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Tippecanoe Valley announced the hiring of Eli Henson as their newest boys basketball coach back at the end of April, welcoming last year’s IBCA District 1 Coach of the Year and leader of the reigning 2A state champion Manchester Squires to the program. Henson said he was incredibly thrilled for the opportunity, also noting that he had long wanted to make it to Valley at some point in his career.
It makes sense, as the Viking green and gold is in his blood.
Eli’s grandfather Floyd Henson was Tippecanoe Valley’s first ever basketball coach when the school opened in 1974. Just before that, he coached Eli’s father and uncle at Akron High School. Floyd was at Akron for eleven years and Tippy Valley for four as part of a career that spanned over three decades.
“Its always been something that I thought would be cool towards the end of my career to see how I could do at Valley because of the connection with my grandfather,” Henson said “It’s where my dad would have gone to high school if it had existed. It’s always been in the back of my mind, and as far as timing it worked out perfectly.”
Henson will replace Joe Luce as both the boys head basketball coach as well as the dean of students. Luce left Tippecanoe Valley after accumulating a 54-21 record over three seasons. Like Henson, Luce will remain in the area with a different school. He’ll be taking over a Wawasee program that is coming off of a tough season.
Henson says he’s looking forward to an opportunity out of the classroom.
“It’ll be different. Not too many schools can offer a position like that,” Henson said. “It’s not that I needed a break from the classroom, it was more so I was interested in trying something new and seeing if I enjoy it. I think I will.”
As excited as Henson is to begin this next step in his career, he made sure to note it did come with the cost of the disappointment of having to leave Manchester. Henson led the Squires for the last five seasons, culminating in a dream-like 2024-25 campaign that saw the team go 26-2 and win the first ever state basketball championship in Wabash County history.
“I hated to leave that group of kids that was coming back because we had built a great relationship and a lot of trust in one another,” Henson explained. “It really hurt to do that, but at the end of the day I had to do what’s best for myself and my family. I talked to [the players] about it and I think they’ll understand a lot better as they get older.”
Once the news that Henson would be leaving Manchester reached his players, he says he sat the group down for a long conversation.
“We’re still going to continue our relationship for as long as we can. We were able to accomplish something extremely special. We are bonded together forever because of it,” Henson said. “I’m going to continue to root for them, they’ll always be a big part of my life.”
As he transitions into taking over the Viking program, Henson certainly has his work cut out for him. Tippecanoe Valley put together a fantastic season last winter, going 20-6 before falling in their sectional championship game to Columbia City. However, of that team’s starting five, three graduated and two transferred.
“We’re returning maybe two points from last year. Pretty much that entire roster is gone. A lot of the early going has been figuring out how I want to play and how I’m going to implement it,” Henson said. “We are definitely going to be lacking some experience. It’s a big jump going from JV to varsity, from a mental and physical standpoint. They’ll have to adjust.”
Henson’s 193-113 career record can attest to him getting the most out of his players, and he’s ready to hit the ground running, even if it means having to start building from the ground up once again.
“When you’re at a school for five or six years like I was at Manchester and Whitko, the guys start to know what you’re looking for and what they need to do. Once you go somewhere else, you have to get these guys to buy in all over again,” Henson said. “You’ve got to build the trust and you’ve got to build the relationships. This is a very successful program and I’ve just got to keep it going.”
Henson finished the interview by mentioning he is a big fan of his new commute. He lives in Pierceton, where his wife Stephanie works as an elementary teacher. He plans on stopping at Grace College on his way home during the winter to catch as many games as possible. Two players from Manchester’s state championship team, Gavin Betten and Ethan Hendrix, will be freshmen for the Lancers this season.
