A ‘HOOSIERS’ Moment In Milan

(2-18-26) On Tuesday night, Milan’s Micah Norman became the school’s all-time leading scorer.

Norman needed only 13 points to pass Ryan Hixson as the Indians played Waldron.

Hixson, a 2000 graduate, finished his career with 1,545 points. Norman started his senior season with 1,148 points and was able to catch Hixson 18 games into the 2025-26 season. Norman finished the night with a game-high 32 points.

Norman, a 6-foot-2 senior leads the Ohio River Valley Conference (ORVC) in scoring at 22.9 points per game.

The record came in the final seconds of the first half…

Milan coach Matt Pickerel talked to WRBI’s Bryce Kendrick about Norman-

“He’s been very fortunate to have played all four years and never had an injury to hold him out for a very long period of time. Just a very consistent ballplayer — puts in the work all the time, never complains, just shows up and does what’s asked of him.”

Courtesy The 812

The result of the game was…Waldron sophomore Eli Stewart with two seconds remaining in overtime sent the Mohawks past the Indians, 64-62, at The Teepee (Milan High School’s Gymnasium).

The well-known 1986 movie ‘Hoosiers‘ was based on the Milan team that won the Indiana State title in 1954…despite having a very small student enrollment. Capturing the “small-town underdog” essence, the movie is a fictionalized account that merges details from the 1952–54 seasons.

Key Parallels and Differences:

The Miracle Finish: Jimmy Chitwood’s final shot in the movie mirrors the real-life last-second shot by Bobby Plump that lifted the Milan Indians to a 32-30 victory over Muncie Central in 1954.
Team Size: Similar to the movie’s “Hickory,” the real 1954 Milan school had a tiny enrollment (roughly 73 students), making them the smallest school to win a single-class state title.
Coach Differences: In the film, Norman Dale is a middle-aged, controversial figure. The real coach, Marvin Wood, was a 26-year-old teacher who was popular in the community.
Practice Habits: While the movie shows Coach Dale closing practices to the public, the real 1954 team often practiced with townspeople watching.
Location: The championship scenes were filmed at Butler Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, the same venue where the real 1954 game took place.

The film is considered a tribute to “Hoosier Hysteria” and small-town Indiana basketball, rather than a factual reenactment.

Merle:

“Yeah, let’s win this’n for all the small schools that never had a chance to get here.”