MINNEAPOLIS — Within the first few seconds of the trailer for the upcoming documentary, "Basketball State: The Land of 10,000 Hoops" director Gabe Hostetler makes it clear that his love for all things Minnesota basketball is deeply personal.
"My first love was basketball," Hostetler said. "Like many young hoopers, I had dreams of going to the NBA."
While those dreams ended after graduating from Robbinsdale Armstrong High School in 2017, Hostetler says his pride for Minnesota's basketball community, and home-grown talent, has only grown stronger.
"I was lucky to play against guys like Tre Jones, McKinley Wright, Gary Trent Jr., a lot of names that went on to go to the NBA," Hostetler said. "The talent here was always clear to me and I think it wasn't until I moved down to L.A. to pursue filmmaking that I realized how underrated we genuinely are."
After growing tired of repeatedly telling anyone who would listen about the growing number of accomplished professional players who have come from Minnesota, Hostetler decided to document it.
"I was like, I need to go home to tell this story so I really put my life on pause out here in LA and flew back home to Minnesota," Hostetler said. "We just jumped head first into shooting this project."
Three years later, he says Basketball State pays tribute many of the state's trailblazers such as Kevin McHale, Jim Petersen, Khalid El-Amin and Lindsay Whalen to name a few. He also documents the rise of homegrown players such as Tyus and Tre Jones, Chet Holmgren and Jalen Suggs who went on to star at major college programs and in the NBA. And that's only the half of it.
"Women's players are also a huge part of this documentary," Hostetler said. "Clearly Whalen and Paige Bueckers have done so much. I also featured the Hill family. Taylor Hill and her sisters really put Minneapolis basketball on the map. We also talk about Tessa Johnson, who just had an incredible run in March madness this year."
Hostetler also documents the excitement around the Minnesota Timberwolves run to the Western Conference Finals, and the way in which the professional teams have helped feed excitement throughout all levels of play.
"It's so cool to see everyone supporting each other," he said. "The Timberwolves support the Lynx, the Lynx support the Timberwolves, the fans support everyone. You see the impact it has and I think more and more people around the country are starting to realize the talent we have here."
Basketball State is set to premier on Oct. 20 at the Twin Cities Film Festival, but Hostetler says the project will eventually be a documentary series, with three more episodes in the works.
Gabe Hostetler: "One (episode) is about the next generation. For another, I actually went overseas and I documented players from Minnesota that are playing in countries all over the world. The final episode is bigger than basketball and that's looking at players once their time on the court."
Kent Erdahl: "Any dream interviews that you haven't landed yet that you're looking forward to?"
Hostetler: "Yeah, I actually have a couple. Lindsay Whalen, first of all you're a legend, we've got to get that interview in. You are a huge inspiration in this project. Kevin Mchale would be a huge one. Jim Petersen, we are working on something right now. The other interview that I need to get is Paige Bueckers. She's a legend. She is carrying the name of the state forward and doing so many incredible things. I think she's gonna be the greatest women's player of all time, with respect to everyone else. That's another big one."
Erdahl: "You came up through this community, but is there anything in covering the community that surprised you?"
Hostetler: "I don't think I realized how much pride that people had in being from Minnesota. I've done over 100 interviews for this project and in every single one of them I asked, 'What does Minnesota mean to you? What does it mean to be from Minnesota?' All those answers have been so profound, (saying) 'It's about representing your state. It's about putting on for the next generation.'"