Hoosier hysteria is the state of excitement surrounding basketball in Indiana or, more specifically, the Indiana high school basketball tournament. The most famous example occurred in 1954, when Milan defeated Muncie Central to win the state title.
John Robert Wooden was an American basketball coach and player. Nicknamed "the Wizard of Westwood", he won ten National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) national championships in a 12-year period as head coach for the UCLA Bruins, including a record seven in a row. No other team has won more than four in a row in Division I college men's or women's basketball. Within this period, his teams won an NCAA men's basketball record 88 consecutive games. Wooden won the prestigious Henry Iba Award as national coach of the year a record seven times and won the Associated Press award five times.
Artis Gilmore Sr. is an American former professional basketball player who played in the American Basketball Association (ABA) and National Basketball Association (NBA). Gilmore was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame on August 12, 2011.
Charles Henry Bibby is an American former professional basketball player who played for the New York Knicks, New Orleans Jazz, Philadelphia 76ers, and San Diego Clippers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He also spent a season as a player-assistant coach for the Lancaster Lightning of the Continental Basketball Association (CBA).
Elvin Ernest Hayes, nicknamed "The Big E", is an American former professional basketball player and radio analyst for his alma mater Houston Cougars. He is a member of the NBA's 50th and 75th anniversary teams, and an inductee in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Known for both his offensive and defensive prowess, Hayes is often regarded as one of the best power forwards in NBA history. Hayes is also known for his longevity, being third all-time in NBA minutes played, and missing only nine games during his 16-season career.
Marques Kevin Johnson is an American former professional basketball player and character actor who is a basketball analyst for the Milwaukee Bucks on Bally Sports Wisconsin. He played as a small forward in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1977 to 1989, where he was a five-time All-Star. He played the majority of his career with the Bucks.
Swen Erick Nater is a Dutch former professional basketball player. He played primarily in the American Basketball Association (ABA) and National Basketball Association (NBA), and is the only player to have led both the NBA and ABA in rebounding. Nater was a two-time ABA All-Star and was the 1974 ABA Rookie of the Year. He played college basketball for the UCLA Bruins, winning two National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) titles.
Larry Farmer is an American basketball coach and former player. Farmer served as the head basketball coach at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) from 1981 to 1984, Weber State University from 1985 to 1988, and Loyola University Chicago from 1998 to 2004. He played college basketball at UCLA, where he was a member of three national championships-winning teams for the UCLA Bruins under head coach John Wooden in the early 1970s. In 2018, Farmer was inducted into the UCLA Athletics Hall of Fame.
Ulysses Lee "Junior" Bridgeman is an American businessman and former professional basketball player. Bridgeman played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for 12 years from 1975 until 1987, beginning with the Milwaukee Bucks. Bridgeman is the current owner of Ebony and Jet magazines. Despite never making more than $350,000 a season during his NBA career, Bridgeman has a net worth of over $600 million, making him one of the wealthiest former athletes in the world.
Timothy Paul Stoddard is an American former professional baseball pitcher. A right-handed pitcher, he played for six different teams in Major League Baseball between 1975 and 1989, and was a member of the 1983 Baltimore Orioles championship team. He is currently the pitching coach for the baseball team at North Central College. Stoddard is one of only two men to have played in both a World Series and a Final Four of the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship, along with fellow East Chicago Washington High School alumnus Kenny Lofton.
Steven John Patterson was an American professional basketball player and coach who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for five seasons. A 6'9" center for UCLA, Patterson spent his first year of athletic eligibility as the backup to Lew Alcindor, later Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. He then was the starting center for the Bruins' 1970 and 1971 championship teams under legendary coach John Wooden.
The UCLA Bruins men's basketball program represents the University of California, Los Angeles in the sport of men's basketball as a member of the Big Ten Conference. Established in 1919, the program has won a record 11 NCAA titles. Coach John Wooden led the Bruins to 10 national titles in 12 seasons, from 1964 to 1975, including seven straight from 1967 to 1973. UCLA went undefeated a record four times. Coach Jim Harrick led the team to another NCAA title in 1995. Former coach Ben Howland led UCLA to three consecutive Final Four appearances from 2006 to 2008. As a member of the AAWU, Pacific-8 and then Pacific-10, UCLA set an NCAA Division I record with 13 consecutive regular season conference titles between 1967 and 1979 which stood until tied by Kansas in 2017. In 2024, UCLA departed the Pac-12 Conference and joined the Big Ten Conference on August 2, 2024.
Richard Lee Washington is an American former professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the UCLA Bruins, winning a national championship in 1975, when he was voted the NCAA tournament's Most Outstanding Player. After being named a consensus first-team All-American as a junior in 1976, he was selected by the Kansas City Kings with the third overall pick of the 1976 NBA draft.
Raymond Anthony Townsend is an American retired professional basketball player. He played three seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) with the Golden State Warriors and the Indiana Pacers. Townsend played college basketball with the UCLA Bruins, earning all-conference honors in the Pacific-8. He was selected by the Warriors in the first round of the 1978 NBA draft, with the 22nd overall pick, and became the first Filipino-American to play in the NBA. During his playing career, he was listed at 6'3" tall and 175 lbs. (79 kg). He played at the point guard position.
David William Meyers was an American basketball player who played for the Milwaukee Bucks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The forward played college basketball for the UCLA Bruins. He was an All-American as a senior in 1975, when he won his second national championship with UCLA. He was drafted in the first round of the 1975 NBA draft with the second overall pick, and played four years professionally with the Bucks.
Edward Charles O'Bannon Jr. is an American former professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was a power forward for the UCLA Bruins on their 1995 NCAA championship team. He was selected by the New Jersey Nets with the ninth overall pick of the 1995 NBA draft. After two seasons in the NBA, he continued his professional career for another eight years, mainly playing in Europe.
The Los Angeles Stars were a minor league basketball team in the American Basketball Association (ABA) during the league's inaugural 2000–01 season. The Stars were one of the league's initial eight teams. The Stars were defunct after its initial season.
Gregory Scott Lee was an American professional basketball and volleyball player. He played college basketball for the UCLA Bruins, winning back-to-back national championships as their starting point guard in 1972 and 1973. He had short stints in the original American Basketball Association (ABA) and the National Basketball Association (NBA) before playing four seasons in West Germany. As a volleyball player, Lee teamed with Jim Menges to set a record with 13 consecutive professional beach volleyball titles. He was inducted into the California Beach Volleyball Association's (CBVA) hall of fame.
Washington High School was a public high school in East Chicago, Indiana, which opened in 1898 but closed in 1986. Washington High School merged with Roosevelt High School to become East Chicago Central High School, known in the area as "Central."
