Jennings County coach Josh Land chats with Keegan Manowitz during a game against Columbus North Nov. 25, 2022 at Jennings County High School.
The Republic file photo
When Josh Land took the Jennings County boys basketball head coaching job seven years ago, this year’s seniors were in fifth grade.
Land knew then that the group had a chance to be something special.
With seven seniors playing key roles, the Panthers are off to their best start in school history. They’re 10-0 going into perhaps their toughest weekend of the season.
“I knew this group was special when they were in second, third, fourth grade playing together,” Land said. “When I took this job, this was definitely a group I was excited about coaching.”
Land, a 2003 Hauser graduate, admitted he wasn’t much of a basketball player in high school. But his first year out of college, in 2007, then-Jennings coach George Grubbs asked him to become an assistant.
After Grubbs retired following that 2007-08 season, the Panthers went through five head coaches in the next eight years before Land took over. Since then, Land has provided a level of stability to the program.
This year, Jennings is winning games that may have gotten away from it in previous years. Following a season-opening win against Whiteland, the Panthers beat Columbus North for the first time in 12 years, then have run off eight consecutive double-digit wins.
“This group has been together since we were young in elementary school,” said Keegan Manowitz, a four-year starter at point guard. “We’re a lot older now. We’re a lot more mature. We’ve been playing together for awhile now, so we’ve been clicking, and we’ve been able to beat some teams that we haven’t in the past.”
Manowitz leads a group of five starters averaging between 8.5 and 15 points a game. Along with his 14.8 points, Manowitz leads the team with 7.3 assists and 2.1 steals.
Right behind Manowitz is his cousin, sophomore guard Carter Kent, at 13.7 points and 3.9 assists. Kent’s father and Manowitz’s uncle Rob Kent led Jennings to its most recent sectional and regional titles in 1998.
Senior guard Owen Law averages 11.5 points and 4.6 rebounds, while Lane Zohrlaut averages 9.9 points and 4.6 rebounds and fellow senior post player Justin Ramey adds 8.5 points and 4.3 rebounds. Coming off the bench are freshman Parker Elmore (6.6 ppg, 4.1 rpg), junior Cole Sigler (4.5 ppg) and seniors Matt Hines (1.6 ppg) and Cole Marksberry (1.0 ppg). Another senior, Darius Thomas, is expected to see his first action of the season this weekend.
“I think everybody on our team has improved a little bit,” Land said. “You have the seniors we have, and then you throw in Carter Kent and Cole Sigler, who have been playing together a long time. We share the ball. We move the ball well. We just have really good team chemistry.”
The Panthers rank fifth in the state in scoring with 72.1 points a game and 10th with a 22.1-point margin-of-victory average. The balance, Land said, has been huge, as has their 19-to-8 assist-to-turnover per game average.
“We do have some depth,” Land said. “I have nine or 10 guys that I trust to put in there. We’ve had six leading scorers this year. It seems like somebody different steps up each night. Teams have to pick their poison. We have no selfish players, and we care about winning more than anything else.”
“Everyone is playing really hard and playing really unselfish basketball, and coaches are putting us in good positions to win,” Manowitz added. “We’re playing well as a team and playing together.”
The schedule gets a little tougher beginning this weekend. Jennings visits Class 2A No. 4 Brownstown Central (9-2) on Friday, then hosts 4A No. 7 Center Grove (10-1) on Saturday.
The Panthers are ranked No. 12 in 4A by the Associated Press this week and No. 19 overall by the Indiana Basketball Coaches Association.
“We’ve had quite a few home games already, and every night, it seems like our crowd grows a little bit,” Land said. “I expect to have two huge crowds this weekend. They’re maybe the top two teams we’ll play this year. They’re both really good.”
While winning Hoosier Hills Conference and sectional titles remain the top priorities, remaining undefeated isn’t an unrealistic goal.
“I think it’s possible,” Land said. “When I look at our schedule, I don’t see any teams that we can’t be competitive with. But being undefeated, we do have a target on our back. Our goal is to win the sectional, and that’s what we practice for every day.”
“The big goal is just winning sectional,” Manowitz added. “From there, anything is possible in March.”
