The film is very loosely based on the story of the 1954 Indiana state champions, Milan High School (/ˈmaɪlən/ MY-lən), but the term "inspired by a true story" may be more appropriate, as there was little the two teams had in common.[4]
In
most U.S. states, high school athletic teams are divided into different
classes, usually based on the number of enrolled students, with separate state
championship tournaments held for each classification. At the time, Indiana
conducted a single state basketball championship for all of its high schools
and continued to do so until 1997.[4]
Some
elements of the film do match closely with those of Milan's real story. Like
the film's fictional "Hickory High School", Milan was a very small
high school in a rural, southern Indiana town. Both schools had undersized
teams. Both Hickory and Milan won the state finals by two points: Hickory won
42–40, and Milan won 32–30. The final seconds of the Hoosiers state
final hold fairly closely to the details of Milan's 1954 final; the final shot
in the film was taken from virtually the same spot on the floor as Bobby Plump's actual game-winner. The film's
final game was shot in the same building that hosted the 1954 Indiana
final, Butler University's Hinkle Fieldhouse (called Butler
Fieldhouse in 1954) in Indianapolis.[4]
However,
unlike the film's plot, the 1954 Milan High School basketball team came into
the season as heavy favorites and finished the '53-'54 regular season at 19–2.
In addition, the previous 1952–1953 team went to the state semi-finals, and
they were considered a powerhouse going into the championship season despite
the school's small enrollment.[4]
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