Editor’s Note: To close out the year, we are recognizing our best stories of 2022. This is the fourth in that series, originally published on March 17. The other stories feature the NWSL’s journey to a historic CBA, Naomi Girma’s rise to stardom and the Indiana Fever’s new era.
Indiana and basketball have been intertwined from the beginning. James Naismith, the man who created the sport, even famously said: “While the game was invented in Massachusetts, basketball really had its origin in Indiana, which remains the center of the sport.”
Boys and girls alike from Indiana grow up with basketball in their blood.
“I don’t know anyone who didn’t play basketball,” said current Indiana player Grace Waggoner.
But as men’s basketball at Indiana rose to national prominence, first with Branch McCracken and then with Bob Knight, the women’s program remained in the shadows during the NCAA era, barring one incredible season in 1983.
It wasn’t for a lack of interest from young girls across the state. Amy Metheny, IU’s point guard in ‘83, grew up wanting to play for Knight, but would have settled for anyone if it meant a chance to be a Hoosier. Current…
