In her 2010 book, The Making of Hoosiers: How a Small Movie from the Heartland Became One of America's Favorite Films, author Gayle L. Johnson said, "the movie’s final image was staged on the Huskers’ home court. The script described zooming in on a large team photo hanging on the wall, but it was David Anspaugh’s idea to include the kid shooting baskets. After rehearsing the shot in the empty gym, the director sensed that the scene could be improved. As a painter or composer might put it, 'There’s a color or a stroke that’s missing,' he said." Additionally, Johnson wrote in her book that adding the young boy, "provided some action and extra visual interest, as well as a personal, human element that gave a touching scene even more emotional resonance."

In the Hoosiers DVD Collector's Edition, Anspaugh said that the kid was not originally in the scene. He said, "they originally shot this scene in an empty gym with those voices from the past echoing." Knowing that the scene would be impactful with a kid in the scene, Anspaugh ordered a crew member to go to the local elementary school and find the best seven or eight year old. The kid that was selected ended up being the son of one of the school's custodians. In the final sequence, the boy makes a handful of shoots as the camera rolls behind him.

"The kid was like Jimmy. He never missed a shot", Anspaugh said in his commentary.

Anspaugh then mentioned something to Angelo Pizzo and the viewing audience that my brother and I have also questioned over the years. As if speaking to the little boy in the final scene, Anspaugh said, "if you're out there, let us know where you're at. I would love to know what happened to that guy."

Final scene in Hoosiers

The kid couldn't miss

While attending the Hoosiers 25th anniversary reunion held in Knightstown in 2010, I spoke to the author of The Making of Hoosiers, Gayle L. Johnson about her recently released book. After minutes of discussion, she looked over to a 30-something year old guy who just entered Hoosier Gym and asked me, "Have you met Roger Hamilton, Jr. yet?" I quickly responded, "No, should I?" She told me to go on over and introduce myself.

Not knowing what to expect, I immediately introduced myself to Roger. We talked briefly about the reunion and that as a longtime resident of Knightstown he remembers the production crews, actors and the excitement of a film being made in his hometown. He then mentioned the reason Gayle had sent me over to him. He talked of the day that while attending elementary school in 1985, the boys in his 3rd grade class were asked to line up. He was then selected and asked to put on a white t-shirt to add that hint of color that Director David Anspaugh thought was missing in his final scene.

I realized then that Roger was the young boy shooting hoops at the end of the film.

I only spent a minute or two talking with Roger because I knew there were probably others that wanted to talk to him or that he wanted to speak to. My thoughts drifted back to what David Anspaugh had said about Roger Hamilton, Jr in his commentary.


Meeting Roger Hamilton, Jr. at the Hoosiers Reunion

While I relaxed in the Hoosier Gym bleachers during the Hoosiers 25th anniversary reunion later that afternoon, a new scene emerged before me. A scene that did not catch the attention of most fans that day. I noticed Roger walk over to the exact spot where twenty-five years earlier he was making basket after basket as the camera paned over him. He then shyly walked up to Maris Valainis (Jimmy Chitwood) and Angelo Pizzo who were finishing a conversation with a local fan.  Although David Anspaugh was not present that day, I still expect this would be a moment Roger was looking forward to reliving once again after so many years.

As Roger turned to re-introduce himself to Angelo Pizzo after twenty-five years, I knew that I was about to add another memorable scene to my list. Although I could not hear what was being said, I could only imagine how this scene would unfold and how the long conversation would start.

"Hello Mr. Pizzo", Roger would say. "Do you remember the young boy shooting baskets at the end of your movie?" 
 

Roger walking up to Screenwriter Angelo Pizzo