Hauser’s Taeshaun Tungate drives to the basket March 7 during the Milan Sectional semifinal against Trinity Lutheran.
Dakota Locker | For The Republic
HOPE — Taeshaun Tungate learned the varsity ropes when he saw a lot of time on the court as a freshman.
Tungate has been part of the core of the Hauser boys basketball team the past four years. The Class A No. 2 Jets look to make history when they will play in the Seymour Semistate on Saturday.
It took a lot of patience for Tungate after not getting out of the sectional round until this year. Hauser wrapped up its first regional title since 2006 when it defeated Indianapolis Lutheran 70-52 Saturday.
The Jets finished below .500 two years ago, but now are two wins away from a trip to Gainbridge Fieldhouse for the state finals.
“It’s really exciting,” Tungate said. “It didn’t start off so great, but to have a happy ending for us right now for us seniors, we want to win the big prize. When coach (Trent) Moorhead took over this program, he developed us. I wouldn’t be as skilled or nowhere near the player I am now without him.”
Moorhead said a lot of Tungate’s improvement is the ability for him to be coachable on the court and off the court.
“He knows how to be a great teammate and a positive peer, but a lot of it is that he’s coachable,” Moorhead said. “He wants to be better and be the best version of himself… Having a really solid structure and guys around him in terms of his teammates that want to see him succeed. He’s bought in the last four years. It’s been really special to watch him grow and mature.”
Tungate has been a model of consistency for Hauser this season. He is third on the team in points (11.3), rebounds (4.0), assists (2.4) and steals (1.3) per game.
Moorhead said Tungate also has been a solid locker room guy and leads by example in practices and drills.
“What I’ve been really impressed about with Taeshaun is how he’s taken what he was good at as a freshman and sophomore and has become great at it,” Moorhead said. “With his ability to get downhill and get to the rim, he’s become such a strong finisher in the paint, whereas when he was younger, he struggled with some contact toward the rim, so he’s really been a much stronger player at the rim.
“Defensviely, he’s gotten so much better at guarding the basketball. I think he’s one of, if not the best, on-ball defender in our area in terms of ball pressure and being able to keep the basketball in front of him,” Moorhead added. “He can really rattle the opposing teams’ point guards, and that’s something that might get overlooked in the course of the game. When the opposing point guard isn’t able to get into a rhythm and get things organized, it has a big effect on the team, and Taeshaun has been disrupting the opposing team with that style of defense all year long. He’s been a pivotal piece of our success, so really proud of what he’s done and excited for what’s ahead of him still.”
After finishing 11-14 in Tungate’s freshman season, the Jets were still a young team, even with the strong incoming freshman class two years ago. The bond, chemistry and varsity experience the players have had the past three years has finally showed this year. Hauser is 24-3 heading into Saturday’s semistate semifinal matchup against Class A No. 4 Orleans.
“It’s been a great ride,” Tungate said. “It’s been a fun ride with these guys. They’re like my family. We knew since the eighth grade that when we got to a certain age, we’d run through it with everyone.”
Tungate and the Jets will look to be the second team in school history to reach to the state championship game. It won’t be easy with three of the top-four ranked teams in their semistate bracket.
“We’ve got to have the same mindset every time,” Tungate said. “We’re not the underdogs anymore. We’ve got to know that. They can’t take us lightly anymore, and we can’t take anyone else likely. We can’t overlook anybody, and we’ve got to keep playing as a family and loving basketball everyday.”
