The Home of Basketball
Indiana’s love for basketball is no secret. Simply perusing a list of the vast number of locations and attractions based around the state’s favorite sport, one can see that Hoosiers love the game. James Naismith, the inventor of basketball, once said, "Basketball really had its origin in Indiana, which remains the center of the sport." While Indiana cannot claim to be the birthplace of basketball, it has long since called itself the "Home" of basketball. From Indianapolis, home of the NCAA National Headquarters, the Indiana Pacers, the NCAA Hall of Champions and the Crispus Attucks Museum, to Henry County, home of The Hoosier Gym, setting of the basketball cult-classic movie "Hoosiers,” the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame, and the largest high school gym in the nation, New Castle Fieldhouse, Indiana clearly has earned the title the Home of Basketball.
By visiting any of Indiana’s amazing spots, one can learn about the state’s storied history of basketball. From historic Hinkle Fieldhouse on Butler University’s campus in big city Indianapolis to the small towns of Milan, Swayzee, and Knightstown, Indiana's basketball history runs deep and is waiting to be discovered. Museums such as the Eugene and Marilyn Glick Indiana History Center offer special exhibits on Hoosiers like Chuck Taylor and extensive resources for those basketball fans that want to take a deeper look.
