BLOOMINGTON - On their four-hour bus ride to Bloomington Tuesday afternoon, it was only fitting that the players on the Grace College men's basketball team watched the movie Hoosiers.
Tonight, in a David-vs-Goliath exhibition game scheduled for 7 p.m., the Lancers will be the underdog small school, as they square off with the Indiana Hoosiers at historic Assembly Hall.
"This is a very special opportunity for our players, and for all of Grace College," said Grace College Athletic Director Chad Briscoe. "This is something we will all remember."
The Lancers departed from the Orthopaedic Capital Center in Winona Lake and arrived in Bloomington just before 4 p.m. They went through a two-hour practice session at Assembly Hall, and though coach Jim Kessler didn't pull out a tape measure and check the measurements of the rim or court like Gene Hackman's character in Hoosiers, Grace's players, coaches and managers posed for plenty of pictures and took time to enjoy the moment.
"Growing up in Indiana, you always watched the Hoosiers on TV," said Grace junior guard David Henry, who graduated from Bethesda Christian in Brownsburg. "Whether you liked the Hoosiers or not, you still dreamed of playing at Assembly Hall. It's kinda cool to live out that dream."
Briscoe can relate to the excitement of Grace's players. When he was a sophomore at Anderson University (called Anderson college then), the Ravens played an exhibition game against Butler at Hinkle Fieldhouse.
"I know what the players are thinking," said Briscoe. "I remember playing Butler at Hinkle Fieldhouse when I was a sophomore at Anderson. I remember my picture being in the Indianapolis Star the next day. My dad still has that newspaper clipping. This is just a really neat experience for the players and everyone involved."
Kessler, who is entering his 34th year as Grace's head coach, agreed.
"I'm having fun with it too," said Kessler, who has guided the Lancers to back-to-back elite eight finishes in the NAIA Division II National Tournament in Branson, Mo. "We get to play on the big stage. This brings a credibility to our program that we've never had, and I really appreciate (Indiana) Coach (Tom) Crean allowing us the opportunity."
Though Grace and Indiana are worlds apart in number of ways, there are some connections between the two schools.
One of those connections is how the opportunity came about for the Lancers.
From 2003-2005, Briscoe was a graduate assistant coach at Ball State, where Tim Buckley was the head coach.
Buckley is now an assistant coach for the Hoosiers.
"When Buck got the job, I called to congratulate him, and told him he needed to get us down there to play in a game," said Briscoe. "Over the course of time, things just started to take shape, and we really appreciate the opportunity to do this."
Another connection between the two schools, Tom Abernethy, who played on the Hoosiers' 1976 undefeated national championship team, is the father of Grace All-American Matt Abernethy, who is sixth in Lancers career scoring with 2,233 points.
Grace's all-time leading scorer, Chet Kammerer works for the Miami Heat, the NBA team that Dwyane Wade plays for. Wade played for Crean while he was at Marquette University.
Indiana student manager Michael Santa, son of Warsaw Community High School Athletic Director Joe Santa, was a teammate of Grace freshman Tannan Peters at Huntington North School.
"It's a great opportunity for Grace," said Santa, who went above and beyond his managing duties last year and got playing time as well. "It's cool that the schools are only three hours apart, and there's a lot of little connections."
And if the Hoosiers or their fans think the Lancers' role is to come into Assembly Hall and let host team just have their way, they should look at the final score from 25th-ranked Syracuse's exhibition game with Le Moyne College Tuesday night.
Le Moyne College, a Division II school, shocked the basketball world with an 82-79 upset of the Orange at the Carrier Dome.
"Whatever happens, it's a win-win for us," said Kessler. "It's a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and we're grateful for the opportunity. We're certainly not going to play anybody better than them the rest of the year."
