Indiana Mad Ants' close Fieldhouse chapter, honor Steph Hicks’ legacy
The Pacers' G League affiliate, the Indiana Mad Ants, have played home games at Gainbridge Fieldhouse since 2021. Starting next season, they can form a new identity and build a fan base in Noblesville
The Indiana Mad Ants were given a road-heavy schedule to conclude another NBA G League Schedule. Their home finale on Monday is just their only home game over a three-week stretch.
It’s a big one, however, for many reasons.
First, they control their own destiny to the postseason. Just six of the 16 teams in the Eastern Conference will advance and if they win out (with three games left) they are in. No matter what league it is, no matter what challenges had to be overcome, the playoffs are the goal.
Second, the team is referring to Monday’ as “Steph Hicks Day” to celebrate the career of a player who has been with the franchise through so much over the last decade.
And lastly, and perhaps largest of them all, is it’s the final home game for the team at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
The end of an era.
The Mad Ants host the Windy City Bulls, the worst team in the 16-team Eastern Conference, at 12:30 p.m. Monday. And even though the Pacers have also denied me a credential to the Mad Ants (without explanation) for the first time, I’m not allowing that to keep me from telling a significant story about a franchise that I’ve been covering for more than a decade. There are good stories everywhere.
Over the last four years, Pacers Sports & Entertainment offered players of their G League affiliate a special and memorable experience playing home games in an NBA arena. They practice, lift weights, and get shots up at the Ascension St. Vincent Center, just like the Pacers. It’s available 24/7 to this team, as long as the Pacers aren’t using it.
“We've tried to really celebrate the fact that we've played in the NBA arena and have had access to NBA facilities, not just for practices, but games as well,” Mad Ants general manager Chris Taylor said. “I know there is that bit of excitement that can't be overlooked when our players have a chance to go out on the Pacers’ court. Guys still appreciate the fact that when we play on one of the unique, special courts, you can still see the excitement in everyone's faces when they go out.
“It's obviously not the norm in the G League.”
There’s the same Pacers stats crew, PA announcer, ball kids, and even a third-person broadcast team. Every home game has had a big-game feel, even if it is hard to attract a crowd when most games are at 12:30 p.m.
“How could you not be a little bit more motivated at the G League level when you are playing in an NBA facility?” Taylor continued. “We always talk about better basketball opportunities and a lot of the times, that is the NBA carrot that's dangling. So when it's staring you in the face every day and every home game, how could you not find a little bit added motivation to really put in all the work that you possibly could?
“It shows a lot of these other NBA teams that they truly believe in what the G League is about — invest time, financially, effort, all those things, into building a G League program to something that can truly help out the NBA program. That's why we're here at the end of the day.”
Having the Mad Ants not only in town, as opposed to two hours away in Fort Wayne, gets more NBA eyes on the players and enables the Pacers to utilize it even more as a developmental league.
They assigned rookie Johnny Furphy to the team nine times, including for this home finale. Jarace Walker used it to get some more game reps and build confidence as he saw playing time evaporate after several Pacers teammates returned from injury.
“There's been a ton of assignments, and it's led to a lot more conversations. When we play in the afternoon of a doubleheader and then Pacers at night, we’re constantly talking through some of our younger players, not just two-ways and then assignees who could suit up for the Mad Ants and get some valuable minutes,” Taylor said.
“And then even if they still needed to be active that night for the Pacers, something that you certainly have to take advantage of when it's literally in the same building.”
The Mad Ants first held part of their home schedule at The Fieldhouse during the 2021-22 season. That continued for another season.
Then before the 2023-24 season, the team officially moved from Fort Wayne to Indianapolis, including the business and basketball staff. As part of the move, they agreed to a partnership with Noblesville to play their home games about 35 minutes north of downtown Indianapolis.
However, the arena wasn’t built yet. They broke ground on Nov. 6, 2023, and it should be ready for the start of the 2025-26 season.
“Once Noblesville was officially named the location, and it's always something in the back of our mind, I've said excited a few times,” said Taylor, “but that word is overwhelmingly present with the fact from the team side — yeah, to have our new identity, have a city that we'll be able to call home, and something unique with us being the only pro basketball team in Noblesville with such close ties to downtown Indy and the Pacers, just really excited about that.”
Early studies done by Noblesville expect the team to have an estimated economic impact of $20-$30 million, but that was before they moved the location to just off I-69. A better location with great visibility.
“I think our return on investment is going to be huge for the community,” Noblesville Mayor Chris Jensen told me at the groundbreaking. “We’ll have further studies as we go along, but we’re comfortable with our investment going forward.”
The 123,000-square-foot arena will have about 4,200 seats and be in the middle of a district they’re working to establish.
On Feb. 3, they officially rebranded the Noblesville Events Center to The Arena at Innovation Mile. The Pacers are expected to sell naming rights to the arena, but REV Entertainment will serve as the operator of the venue.
