Missouri hoop squads enjoy 'Hoosiers' experience

KNIGHTSTOWN, Ind. – Chaffee High School varsity boy’s basketball coach Josh Govreau is a native of Viburnum, Missouri, and lived in the Show Me State throughout his entire life, however, based on where his heart lies, he just might be eligible for residency in Indiana.

Govreau took his Red Devil squad to the Hoosier State on Saturday, where it played Meadow Heights (winning 69-51) in the historic “Hoosier Gym” in Knightstown, Indiana. The gym was the home to the fictional Hickory High School Huskers in the movie “Hoosiers,” which Govreau may hold the record for viewing the most times.

“I’ve seen the movie many times,” Govreau said. “My father-in-law asked me about that, and I told him I have probably seen it 25 or 50 times.”

Govreau was one of a throng of Southeast Missouri basketball fans who traveled nearly 400 miles east to play a boy’s and girl’s doubleheader (plus a junior varsity game afterward). Chaffee and Meadow Heights were just the latest in a series of games featuring Missouri programs.

Last year, the girl’s squads from Ellington and Twin Rivers each played a game at the iconic facility, and Govreau and Red Devil girl’s coach, Matthew Schonhoff, each said a column on Semoball.com (listed below) prompted them to start pondering doing the same.

“Number one,” Govreau continued, “I love basketball and I am from a very small town myself, so, growing up and watching the movie, I was playing in gyms like (the Hoosier Gym).”

In December, teams from Neelyville High School and Alton played a similar doubleheader while last weekend, teams from Marquette and Lindbergh High Schools made the same trip for a couple of games.

“Walking into the gym yesterday for practice,” Govreau said, “it just put you back into the movie.

“It was pretty awesome.”

The players had to make some adjustments due to the size of the court, such as having two 10-second lines, as well as having barely a shoe’s width of space on side out-of-bound plays, which also came with having a wall just inches out of bounds that the players had to be careful with.

“It’s very unique,” Chaffee senior Levi McKinnie said. “I love how it is all thrown back (in time). All of the stuff on the court, the lines, the scoreboard, it’s all different.”

McKinnie also thought shooting on the “old goals” was a cool twist.

“Those are from back in the day,” McKinnie said. “It’s very neat (and) very unique.”

Each summer, the Hoosier Gym hosts an all-star game featuring the top players in Indiana, which like Missouri, has produced its share of NBA talent.

McKinnie thought it was “very cool” to play on the same court as, not just the actors in the movie, but those NBA stars, as well.

“It’s been very neat,” McKinnie said. “I’ve enjoyed it.”

All four coaches tried to balance winning the games with getting every player an opportunity to get on the floor. Though his team fell to Chaffee, Panther senior Ransom Grindstaff enjoyed the whole experience.

“I thought it was neat,” Grindstaff said. “I’m glad that we were able to do it.

“It was fun being able to come here and experience playing here.”

The players relived some of the cinematic moments, as they utilized the same locker room as the Huskers did in the movie. First-year Meadow Heights’ girl’s coach, Tim Winkler, even said beforehand that he was going to break out one of the memorable lines from Husker Coach Norman Dale, played by the legendary Gene Hackman.

“I just may tell one of the officials that he has pigeon (you know what) in his eye,” Winkler laughed.