By Landon Williams
Last year, the students in our own small school Delta were expecting just another ordinary year, or so they thought. The Delta High School boys’ basketball team was here to put that ordinary year to an exciting ending.
The Eagles’ basketball program has been fortunate enough to have had some great players and teams over the years, but there’s something about this team that makes them stand out.
“One of the unique things about basketball is to play in front of a couple thousand people in the big gyms,” varsity basketball head coach Mark Detweiler said. “This group is comfortable with that. There’s no moment too big for them.”
With four junior starters a year ago, the basketball team made it to the Class 3A Final Four in the state of Indiana. They won sectional and regional titles and won the opening round of semistate in front of a packed crowd in Elkhart.
“We feed off the energy from the crowd,” senior varsity basketball starter Jackson Wors said. “It almost makes us better when we have fans that are watching us play,”
Now, being seniors they look to carry on the same energy they had last year and more.
“Everybody knows we can win now, what we can do and how close we were to making it to a state championship, so I think everybody will work a little bit harder just to get there this season,” senior varsity basketball starter D’Amare Hood said.
The expectations are even higher this year as the team will be led by seniors.
The seniors have been friends for years and have played basketball with each other since elementary school.
“We’ve been playing with each other for a while, so we know how we play, and we have a good coach to bring it all together,” varsity senior starter Jayden Furney said.
Furney has been working on himself over the summer to be the best he can for his team.
“I think my attitude has improved a ton, and I think that’s the biggest thing for me,” he said. “Other than attitude I would just say I’ve been working on shooting, trying to be more efficient, trying to be quicker with my dribble, and quicker with my step.”
Wors is the only senior to have not played with everyone else in their younger years. Wors transferred from Blackford High School to Delta in 2021 and quickly became one of the team’s most valuable players.
Although Wors had a strong season his junior year, he played through a right shoulder injury. He is now in the final stages of recovery from the surgery he had in June.
Due to Wors’ injury, he had to change his shooting form last year. He is now more efficient with his shot and feeling confident going into this upcoming season. For the 2023-24 season Wors will be able to play 100 percent again.
The team has played together for so long their chemistry on the court is unmatched.
“I think our teamwork is a big factor and how we can talk to each other and still have a positive relationship,” senior varsity basketball player Kaiden Bond said.
Jonny Manor, another starting senior, is also a key player on Delta’s talented team.
Last year Manor hit a game-winning shot at the end of the semifinal victory over John Glenn High School to advance the Eagles to the final game of semi-state, where they lost to NorthWood.
Although Manor is a key player, he will never be the first guy to shoot the ball as he is a role player.
“I think we have a lot of guys that bring a lot of different things to the table,” Manor said.
Having been playing together for so long, they are excited to share this moment one last time on the basketball court together.
Delta plays their first home game on Nov. 28 at 7:30 p.m. against Daleville High School.
