Hoosiers

In 1951, Norman Dale arrives in rural Hickory, Indiana, to become a high school teacher and head basketball coach of the Huskers. He was hired by his longtime friend, principal Cletus Summers. Speaking with Cletus, Dale thanks him for the opportunity and mysteriously mentions that he hopes things will work out for him this time.

The townspeople are passionate about basketball. They are upset because the best player in town, Jimmy Chitwood, has left the team to focus on his schoolwork. He also is still mourning the death of the previous coach. At a meet-and-greet, Dale tells the townspeople that he used to coach college ball and that has been in the United States Navy for the past ten years. Fellow teacher Myra Fleener, who senses something negative in Dale's past, warns him not to try to persuade Jimmy to change his mind.