'These guys believed': Delaware Hayes boys basketball ready for first state tournament
When the Delaware Hayes boys basketball team competed in scrimmages at University of Dayton Arena in June, coach Adam Vincenzo challenged his players to make a return trip in March for the Division I state tournament.
The Pacers have done exactly that, earning the program’s first state berth. Delaware takes a 21-game winning streak into a semifinal against Cleveland St. Ignatius (24-3) at 5:15 p.m. Saturday, with the winner to face Centerville (17-8) or Toledo Whitmer (25-2) in the championship game at 8:30 p.m. Sunday.
“We played two or three games in the arena on the main floor,” Vincenzo said. “We were getting ready to play and I brought them together and asked them to look around. (I asked), 'can you vision yourself playing here in front of 10,000 people next March,' and they said yes. I said, 'all right, because it can happen.' I planted the seeds early. I truly believed that was something we were capable of doing. These guys believed it.”
Delaware (27-1) won its first district title since 1986, beating Walnut Ridge 90-76 on March 9, and then captured its first regional championship by defeating Olentangy Orange 74-56 last Saturday. The Pacers avenged a 54-39 loss to Orange in a 2023 district final.
Expectations have been high all season for Delaware given the team is led by 6-foot-5 senior guard/forward Jesse Burris, a four-year starter and Ohio University signee, and 6-7 junior forward Landon Vanderwarker, who transferred to his home district high school from Northside Christian after being first-team all-state and Central District Player of the Year last season in Division IV.
Vanderwarker is second on the team in scoring (15.0 points) and leads in rebounding (7.5 per game), while Burris is first in scoring (15.7) and second in rebounding (6.1). Vanderwarker was named first-team all-OCC-Capital and second-team all-district, and Burris was first-team all-district and OCC-Capital Player of the Year.
“We had the pieces, so we just had to put them together,” Burris said. “We did that, and we have to keep going. Landon added a bunch of versatility. He can pass, dribble, shoot and he’s (6-7). There’s not much more you could ask for.”
Delaware also has received contributions from several other players, including 6-4 senior guard/forward Jake Lowman, who is averaging 7.9 points after being named second-team all-state and first-team all-district in football last fall as the Pacers' quarterback.
“We went to a district final last year and lost to a pretty good team,” Lowman said. “We knew we had a lot of talent coming back, then Landon came in and we knew we were for real.”
Sophomore point guard Jeremiah Russell averages 10.0 points, and junior guard Carter Piatt-Brown averages 7.2 points.
Scouting state: Breaking down the semifinals
While the Pacers have received a balanced effort on the court, Vincenzo has been an invaluable leader from the bench. In his fifth season, the 37-year-old has the Pacers two wins from their first state title.
“Coach means a lot,” Burris said. “He turned it around. We were still good before he was the head coach, but he brought a different type of edge and culture that pushed us over the top.”
Vincenzo, who graduated from St. Clairsville in 2005 and Wheeling Jesuit in 2009, takes pride in having attended the state tournament every year since he was 10. He attended his first three with his father, Paul, a former assistant coach at St. Clairsville.
When Vincenzo was 12, his dad, a self-employed painter, fell off scaffolding and suffered a traumatic brain injury. Paul, who usually attends one game each season, is expected to be in Dayton on Saturday.
“The state tournament is special for me for a lot of reasons,” Vincenzo said. “Coaching in it is a dream come true.”
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Delaware boys basketball ready for first OHSAA state tournament
