Sophomore year. Sectional final, Zionsville Eagles vs. Lebanon Tigers. "That was my worst memory in sports," Brad Stevens said. It was 20 ye...
Sophomore year. Sectional final, Zionsville Eagles vs. Lebanon Tigers. "That was my worst memory in sports," Brad Stevens said. It was 20 years ago. "To this day," the new Celtics coach said, "I don't even want to talk about it." nBrad Stevens and the Eagles lead, 44-31, entering the fourth quarter. nThis is 1993, back when his high school, housed in an all-American suburb a half-hour northwest of Indianapolis, graduated classes of 160 or so, but Indiana's fabled one-class system allowed schools of any size to compete for state championships, most famously tiny Milan High (total enrollment: 161) in 1954, a story immortalized in the film "Hoosiers."nThis is Indiana, where basketball's founder, James Naismith, said the game "really had its origin" even though it was born in Massachusetts; where the motto, "In 49 other states, it's just basketball, but this is Indiana," isn't hyperbole; where 12 of the 13 largest high school gyms in this country exist; where the soul of the game lives today.nAnd in 1993, in Indiana, any magical run to glory still began with winning the eight-team sectional, and, with 1:40 left, the Eagles still led, 59-51.nThen, aided by their turnover-forcing press defense, the Tigers roar back, scoring 8 straight, tying the score at 59 in the final seconds, firing a right baseline jumper as the buzzer wails . . . nThe ball swishes through the net, and Lebanon fans spill onto the court.nGrief swallows the Eagles whole.n"We were right back on the court because we didn't know what else to do with ourselves," Stevens said.nHe had an off night, with 11 points and too many turnovers. He accepts blame, still. The Zionsville Times Sentinel splashed a photo of Eagles coach Dave Sollman hanging his head on its front page. The caption: "A Sectional stunner."nNext year, Eagles fans believe. They'll place their faith in three returning starters from a 15-7 team that won the conference. Next year.n. . .nHe joined the world amid a championship celebration. Early on Oct. 22, 1976, just hours after the Cincinnati Reds finished a World Series sweep of the New York Yankees, Brad Stevens was born in Greenville, S.C., to Jan and Mark, who both hailed from Ohio. nOne of his first memories, he said, But his first memory — "the first I can really remember," he said — is of a basketball goal on his eighth birthday, four years after his family had moved to Zionsville.nThe school bus dropped him off at the entrance to South Maxwell Court in the Colony Woods subdivision. One-10th tenth of a mile separated him from home. The road gently fell, rose, and fell again before dead-ending at the cul-de-sac and their stone, two-story, single-family residence. About halfway there, it came into view: a wooden backboard sitting atop a free-standing post on the driveway's left side.nThat fall morning, his parents had played coy, giving him just a cupcake and a card, Mark recalled. But while Brad was in class at Pleasant View Elementary, they hired professionals to install the goal properly.nOnce he saw it, he sprinted for home, this kid who spent mornings watching VHS tapes of college basketball games before afternoon kindergarten, who spent winter days playing on a miniature hoop in the basement, writing scores and X's and O's on a nearby chalkboard.nHe sprinted as fast as his legs could carry him.n"He was excited as hell," Mark said.nFloodlights allowed him to play into the night, though neighbors sometimes complained about the ruckus. His mother set a curfew — about 10 p.m. in the summer, Stevens recalled — and wouldn't let him to return to the court until about 9 a.m.nThen, in the summer of 1990, a family moved into a brick home a half-mile away and built a backyard court. Duane Monk promised his son, Brandon, that it would be bigger and better than their old one in Terre Haute. It was 50 feet long and had glass backboards on free-standing posts, with free throw lines and 3-point lines. The cement was still settling in August when Stevens showed up. Others joined, too.n"It's truly the 'Field of Dreams' thing for Indiana: 'If you build it, they will come,'?" Brandon Monk said.nnRead more at: http://bo.st/18lztxK nnLike us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/boston nFollow us on Twitter https://twitter.com/BostonDotCom nFollow us on Google+ https://plus.google.com/+BostonDotCom/posts Less
