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SPECIAL PRODUCTS NEW! DFW AutoLink DFW AutoFinder Deal on Wheels Panache Star-Telegram Weddings Bridal Magazine Neighborhood Values Special Sections Back to Home > Saturday, Apr 01, 2006 Sports Posted on Sat, Apr. 01, 2006 email this print this reprint or license this THE ASSOCIATED PRESS/ROBERT SCHEER Bobby Plump hit the shot that gave tiny Milan the Indiana state championship in 1954 and led to the movie Hoosiers.

INDIANAPOLIS -- If anyone knows anything about basketball magic around here, it's the kid who sank the winning shot in the game that became the movie Hoosiers.

"I see similarities between George Mason and the team we had in 1954," said Bobby Plump, now 69, who completed the so-called "Milan Miracle" with a 15-foot jump shot that carried Milan -- 162 students -- to a 32-30 upset of perennial state power Muncie Central in the '54 Indiana high school championship game.

"We had a coach who kept us loose, so we never felt any pressure ... and we probably had better talent than people gave us credit for," Plump said.

Plump awoke Friday morning with vertigo -- something he has battled over the years -- and had to decline an invitation to attend George Mason's final practice before the team faces the Florida Gators in tonight's Final Four semifinals at the RCA Dome.

George Mason coach Jim Larranaga, a master motivator himself, was expected to call on Plump to say a few words of encouragement to his 11th-seeded team of underdogs and overachievers.

In the back of his mind, Plump is thinking, "I've seen these guys play. If George Mason is an underdog, I'll bet Michigan State and UConn hope they never have to play a favorite."

Plump is a firm believer that a George Mason win over the Gators tonight would be "good for basketball" -- just as it was 52 years ago for the tiny southeastern town of Milan (pronounced MY-lin), located about 80 miles from here.

Hoosiers was based on a true story, except that in the movie Milan became Hickory; coach Marvin Wood became Norman Dale played by Gene Hackman, and Plump hit the big screen ... as Jimmy Chitwood.

There really was no alcoholic father/assistant coach named "Shooter" (Dennis Hopper) and Plump never assured Wood during that final timeout, "Coach, I'll make it."

As screenwriter Angelo Pizzo once told Plump: "The first thing I learned about making movies is that you have to have controversy. And there was absolutely nothing controversial about that team of yours."

Basketball is king in Indiana. And there are few basketball memories bigger than "Plump's Last Shot" -- which also happens to be the name of Plump's sports bar in the Broad Ripple district of town.

In the '60s, Plump was wooed by the Republican Party to run for secretary of state. If he won there -- he could run for governor ... which is exactly the path taken by former Indiana governor Ed Whitcomb (1969-73).

While never before has a 15-foot jump shot been so revered by so many over so many years, Plump likes to think that he has accomplished plenty since he took that last shot of his high school career.

He once turned down Indiana, Michigan State and Purdue to accept a basketball scholarship to Butler University, which was the site of the '54 Milan-Muncie Central game.

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