Kyle Cox’s first season as Park Tudor’s head boys basketball coach was particularly eventful. In January 2014, Cox coached his team to a Marion County championship, then the Blue River and Ball State graduate left the gym and headed to a hospital for the birth of his first child, a daughter. The 2013-14 season ended with him leading the Panthers to a state title, his first as a head coach.
Cox will be taking his team back to the state championship game in his second season in the top job. Park Tudor (25-2) will face Frankton (26-2) at 12:45 p.m. Saturday in Bankers Life Fieldhouse for the Class 2A state championship.
Cox said his personal life has been quieter in his second year as head coach. But that doesn’t mean there haven’t been any surprises on the court. During one early season game, Cox watched two of his starters get injured on the same play.
Park Tudor was facing Lawrence Central on Dec. 17, the Panthers’ fifth game of the season. Cox’s team had won each of its first four games by at least 18 points, but this game was tighter.
Park Tudor missed a shot, with Lawrence Central grabbing a defensive rebound and hustling down to try to score a quick basket. Kobe Webster hustled back on defense for the Panthers and was able to get in position to take a charge. Dwayne Gibson was also hustling back on defense, though he was angling to block the shot. Gibson and Webster eventually collided, with Webster picking up a concussion. Gibson left the collision with a strained Achilles tendon.
No matter the injury situation, Cox said the game was likely destined to be the Panthers’ first tight game of the season. Lawrence Central is a Class 4A opponent, and its 11-13 record was a product of one of the toughest schedules in the state.
Cox remembers the double-injury play happening in the third quarter, with his team holding on to a lead of about 6-10 points. The Panthers needed to find a way to hold on for more than a quarter without two starters. They figured it out, clawing their way to a one-point win in overtime as other players stepped up to fill the void.
“All those kids rallied around it,” Cox said. “And we got a good win in overtime. That’s a tournament-style win, when you’ve got (to) grind it out possession-by-possession, and it was good for our team.”
Webster and Gibson missed the rest of the Lawrence Central game, and the Triton Central game that followed (a 64-37 win). Gibson returned against Hamilton Southeastern on Dec. 22, when the Panthers picked up a 48-38 win. Both players had returned when Park Tudor took the court again on Jan. 8 against Noblesville.
The Panthers were still undefeated when the injured players returned, and they kept rolling when Webster and Gibson made it back. Both of Park Tudor’s losses came to highly touted opponents from Class 4A, a 54-47 loss to Southport and a 57-56 defeat to North Central.
Cox said his team has developed a different identity from last year’s group. The 2013-14 Panthers included Trevon Bluiett, who now plays at Xavier. Bluiett brought an average of 35.6 points per game to the state title game last year, then scored 38 points in the championship. The Panthers’ identity last season was based heavily on his scoring and the Panthers’ overall offensive prowess.
This year’s group has been defined more by its defense and rebounding, Cox said.
“We’ve been able to hold some really good teams down in the low 50s and 40s,” he said. “And up until the regional finals, we hadn’t given up over 60 points (to anyone) all year. So I would say, our defense, and then the other thing that I think goes a little bit unnoticed is just our balance. We’ve got five guys averaging right near double-figures in points per game, and it makes it very difficult for teams to defend us.”
As Cox has watched this year’s group develop its identity and reach the state title game, he hasn’t forgotten about the unusual multi-injury play it went through in December. He still uses it as a reminder to his squad that it is capable of handling adversity.
“From a team standpoint, yes, we’ve had some chaotic moments” Cox said. “But it’s prepared us, we’ve handled the adversity well, and I think that’s made us all the better for this Saturday.”
Contact prep sports reporter Sam Wilson at (765) 213-5807. Follow him on Twitter @SamWilsonTSP.