The Indiana Pacers are an American professional basketball team based in Indianapolis. The Pacers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division of the Eastern Conference. The team was founded in 1967 as an original member of the American Basketball Association (ABA) and became a member of the NBA in 1976 as a result of the ABA–NBA merger. They play their home games at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. The team is named after the state of Indiana's history with the Indianapolis 500's pace cars and with the harness racing industry.
Stephen Todd Alford is an American men's college basketball coach and former professional player who is the head coach for the Nevada Wolf Pack of the Mountain West Conference (MWC). Born and raised in Indiana, he was a two-time consensus first-team All-American playing in college for the Indiana Hoosiers. He led them to a national championship in 1987. After playing professionally for four years in the National Basketball Association (NBA), he has been a college head coach for over 30 years.
Michael Dean Woodson is an American basketball coach and former professional player who is the head coach of the Indiana Hoosiers men's basketball team.
Dwane Lyndon Casey is an American basketball coach who most recently served as the head coach of the Detroit Pistons before transitioning to a front office position with the team. He is a former NCAA basketball player and coach, having played and coached there for over a decade before moving on to the NBA. He was previously the head coach of the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Toronto Raptors, with whom he won the NBA Coach of the Year Award in 2018.
Calbert Nathaniel Cheaney is an American basketball coach and former player who serves as Director of player development for the Indiana Hoosiers men's basketball of the Big Ten. He starred as a player for the Indiana Hoosiers men's basketball from 1989 to 1993 under coach Bob Knight. Cheaney ended his career as a three-time All-American and remains the Big Ten's all-time leading scorer with 2,613 career points. He led Indiana to a 105–27 record and the NCAA Tournament all four years, including a Final Four appearance in 1992.
Philip Daniel "Flip" Saunders was an American basketball player and coach. During his career, he coached the La Crosse Catbirds, Minnesota Timberwolves, Detroit Pistons, and Washington Wizards.
Fredrick Kristian Hoiberg is an American college basketball coach and former player. He has served as the men's head basketball coach at the University of Nebraska since 2019. Hoiberg grew up in Ames, Iowa, and played college basketball at Iowa State University in Ames where he earned the nickname "the Mayor". He was drafted into the National Basketball Association (NBA) where, over his ten year career, he played for the Indiana Pacers, Chicago Bulls, and Minnesota Timberwolves. After retiring as a player, he served as vice president for basketball operations for the Minnesota Timberwolves before beginning his coaching career at his alma mater, Iowa State University. He was there from 2010 to 2015 before going on to coach in the NBA for the Chicago Bulls from 2015 to 2018.
Samuel E. Mitchell Jr. is an American former professional basketball player and coach. Playing at small forward, Mitchell's 18-year professional basketball career spanned three decades, and was most notable for his ten seasons with the NBA's Minnesota Timberwolves, whom he also coached as an interim for the 2015–16 season. Mitchell coached for the Toronto Raptors from 2004 to 2008 as well, winning Coach of the Year Award in 2007.
The Indiana Hoosiers are the intercollegiate sports teams and players of Indiana University Bloomington, named after the demonym for people from the state of Indiana. The Hoosiers participate in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in 24 sports and became a member of the Big Ten Conference on December 1, 1899. The school's official colors are cream and crimson.
William Quinn Buckner is an American former professional basketball player and coach. He played collegiate basketball for the Indiana University Hoosiers, and won a national championship in 1976. He was a captain of both the last undefeated NCAA Division I basketball champion and the 1976 Olympics gold medal team. Buckner was selected by the Milwaukee Bucks with the 7th pick of the 1976 NBA draft. He had a ten-year NBA career for three teams. In 1984, he won an NBA title with the Celtics.
Jerry Lee Sichting is an American basketball coach and retired player of the National Basketball Association (NBA).
Eric Ambrose Gordon Jr. is an American-Bahamian professional basketball player for the Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). In high school, he was named Indiana Mr. Basketball during his senior year while playing at North Central High School. He is known, in part, as the subject of a recruiting competition between the University of Illinois and Indiana University in the spring and summer of 2006; because of Gordon's talent and high level of play that year, his recruitment was the subject of media coverage.
The Indiana Hoosiers men's basketball team represents Indiana University Bloomington in NCAA Division I college basketball and competes in the Big Ten Conference. The Hoosiers play at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall on the Branch McCracken Court in Bloomington, Indiana on the Indiana University Bloomington campus. Indiana has won five National Championships in men's basketball – two coming under Branch McCracken and three under Bob Knight. For forty-seven years and counting, Indiana's 1976 squad remains the last undefeated NCAA men's basketball champion.
James Edward Thomas is a retired American professional basketball player. He was a 6'3", 190 lb (86 kg) shooting guard.
Ryan Scott Wittman is a former American basketball player, best known for his college career at Cornell University.
Ted Daniel Kitchel is a retired American basketball player. He was a two-time All-American at Indiana University and represented the United States in the 1982 FIBA World Championship in Colombia. Kitchel played professionally in Italy and was inducted into the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame in 1996.
The Indiana–Kentucky rivalry is a college sports rivalry between the Indiana University Hoosiers and the University of Kentucky Wildcats. The rivalry between these two schools, located about 180 miles (290 km) apart, dates to their first college football game in 1893, and has continued across all sports, with the men's basketball series gaining particular attention. The football game was previously played for a wooden Bourbon Barrel trophy, which was discontinued in 1999.
The 1982–83 Indiana Hoosiers men's basketball team represented Indiana University. Their head coach was Bobby Knight, who was in his 12th year. The team played its home games in Assembly Hall in Bloomington, Indiana, and was a member of the Big Ten Conference.
Landon Montel Turner is an American former basketball player. He played college basketball for the Indiana Hoosiers and won an NCAA championship as a junior in 1981. Hoosiers head coach Bob Knight considered Turner to have the potential to be the best player he ever coached. Primed for a breakthrough senior season and considered a top National Basketball Association (NBA) draft pick, Turner's basketball career came to an end when he was paralyzed from the chest down in a car accident in July 1981. He stayed with the Hoosiers as a team captain during the 1981–82 season before the Boston Celtics honored Turner by selecting him as the final pick of the 1982 NBA draft. He played wheelchair basketball for three years before he embarked on a career as a motivational speaker. Turner is a member of the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame and the Indiana University Athletics Hall of Fame.
The 2021–22 Big Ten men's basketball season was the season for Big Ten Conference basketball teams that began with practices in October 2021, followed by the start of the 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's basketball season in November 2021. The regular season ended in March 2022.
