The votes are in, and Indiana’s basketball fans have spoken! The 24 finalists for the Hoosier Historia arts project, an artistic celebration of Indiana high school basketball as part of NBA All-Star 2024 in Indianapolis, have been selected, the NBA All-Star 2024 Host Committee announced Friday.
The project, initially announced last October, is a partnership with the Indy Arts Council and the Marion County Capital Improvement Board, to celebrate and promote Indiana artists, engage Hoosiers across all counties in the All-Star 2024 effort, and celebrate Indiana’s love affair with Hoosier Hysteria and high school basketball. Over the last 30 days, fans were asked to select their favorite high school basketball stories from a pool of 50, a list determined by a committee of sports journalists, members of the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame, former coaches and players, former administrators, and other experts.
The top 24 vote-getters will be turned into world-class art in the form of large basketball sculptures upon which Indiana artists will paint their interpretations of these stories. The sculptures themselves will be on display in downtown Indianapolis throughout NBA All-Star 2024 and then permanently displayed at the Indiana Convention Center.
“There is an important intersection between arts and culture and NBA All-Star, and our intent was to create art that is as recognizably Hoosier as NBA All-Star 2024 here in Indianapolis will be,” said Mel Raines, President of the NBA All-Star 2024 Host Committee and President and Chief Operating Officer for Pacers Sports & Entertainment. “We wanted to capture the passion fans feel about the game, their community and school pride, and our unmatched basketball history and tradition, and the 24 stories that fans selected are going to make for some incredible, diverse artwork.”
The committee was tasked with sorting through hundreds of unforgettable moments, legendary players and coaches, and iconic venues to give fans an inclusive, comprehensive list from which to choose.
The final 24 Hoosier Historia stories are:
(In alphabetical order)
- 1971 East Chicago Washington: “Once in a Generation!”
- 1985-1987 Marion Giants Dynasty
- Ben Davis Girls Basketball Tallies Longest Winning Streak in History
- Crispus Attucks and a Culture Shift in Indiana Basketball
- Evansville’s Lincoln High School Becomes A National Power in the Face of Segregation
- Historic Hinkle Fieldhouse: Built for the High School State Tournament
- Iconic Indiana Gyms
- Indiana’s Class Basketball Debate
- Indiana’s Family Dynasties
- Indiana’s Title IX Legacy
- Muncie Central’s Unmatched Record of Success
- New Castle and Seymour Race to Be the Nation’s Largest Gym
- One of the Very Best Ever: George McGinnis, Steve Downing, and the 1969 Indianapolis Washington Champions
- Rick Mount Makes the SI Cover
- The First Indiana Mr. Basketball is Named
- The Franklin Wonder Five
- The Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame in New Castle
- The Indiana State High School Basketball Tournament
- The Milan Miracle
- The Wizard of Westwood was First the Magician of Martinsville
- Unique High School Mascots
- Warsaw’s Judi Warren Wins the First Ms. Basketball in 1976
- “We Grow Basketball Here”: Indiana’s Pipeline to the Pros
An open call inviting artists throughout Indiana to apply to participate will be released March 29 by the Indy Arts Council. Interested artists should follow @artscouncilindy for updates.
For more information on Hoosier Historia or NBA All-Star 2024, visit pacers.com/HoosierHistoria.
