'Hoosiers' comparing the movie with the real story

Whenever a movie is based on a true story, it begs the question how much of it is fact and how much is fiction. So how much of "Hoosiers" really did stay true to the story that the movie was based on?\n"The only thing that was exactly the same was the last second shot," said Ray Craft, who was a starting guard on the "real" team, the 1954 Milan Indians. "They tried to authenticate it as much as they could. I guess we didn't have as much controversy, though." \nNot to say that the Indians' season was without problems, but Milan didn't have to wait half the season for their star player to come out of his shell and save the coach's job.\nThat was most certainly "Hoosiers" writer Angelo Pizzo's idea to incorporate his 1952 Hickory Huskers.\nBut there were more similarities between the movie and real-life than you might expect.\nFor starters, both teams did have new coaches. Hickory's Norman Dale (played by Gene Hackman) was fresh off a 12-year stint in the Navy, which he had joined because he was fired from his previous job as a national champion collegiate coach for hitting one of his players. Milan's Marvin Wood was in his second year with the Indians when they won the state championship. He was, however, just 26 years old.\nDale was hired after the beloved old coach passed away. Wood was given the job after the beloved old coach (Herman "Snort" Grinstead) bought new uniforms without the superintendent's permission.\nJust like Dale did in the movie, Wood came in and closed practices to the public. They both also changed their predecessor's game style.\n"(Wood) went into a very difficult situation," said Roger Dickinson, president of the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame. "He had played at Butler and liked the style there. He came into a run and gun style and turned it into this patterned style."\nTheir different methods of teaching were not well received in the small town communities they both coached in. \nDale had his job saved only after his star player, Jimmy Chitwood (Maris Valainis), interrupted a town hearing and said that he would play but under one condition, "I play, coach stays. He goes, I go."\nWood didn't have it that bad.\n"We lost a game or two at first, but all the problems went away when we started winning," Craft said.\nAnd the Indians won a lot in Wood's first season at the helm in 1953. Milan actually made it all the way to final four of the state tournament before losing to the team that Hickory beat in the fictitious 1952 state championship, South Bend Central.\n"I don't know if we were cocky and confident, but we felt we could win each game and we went out with the philosophy of one game at a time," Craft said about the 1954 season. "We never talked about winning the state title. But being there the year before prepared us. I don't think we would've won it if we hadn't made it the year before."\n"The players thought 'Hey, we can come back and win this thing next year. Let's follow coach's plan," Dickinson said.\nAnd Milan did. Going 19-2 during the regular season, the Indians coasted into the 1954 state tournament, primed not to come up short this time around.\nMeanwhile, things took a while to click for the Huskers and their road to the state championship was more than difficult.\nIn the Sectional Finals against Terhune, a heavily-drunk "Shooter" (Dennis Hopper) waltzed onto the floor in the middle of play, costing Hickory a technical foul and in the process mentally messing up his son, Everett. Later in the game, Everett would tear the muscles in his right shoulder after being thrown into a trophy case.. \nThe Huskers only pulled out a victory after Chitwood hit a baseline jumper to put Hickory up 64-62 and Buddy then stole the ball on Terhune's final possession.\nIn the Regional Finals against Linton, Strap had to come in for Everett after he had reopened the wound on his shoulder. And then Buddy fouled out with the score in favor of Hickory 54-50 with less than a minute to go. That forced Dale to put Ollie, the self-described "equipment manager", into the contest. \nFirst, Ollie dribbled the ball off his leg for a turnover. Then, he airballed a free-throw with his under-hand form.\nAll of a sudden, it was 55-54 Linton with three seconds to go, when Ollie was fouled on a baseline jumper that rimmed in and out.\nBut, the little guy kept the dream alive by draining both of his free throws to send Hickory to the state championship.\nIn Milan's case, they won their first eight games in the tournament by at least eight points. Seven of those victories were by double-digit margins.\nSo the road to the title game was more dramatic on the big screen. That doesn't mean the climax was any better.\nIn the movie, Chitwood holds onto the ball for the final 20 seconds of the state championship with the score tied, before nailing a jumper at the top of the key to win by a final of 42-40.\nIn real life, Bobby Plump held onto the ball twice at the end of the state championship with the score tied. After a four-minute stall he takes a jumper but misses. Milan keeps Muncie Central from scoring on their next possession and Plump is again given the ball to hold. This time, however, he doesn't miss and the Indians win 32-30.\n"The coach just shortened the game," Craft said. "If we went at the rate the game was going at, he felt that we wouldn't have won. Bobby held the ball once, missed, and then we went back to him. The right guys won"