Why Pacers chose 'Hickory High' over real inspiration for 'Hoosiers'
There's no doubt that the Indiana Pacers are leading the way in cool with their jerseys. The "Flo-Jo" throwback jerseys they rocked several times this past season are amazing, and now the Pacers are set to wear "Hickory High" uniforms next season to celebrate the 30th anniversary of "Hoosiers."
Some have questioned, however, why Indiana wouldn't emblazon its jerseys with "Milan," the school on which Hoosiers is based, or "Crispus Attucks," the school for which Oscar Robertson played and which won the 1955 Indiana high school basketball state championship, the nation's first all-black team to win a state title in high school basketball.
Pacers senior vice president Todd Taylor told Scott Agness of Vigilant Sports that the team considered honoring one of its local, real high schools, but in the end, it came down to how recognizable "Hickory" is:
"We did talk about it," Taylor said. "[We picked Hickory] for two main reasons. One, obviously Hoosiers has a worldwide appeal to it and Hickory, being in Hoosiers, allows people to see it and get it right away. If we had Milan or Crispus Attucks, it would mean a lot to us in the state but it wouldn’t really draw attention from a worldwide standpoint. And, we really felt like if we went with Hickory and had people get it from a bigger concept around the movie, we could draw from some of the equity of the film -- which is really a message of teamwork and a small market overcoming big obstacles."
Here's hoping, then, that the Pacers make the most of the extra eyeballs drawn to Indiana by the "Hickory" jerseys by honoring the real basketball legends that have called the Hoosier State home.
(h/t Vigilant Sports)
Photo Credit: Alex Brandon/AP
