Thanks to the Manchester Squires, we know that the local boys basketball season will end this Saturday.
Manchester won their semi-state on Saturday and they will represent our area in the state finals Saturday at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
It sounds incredibly cliché, but it doesn’t really matter if Manchester wins or loses Saturday. The fact that they made it to Indy for the first time ever is the story.
I wanted to take time today to recap the boys basketball season and project forward to the future, even though the Squires still have one more game to play.
I will start with Warsaw since it’s my column and they’re my team to broadcast.
Two years ago, Coach Matt Moore invested practice time and game time in some sophomores in his program, and this year bore the fruit of that investment.
Warsaw won 25 of their 30 games, setting a school record for games played and coming up one win short of tying the school record for wins in a single season. They lost both games in the Hall of Fame Classic in New Castle, but they are one of six teams over seven of 30 games this season that played #1 Fishers to within 10 points (Westfield did it twice). As a matter of fact, the 4A Final Saturday is Fishers and Jeffersonville, both of whom the Tigers took to the final minute of their games in the Hall of Fame tournament.
The Tigers went 8-2 after their star shooting guard Luke Bricker’s knee came apart on him, which is a testament to the depth of this senior class, the resolve of their makeup, and the steadfastness of Coach Matt Moore.
When you graduate 8 players from your 12-man roster, there is certainly going to be work to do for next season. But the cupboard is not barren, and there could be more young players to take chances on for the years ahead.
Tippecanoe Valley had their best season under Joe Luce in what turned out to be their last season under Luce’s direction.
The Vikings went 20-6 and lost to Columbia City in overtime in the NorthWood sectional final.
As a matter of fact, five of their six losses were to teams that won their sectional and Hauser, Homestead, and the affore-mentioned Manchester played in semi-states last week.
Under Luce, there was an obvious movement to beef up their schedule and expose the program to a broader range of teams around the state. They played more city schools and teams from outside their normal scheduling boundaries than in history. And it certainly didn’t hurt them.
But the price they paid for that was high. They don’t play Triton anymore, and at a time when money is tight and budgets are challenged, Valley and Triton need to play because the gate is too good for them not to.
First things first, Valley needs to find a new head coach.
Hopefully they find one who sees the value in the right blend of local games and games to push the program outside of its comfort zone.
Speaking of Triton, those calling for new leadership of the Trojans two years ago when they went 12-11 were wrong.
Jason Groves is their coach and no one there should ever think otherwise under he says he’s ready to stop.
The Trojans proved that defense can still be a winning identity and can lead a team to a long tournament run.
No one in Indiana, in any class, allowed fewer points per game than they did (34.82) and the second-closest team was more than a point higher than that.
Unfortunately for them, they ran into the 30th-ranked scoring offense in the state in the semi-state semifinal at Lafayette Saturday.
It was a terrific season for Triton, and they have a lot to be proud of.
And Manchester is still going.
All of North Manchester showed up in Michigan City Saturday for the semi-state, and the long drive home didn’t seem so long after holding off Gary 21st Century in the final.
A 25-2 record where their only losses were to Homestead and Maconaquah, both who won regionals, is special.
But it made people in the community think about how long it had been since the Squires were in the semi-state. That would be 1994, when Mo Smedley had a team of characters that included kids named Pitts, Eberly, Carr and Gilbert did the job in the single-class format.
That was a fun group of guys to cover, and they were really good at playing basketball.
Gavin Betten is scoring 26 points and grabbing 11 boards a game, and no one in Indiana outside of our area has heard of him…until this week.
Now, the whole state is going to see him play, and Grace College can’t wait to get him on their campus.
For Wawasee, it was a season of what might have been.
Three of their former players were at NorthWood, one was at Warsaw and another was at Concord. Put them on the same roster in Syracuse, and the Warriors season looks very different this winter.
I’d like to be able to tell you with more certainty what the future holds for our area teams, but new rules for transferring in Indiana take effect June 1. It feels like that day will be like a statewide national signing day, with kids and their parents holding press conferences to announce where they will be playing next season. Ok, that might be a bit of an exaggeration, but maybe not.
It’s been a fun season. Hope you enjoyed it too.
Go Squires!