Purdue Basketball Icon and Trailblazing High School Star Rick Mount — The First Male Prep Athlete to Ever Grace the Cover of Sports Illustrated — Is Finally Getting the Netflix Documentary Every Hoops Fan Has Been Waiting For
Basketball fans, mark your calendars and clear your watchlists — the long-overdue story of one of the greatest shooters in college basketball history is coming to Netflix. That’s right: Rick Mount, the Purdue Boilermakers legend and high school phenom who once electrified Indiana with his silky jump shot, is the subject of a new Netflix documentary set to explore the incredible highs and overlooked chapters of his career.
Long before YouTube highlights and Instagram mixtapes, Rick Mount was a sensation. As a senior at Lebanon High School in Lebanon, Indiana, Mount made history by becoming the first male high school athlete ever featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated — a groundbreaking moment for prep sports in America. That iconic 1966 cover immortalized a kid whose smooth shooting stroke and scoring brilliance had already made him a household name in Indiana and a national phenomenon.
Mount would go on to light up the scoreboard at Purdue, becoming a two-time All-American and leading the Boilermakers to the 1969 NCAA championship game. His shooting ability was so ahead of its time that many still call him the greatest pure shooter the college game has ever seen.
But what happened after his college glory? The documentary dives deep into the professional limbo that followed. Despite being a coveted prospect, NBA general managers knew that Mount had already signed with the upstart ABA, which led to the Los Angeles Lakers selecting him only in the eighth round of the 1970 NBA Draft. He instead suited up in the ABA, playing for teams like the Indiana Pacers and Kentucky Colonels — where his legacy became part of a league that was wild, innovative, and underappreciated.
With rare footage, emotional interviews, and a look into how Mount’s story shaped Indiana basketball forever, this Netflix documentary promises to shine a spotlight on one of the sport’s most legendary — and under-celebrated — figures.
For anyone who loves college hoops, underdog stories, or the golden age of basketball, this is must-watch history.