“I think you can just tell the city's really embraced the team already,” Taylor said. “And it’s going to be even more impactful once we're officially there. I'm excited for tickets to start being sold and the arena to be completed and we're able to see everything come to fruition.
Taylor also emphasized how the team is involved in the community. Once they get through NBA Summer League in July, the offseason, and start filling out the roster, he expects that community to grow even more. “We’re really excited about that too,” he said.
Added Mad Ants coach Tom Hankins: “We go to a lot of places that do have really good home courts, really good crowds, and you know the state of Indiana is going to support basketball. I think in that part of town, we can start to carve our own niche. It just makes the players feel so much more important when they have a great crowd at every game.”
Steph Hicks has seen it all. He’s played for the Mad Ants during an ownership change, when the Pacers bought the franchise in 2015. That was his rookie year. He went from being the rookie to playing 30 minutes per game and averaging 15 points, to now taking on a role as mentor.
In the history of the franchise, there’s a couple players who stood out more than others. Ron Howard aka Mr. Mad Ant is one, and Hicks is another. Howard, who serves as the analyst for home broadcasts, has most of the franchise records and his No. 19 jersey was retired by the franchise.
“Just so incredibly proud of Steph, not just as a player, but as a person as well,” Taylor said. “The fact that Steph dedicated so much of his effort and professional career to the Mad Ant organization is just a testament to who he is.”
The 32-year-old guard went undrafted out of Cal State Northridge in 2015, then was acquired in a G League draft night trade by the Mad Ants. And he's been with them ever since. He was the recipient of the 2024 Mr. Mad Ant award (as seen in the photo above).
Steph Hick is the franchise leader in seasons played (8), wins (162), games played (270), points (3,115), rebounds (1,377), and single-season 3-point percentage (47).
“In the G League, you don't have many opportunities to celebrate a full career at the pro level,” Taylor said. “And his dedication and loyalty to our organization has been incredible. So Monday will be a really fun opportunity to celebrate somebody, see No. 17 immortalized. And we'll have a chance to put a spotlight on Steph.
“The last couple of years that he's been with us, he's taken on more of a mentor role in our locker room and he’s been impactful for some of our younger players, just teaching them the ropes of being a pro. Steph's played overseas and has had a lot of experiences at this level. And he's got such a good demeanor about him.”
As you can tell, Taylor has a lot to say about Hicks, who notably earned a call-up by the Pacers in Jan. 2019. That earned him a 10-day NBA contract.
Yes, he's spent some time playing overseas. However, this Los Angeles kid has made Indianapolis his second home.
“He loves to teach and take guys under his wing,” Taylor continued. “So, a lot of these guys that have played for us the last couple of years, they really didn't see the dominant Steph that was in conversations for call-ups routinely, one of the top players in the G League over the years and playing summer league and the all-time leading scorer at Cal State Northridge, all those kinds of things.
“They see the more vet version. Steph was dominant on the court, which I got to see a little bit when I first transitioned to the Mad Ants (from the Pacers). So Monday will be a full day of celebrating those things because the impact that he's made is pretty cool. There's nobody more deserving — and there are some surprises in the mix.”
The Mad Ants are 18-3 in the regular season with three games left. That's good enough to secure the final roster spot (or potentially move up).
The impressive thing about it is they’ve done it without their three players on two-way contracts for much of the season, but especially early on. Remember Quenton Jackson leading the Pacers down in Houston? Because of so many injuries to the Pacers for the first two months of the season, Jackson, rookie Johnny Furphy, and others were needed up with the parent team.
With that in mind, I wondered how Taylor felt about this season and nearing closer to securing a postseason spot.
“Making the postseason in the G League is definitely not easy,” said Taylor. “Like you said, with all the inconsistencies and ups and downs, and changes in a G League roster, our coaches have to have game plans, A, B, C, D, plus X, Y, Z. So huge credit to those guys for locking in and keeping our players engaged through the different changes.
“Then credit to the players for remaining locked in. It’s an opportunistic league, for sure, and I think this season for us is maybe the biggest example of that that we've ever had. Due to the unexpected nature of the Pacers’ injuries, we've had one of the least amounts of two-way usage at the G League level. Our two-ways spent a lot of time upstairs with Pacers and our (standard) roster players have certainly stepped up to the plate, which is not always easy.
“We've got three games left and we control our own destiny. If we can win these games and we guarantee a spot in, it’s exciting and a credit to our players for staying positive. Not having the two-ways or assignment guys as much as we had probably predicted, it would be an easy thing to be like, well, I’m just going to go off for myself and try to get my own stats — but the guys have not done that. They remain team-focused and that's why we're seeing the team success.”
Following Monday’s game, the Mad Ants wrap up their regular-season schedule later this week with two games against Grand Rapids Gold.