Indiana Road Trip: Hinkle Hard Not to Love

By Ryan Fagan
Sporting News’ Ryan Fagan is traveling the Hoosier State, watching every D-I team in Indiana over 12 days. He’ll write about all things Hoosier Culture for The Sporting Blog.
I remember the campus of Indiana as a beautiful place. Been there a couple of times in the past; it’s full of trees, great architecture and has plenty of character. Didn’t have much of a chance to see it today, though. As much as I love the idea of this trip, there just isn’t enough time to adequately visit each of these campuses.
I spent this morning talking with a couple of lesser-known Hoosiers, guys who could have played basketball elsewhere but elected to walk on at Indiana because it’s where they always really wanted to be. I respect that. It’s a scary choice, jumping into a lake that’s bigger than the pond we’re used to swimming in. On some level, everyone’s afraid of failure. Everyone wants to feel like they’re good enough. A safe choice for these guys would have been a smaller school where they would have been more assured of playing time. A brave choice is going to Indiana, where, let’s be honest, they weren’t as talented as most of the other players there. But they did it anyway.
I respect Adam Ahlfeld and Kyle Taber for making that choice, and I told them so. Good guys.
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Today, the trip took us from the IU Hoosiers to the movie Hoosiers. Today was my first glimpse of Hinkle Fieldhouse -- at least the first that didn’t include Gene Hackman storming the sidelines. Fantastic building. Going back Friday afternoon for a photo shoot with a couple of the Butler players. Had a chance to talk with Butler senior Drew Streicher after the game, and he, of course, is a huge fan of the movie. I asked him if he’d ever measured the height of the basket, but he said he hadn’t. At 6-7, it probably doesn’t seem so high to him.
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A few hours before the game, photo Jay and I were walking around the underbelly of Hinkle Fieldhouse when we heard a loud “pop†up ahead. Walked up there to see one of the Butler students filling up balloons the student section would later use to try and distract the Youngstown State players at the free throw line.
“I’m not doing very good at this,†she said. “I’ve popped two and only gotten four filled up.â€
Listen to this gem from me: “Well, that’s better than filling two and popping four, right?â€
“I guess so,†she said. “Thanks for making me feel better about my ability.â€
“That’s just the type of guy I am.†(Ok, I didn’t really say that last part.)
Her labors turned out very showy, but they didn’t matter much in the actual game because the host Bulldogs rarely missed and wound up crushing the Youngstown State Penguins.
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Speaking of the Penguins … if they ever make a run into the NCAA Tournament, shouldn’t Morgan Freeman volunteer to do the narration of the video of their season? For free? Doesn’t he owe that to Penguins everywhere? I’d watch. It’s not quite Antarctic cold in Ohio in the winter, but it can be quite brisk. That’s close enough in my book.
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These folks in Indiana just do not like cheaters. Ran into a nice lady after the Butler game. She’s from Bloomington and worked at Assembly Hall for 14 years. She won’t go back until Indiana fires Kelvin Sampson. Reminds me of my aunt, who won’t have anything to do with the Rams until they get rid of Leonard Little after he killed a woman in a drunk driving accident several years ago. Now, don’t get me wrong -- I’m not comparing a bunch of illegal phone calls with a decision that ended a life, but Indiana folks take their basketball seriously, and they are not happy to have a convicted cheater and alleged liar as their coach.
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The next generation of Butler Bulldogs took the court after the game. There were probably 20 of them, running around, trying to dribble, trying to shoot, all having the time of their lives. From the youngsters that couldn’t have been more than two, to kids entering high school, they were all shooting, hoping they could one day say, “I’ll make it.â€
What a great freakin’ movie.

Previously from the Road Trip: Welcome to Indiana Basketball | Every Town Needs a Nick’s↵