Where the Game Matters Most: A Last Championship Season in Indiana High School Basketball

Whenever David beats Goliath it's news; everything is suddenly possible. In Indiana, where basketball is an obsession, and high school basketball a religious pilgrimage to the state championship, the potential for Davids--remember Hoosiers?--is both magnificent and ever possible. But in 1996, Indiana changed that. Despite outrage and protest, the state opted to revamp the format that allowed all its high schools to compete against one another for the state title, and instead to institute a divisional system that would segregate schools by size, allowing for four champion teams. As unpopular as the decision was, it made the 1996-97 season--the last to be played under the old rules--emotionally charged and sociologically above the rim in richness. William Gildea's examination of that final season is ripe with the voices of coaches and players, and vivid in its replay of big games. But the book's real strength is off the court in Gildea's observations and reportage on the ethos of small towns, small-town virtues, and the place of sports in the community. Where the Game Matters Most is a championship volume in any league.