AP photo
Actor Gene Hackman gives fictional Hickory High basketball players instructions during filming of the final game of the movie ‘Hoosiers’ at Hinkle Fieldhouse on the Butler University campus, Friday, Dec. 6, 1985, in Indianapolis. About 5,000 extras jammed the start for filming after an actual high school game was moved to the field.

“Hoosiers” (1986) is a fictionalized account of Indiana high school basketball set at a small school in the early 1950s.

It is 1951 in Hickory, Indiana. Norman Dale (Gene Hackman) arrives at Hickory High School to begin his new position as a teacher and head basketball coach. Loosely based on the 1954 Milan High School basketball team’s stunning upset victory in the state championship game, “Hoosiers” chronicles the Huskers’ season intertwining the relationships between Dale, his team and the townspeople.

Dale arrives with personal baggage in a last-chance effort to reestablish his coaching career after being banished years before for striking one of his own players.

The team is shocked when practice starts and the new coach institutes his disciplined policies. The workouts are physically demanding while the coach preaches teamwork and ball movement. Several players quit, further hindering hope of any success.

The town of Hickory expects big things and many residents offer their unsolicited advice and opinion. High school basketball in Indiana is king. It is taken seriously with no excuses.

The team, and the town, have a hard time accepting Dale’s coaching methods from the onset. With few players on his roster, there is little room for error. When Merle Webb fouls out of a game, Dale elects to play with just four. As fans react in confusion, the coach sends an important message. His goal is to have total commitment to his plan, and to win or lose as a team.

Dale is soon visited by Shooter Flatch (Dennis Hopper), a local resident with a high basketball IQ and a drinking problem. Shooter imparts some good advice regarding Hickory’s next opponent. Dale sees an opportunity to help Shooter by asking him to become an assistant coach. The offer comes with the stipulation that Shooter wear a suit and remain sober.

The town of Hickory is not happy with Dale’s coaching or the direction of the season. Residents hold a meeting to determine his fate and vote to fire the controversial coach. Myra Fleener (Barbara Hershey), a teacher at the school who researched Dale’s earlier firing, tells the town people it would be a mistake to fire the coach. Fleener was appreciative of Dale staying away from Hickory’s best player, Jimmy Chitwood (Maris Valainis). Since the death of the previous coach, Chitwood had stepped away from basketball, devastated by personal loss.

When Chitwood surprisingly enters the meeting, the tone of the evening changes. The soft-spoken young man approached the podium and asked to speak.

“I don’t know if it’ll make any change, but I figure it’s time for me to start playing ball,” Jimmy tells the assembly. As the meeting room bursts into applause, Jimmy continues. “One other thing. I play, Coach stays. He goes, I go.”

A re-vote was taken and Dale was retained, and the Huskers’ season began to turn.

Hickory begins to win, having bought into Dale’s strategy. The addition of the sharp-shooting Chitwood bolsters chemistry and success, and leads the team through the Indiana state playoffs.

With the team on a run, the pressure gets to Shooter. He disappears for a few days, having relapsed into alcohol. He is discovered unconscious in the freezing woods and placed in a hospital for recovery.

With the town now giving full support, Hickory fights its way to the state finals in Indianapolis against South Bend. Heavy underdogs, the scrappy Huskers stay close but still trail late in the game. They manage to tie the score with less than a minute to play and force a turnover. Dale calls a timeout to set up the final sequence using Jimmy as a decoy for the final shot. The team looks bewildered as each player questions the decision.

“What’s the matter with you guys?” Dale yells, sensing the team’s disapproval. “What’s the matter with you?”

“I’ll make it,” Jimmy finally says after a pause.

The Huskers spread the floor with Jimmy isolated at the top of the key. He uses a crossover dribble to shake the defender then elevates and hits the jumper to secure victory.

The crowd pours onto the court in celebration of the upset. Shooter, listening to the radio broadcast in the hospital, bounces on his bed with joy.

The final scene is the present day Hickory gym as the camera slowly focuses on the team photo of the 1952 Indiana State Champs. “Hoosiers” is a good story, well told with an excellent cast.

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Tom Laub is The Sentinel Lifestyles editor.