Keegan Bell spins a basketball on his finger during a recent UTC practice at McKenzie Arena.INDIANAPOLIS — University of Tennessee at Chattanooga coach John Shulman strolled into Hinkle Fieldhouse and gazed around the inside of the college basketball museum.
He helped coach a clinic in there once.
Yet for a moment Monday, before he led the Mocs through one of their best practices of this young season, he reverted to being a fan.
Shulman soaked in the aura of being in Butler University’s gym, which began hosting basketball games in 1928, spent seven decades as home of Indiana high school championships and is the setting for dramatic scenes of the movie “Hoosiers.”
“What a great opportunity to walk into this museum, but when it’s happening, it’s hard to appreciate it while you’re doing it,” said Shulman, whose team will play Butler, the 2010 and ’11 national runner-up, tonight at 7. “Look at this place. If you’re a basketball purist, this is a special place.”