When the Central Christian boys basketball team left the gym after a Nov. 21 practice, everything was normal.
The team had high expectations, and the Cougars had a long-time successful coach, Adam Clark, at the helm. Clark led his team to the Class 1A Division 2 state tournament the year before with a string of stirring upsets.
The next morning, Clark went to Hutchinson Regional Medical Center with tightness in his chest. Before long, he was taken to Wichita, where emergency heart surgery was scheduled for the morning of Nov. 23.
Suddenly, basketball didn’t seem important to the Cougars. All they cared about was whether their coach would live.
The odds were long, but Clark survived. He was even home by Dec. 7.
Meanwhile, the Cougars had a season to play. Assistant coach Caleb Green was promoted to take over for Clark. A Central Christian alumnus known for his sharpshooting in his playing days, Green was in uncharted waters, professionally and personally.
“It was extremely difficult to navigate the things that were happening to Adam, and trying to practice and prepare for the season,” Green said. “There were so many uncertainties with Adam’s health that practices turned more into prayer sessions and discussions about things more important than basketball, knowing that the only way to navigate through that time was to trust in the sovereignty of God and His strength. Once Adam’s health was stabilized, it was easier to get into preparations for the year.”
Because of all the uncertainty surrounding the program, and in part because of Green leading the Cougars to the state tournament, Green is Ad Astra Radio’s area boys basketball coach of the year.
Clark’s health stabilized and improved enough that he later returned to the bench as Green’s assistant. Cody Moore, another Central Christian alumnus, is the Cougars’ other assistant coach.
Clark’s return was a boost for the players, and especially Green and Moore.
“Once Adam was recovering from his surgery, we took the team up to see him,” Green said. “It was an emotional time of praising God for healing Adam. It also helped the guys to be able to process that he was going to be OK, and was a fighter and tough as nails. So once he came back in January, it provided an incredible spark. Just being able to get our full coaching staff together again was an incredible lift for us and gave us a little taste of normalcy.”
The Cougars played a rugged schedule and had some trouble finishing games. As such, they entered postseason play with an unspectacular 10-13 record.
The postseason magic returned, however. The Cougars first routed Chetopa 71-16, and then won at Marmaton Valley 67-40 in the semifinals. That set up the championship game against 20-3, top seed and substate host Hartford. Undaunted, the Celtics beat Hartford 69-59.
“Winning substate was emotional and exhilarating,” Green said. “This team deserved that success. The guys battled through everything, had great attitudes, and patience with me as I learned how to do things. It felt almost surreal, the way our season had gone, and for us to be able to fight through it and play our best ball at the end of the year. And to have Adam on the bench with us after not even knowing if he was going to live, let alone come back this year. I don’t know if I could have written it better for a movie.”
The Celtics fell to Axtell in the first round of the state tournament, but showed they could battle through the most difficult of adversity and still succeed.
Player of the year, Boston Ekart, Sterling – Few players in Kansas caused more headaches than Ekart.
A 6-foot, 5-inch forward, Ekart could drop 3-pointers on you, drive to the basket, and throw down alley-oops. Then, probably for fun, he’d swat your shot at the other end of the floor and start a fast break.
Ekhart was the centerpiece of a dominant Sterling team that went undefeated and secured a second straight Class 2A title. Ekart averaged 22.6 points per game while shooting 58% from the floor and 40% from 3-point range.
Ekart also averaged 7.4 rebounds a game, had 71 steals and 40 blocked shots. And keep in mind, most of Sterling’s games had a running clock in the fourth quarter, as the Black Bears often led by at least 30 points by then. After winning their first two games at the state tournament with a running clock, the Black Bears polished off their unbeaten season with a 59-49 win over Heart of America League rival Berean Academy.
Ad Astra Radio’s All Area boys basketball
First team
Drew Bartell, jr., F, Hesston
Brodie Crites, jr., Central Plains
Boston Ekart, sr., F, Sterling
Jett Pyle, sr., G, McPherson
Noan Sweazy, sr., F, Berean Academy
Player of the year – Boston Ekart, Sterling
Coach of the year – Caleb Green, Central Christian
Second team
Emmett Delp, so., F, St. John
Jack Horsch, sr, G, Andale
Kristian Ryan, sr., F, Smoky Valley
Blake Smith, sr., G, Sterling
Ty Unurh, sr., G, Hesston
Third team
Isaiah Heredia, sr., F, Buhler
Piercen Huff, sr., Central Christian
Eli Reasoner, fr., F, McPherson
Easton Shahan, sr., Moundridge
Quaid Thomas, jr., F, Cheney
Honorable mention: Braxton Alpers, jr., St. John; Cal Barnett, jr., Hutchinson Central Christian; Jayden Benge, sr., Norwich, Riley Brawner, sr., Nickerson; Ethan Brozek, jr., Canton-Galva; Heath Churchill, sr., Moundridge; Cooper Eck, so., Garden Plain; Paco Espinosa, sr., Lyons; Zane Farney, sr., Sterling; Caden Fowler, sr., Andale; Trey Gaddis, sr., Goessel; Jaren Garrison, jr., Little River; Lamar Govain, jr., Hutchinson; Ty Heitschmidt, sr., Smoky Valley; Isaiah Heredia, sr., Buhler; Braxton Hiebert, jr., Hillsboro; Luke Holmberg, sr., Buhler; Larry Jeremiah Jr., jr., Hutchinson; Kaiser Kanitz, sr., Moundridge; Drew Kelly, jr., Norwich; Stephen Kerschen, jr., Cunningham; Cameron Kiser, sr., Trinity Catholic; Ayden, Koehn, jr., Cheney; Emory Kukula, sr., Berean Academy; Kasen Landes, jr., Hesston; Jacob Lewis, so., Sterling; Jameson Miles, jr., Peabody-Burns; Jacob Miller, sr., Buhler; Wyatt Newberry, sr., Sterling; Nate Romero, jr., Elyria Christian; Kustom Schamp, jr., Canton-Galva; Camden Stiles, jr., Central Plains; Beau Towell, jr., Trinity Catholic; Damien Willock, so., Halstead; Dawson Wood, sr., Kingman; Brogan Wray, jr., Haven; Eli Young, jr., Pretty Prairie;
