Columbus Hawks coach Jerry Lancaster talks to his team during the conference tournament in Midway, Kentucky.
Submitted photo
When Jerry Lancaster took over a fledgling Columbus Hawks homeschool basketball program five years ago, he could sense that with a strong incoming eighth-grade group, his team could do some big things in the next few years.
After playing a year at the junior varsity level, the Hawks became a varsity program in the 2018-19 season and began to take off. Now in their fourth year of varsity, the Hawks are enjoying their best season as they get ready for the regional tournament, which begins today at the Pacers practice facility at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
“It’s definitely the best team we’ve had,” Lancaster said. “It’s also the most injuries we’ve had, and sickness, too. We’ve gone through some COVID issues. But one of the amazing things about these guys is how we have a guy go down and somebody else steps up. It’s been that way all year.”
The Hawks lost three of their top six players early in the season. Junior point guard Hayden Mosier played only three games before having to have a cyst on his back removed. Senior sixth man Harrison Hudson tore an ACL after seven games. Senior Eli Tinsley broke his wrist right before the season started and missed almost two months before returning just before Christmas.
“It’s different because since the fourth game of the season, we haven’t played with everybody on the team,” senior Jack Farnsley said. “So it’s definitely a different year than I was expecting, but we’ve been doing a lot better than we have in the past. We have a lot of great, hard-working guys.”
The 6-foot-7 Farnsley leads the Hawks with 21.2 points, 8.7 rebounds, 2.1 steals and 1.1 blocks per game. Hayden Stamper, a 6-0 senior, averages 20.1 points, 3.9 rebounds and 2.2 assists.
“We were fortunate starting a new program because we had two guys like this who were not only extremely good basketball players, but extremely high-character guys as well,” Lancaster said. “Both of these guys could play at any public school here and be starting on those teams. Both of these guys have had colleges looking at them, and I think have the ability to play at that level. These guys are two-year captains, and I’ve really seen a lot of growth and leadership out of both of them.”
Junior Sammy Dukes and senior Josiah Linnemann also are starters. Sophomore David Cline and Tinsley have shared the point guard duties, along with Dukes, since Mosier was lost for the season. Ayden Pittman, the team’s sixth senior, also sees considerable action.
“It’s been a really good year,” Stamper said. “I think we’ve grown a lot in leadership skills in communication on the court and off the court.”
Farnsley agreed.
“I think being with these guys for as long as I’ve been with them has really helped me grow as a leader and a player,” Farnsley said. “It’s really helped me grow with who I am as a person and my character. All the guys and our referees here and the coaches have really helped me along the way. I definitely think that our team this year has grown to a level that I never thought we could get to. We really came together this year as a team, and I’m just ready to keep pushing it until the end.”
The Hawks are 23-13 this season, playing against mostly other homeschool programs, but also a few Christian schools from southern Indiana. They’re one win away from tying their program record for wins set last year when they went 24-20.
“We’re having a good year,” Lancaster said. “We play a lot of really tough competition. We are trying to schedule some public schools. So far, we have not been successful in getting them to play us.”
Last week, the Hawks hosted a portion of the homeschool state tournament and lost to the Indy Wildcats, who are ranked 10th in the country.
The regional is today through Saturday and features 60 teams in three divisions. The Hawks are among 18 teams in Division I, the top division.
The Columbus Hawks will open against the Marion (Ohio) Hawks. The Columbus Hawks fell to the Marion Hawks 66-52 the second game of the season.
“We got a tough draw,” Lancaster said. “It will be a chance to get a little revenge there if we can, but there are a lot of good teams up there. I don’t know if we have real high expectations of winning that, but that’s going to have a lot to do with our seeding for nationals.”
No matter how they fare this weekend, the Columbus Hawks will head to Springfield, Missouri, for the homeschool nationals, which start March 14. They have won a Silver Ball and a Bronze Ball for second- and third-place finishes in previous years and are looking to bring home a Gold Ball this year.
“That is the goal,” Farnsley said. “Of course the greatest goal is always national champs. That’s a big goal, but I’m willing to push for it.”
