For the scene where Dennis Hopper stumbles onto the court drunk during the sectional game, Hopper wanted a 10-second notice before the director called action. He spun around for 10 seconds, allowing him to stagger onto the court and appear drunk. He remembered James Dean in Giant (1956) asking George Stevens for 30 seconds so he could spin around to better feel the inebriation.
The scene with Jimmy and Coach Dale talking while Jimmy shot baskets was filmed in one take. Maris Valainis said that he "wasn't even listening to him. I was just concentrating on making them, and I made one, and they kept going in."
In the locker room before the final game, on the blackboard are the last names of the players on the opposing team. These are the real last names of the actors who make up the Hickory team.
Maris Valainis was told that if he missed the movie's last basket on his first attempt, the fans would still rush the floor in celebration, and he would get another try later. Luckily, when cameras rolled, he made the shot on his first attempt, even though he had missed it repeatedly during rehearsals.
Writer/producer Angelo Pizzo described how Gene Hackman caused problems during filming: "When he arrived, he was in a generally foul mood. We called him the black cloud. He started complaining about everything. There were some blowups on the set, some throwing of jackets and near-fistfights. There was all sorts of drama on the set. Then Dennis Hopper arrived three weeks into shooting, and he settled Gene down. I think Gene decided to just suck it up and finish it and get out of there." According to Pizzo, on the last day of filming, Hackman said, "I just want you to be prepared for the fact that this movie might get on a few screens here in Indiana, but then it will end up in the dustbin of films that never made it, and the only people who will remember it are you two. And I hope I forget it when my plane lands in Los Angeles." Commented Pizzo, "Gene had a lot more experience in filmmaking than we did, so we thought his assessment was probably accurate."