The Manchester Squires basketball team has already accomplished a feat no team before them has in reaching the state finals. While that is incredibly impressive in its own right, head coach Eli Henson will tell you that the job isn’t finished yet.
“We celebrated a bit on Saturday night [after the semi-state], but to be completely honest with you, all of my attention is on how we are going to win one more game and finish what we started,” he said. “Once the season is over it’ll be nice to reflect and look back at all that we were able to accomplish, but right now, we’re focused on winning one more game.”
The opportunity to win a state championship is not lost on Henson, who is in his 14th year coaching. Before this run, Henson had won just one sectional title back in 2014 as the head coach of North White. After five years there and four at Whitko, he’s been the head man of the Squires for the past five years, and he said it’s been an experience that’s made him a better coach.
“These guys have helped me grow so much. The semi-state especially. We’ve won a lot of games by big margins this year so for us to be able to close out some close games, that was huge,” he said. “I’ve waited eleven years now to go on a postseason run. For us to finally put it all together this year, it’s pretty incredible.”
Putting it together is an understatement. The Squires head into the state championship with a record of 25-2 and an average margin of victory of 23.44, good enough for fifth in the state and No. 1 in 2A. The team’s only two losses this season came to Homestead and Maconaquah, a pair of teams that had their seasons ended just last week in the 4A and 3A semi-state round.
A lot of that comes from a senior class that Henson invested in early. The team’s top two players, Gavin Betten and Ethan Hendrix, have been starters on varsity for all four years. They credit their coach for helping them make the developments that have gotten them to where they are today.
“He’s done everything for me. He’s let me lead this team for the last four years. He’s put so much trust into me,” Betten said. “I feel like that’s why we’re where we are today. He’s given us opportunities that not a lot of kids get and it’s paid off for us.”
“He opens up the gym early when I ask, he comes in during the summer when I ask, he’s done everything possible to help me grow as a player,” Hendrix said.
Now, Hendrix, Betten and five other seniors will play one final game wearing the Manchester uniform, with a chance to bring home the school’s first state championship since the 2002 baseball team won the only state title in school history.
Standing in their way are the University Trailblazers of Carmel. Similar to the Squires, University is making its first ever appearance in the state finals in basketball, while boasting a single state championship in baseball from the 2019 season.
The similarities stop there. While Manchester enters the game ranked No. 4 in 2A with that aforementioned 25-2 mark, the Trailblazers enter the game unranked with a record of 20-9, the most losses of any of the eight teams playing for a state championship on Saturday.
Five of those losses came in December as part of a 3-6 start for the team. Since then, University has played much better, and comes into the state championship winners of seven in a row. They’ll pose a challenge to the Squires in a variety of ways.
“The more I watch them, the more I see that even though they have four or five guys that can hurt you from the perimeter, the first thing they’re going to do is try to get to the rim. They do a great job defensively with the pressure they put on,” Henson said. “I think we’re going to have an advantage getting the ball inside, and we’re going to try to touch the paint as early as possible to see what they do with it.
“They’re very deep. You have to be weary about it, but I’m more focused on how we’re playing right now. At this stage of the year, you can prepare all you want, but you have to be ready to go out and play.”
Max McComb leads the team in points per game (15.1), assists (3.6) and steals (2.4). Blake Gray averages 11.6 a night, while Cooper Cammack grabs 5.5 boards a game. In total, five different players average five points or more per game for University.
“We have to take away their shooters, keep our intensity up defensively,” Betten said. “I know our offense will be ready to go.”
While Manchester has been on the right end of plenty of blowouts this season, last week’s semi-state as well as the two regular season losses served as some learning moments for a team that has largely rolled through a good portion of the season.
“Those games helped us figure out how hard we have to work. We’ve learned a lot about ourselves from those losses,” Henson said. “It’s okay to lose as long as you learn something and we did. Our toughness has gone up since that Homestead game. Our defensive intensity is through the roof. We just keep getting better and better.”
While Saturday’s trip to Gainbridge Fieldhouse is definitely a business trip, the team isn’t forgetting to enjoy the moment with each other.
“I’m looking forward to just spending time with the guys. Being able to play in that gym is going to be awesome,” Betten said. “I know the community is going to come out and support us, they’ve been awesome all season. It’s my last game so I’m going to cherish it.”
Tipoff for the 2A state championship game is expected at 12:45 ET.