Greenfield embraces hometown hero Braylon Mullins
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- Braylon Mullins hit a dagger 3-pointer with less than half a second remaining to beat Duke and send UConn to the Final Four, fulfilling a recruiting promise that coach Dan Hurley had made to his family.
- Greenfield, Indiana (pop. ~25,000, 27 miles from Lucas Oil Stadium) renamed Depot Street to 'Braylon Avenue,' hung a framed No. 24 UConn jersey at The Depot bar, and tried to switch I-70 overpass lights to UConn blue but couldn't find the right LED shade.
- Luke Meredith, Mullins' high school coach at Greenfield-Central, texted Hurley and assistant Luke Murray right after the Duke shot: 'You did what you promised. Now I'm going to need some tickets!'
- Josh Mullins, Braylon's father, played at IUPUI and made the all-tournament team when the 16-seeded Jaguars reached the 2003 NCAA tournament, losing 95-64 to No. 1 Kentucky — a Cinderella pedigree the son is now extending.
- The Hoosiers movie bus and Gene Hackman's 1951 Chevy both reside in Greenfield, and the town planned caravans down U.S. Highway 40 to Indianapolis mirroring the film's famous scene.
- Greenfield-Central High's marquee reads 'GC IS PROUD OF YOU BRAYLON,' and city limit signs now list him alongside 1996 Olympic gymnastics gold medalist Jaycie Phelps as a hometown notable.
Why it matters: Greenfield is essentially living out its own 'Hoosiers' script, with the Final Four venue sitting just 27 miles from a town that owns the film's actual bus and Gene Hackman's Chevy. For UConn, Mullins represents a recruiting promise kept; for Greenfield, renamed streets, a framed jersey, and planned Highway 40 caravans turn a tournament run into a generational civic moment.
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