First Posted: 2/24/2015
Four years ago when I began doing radio broadcasts of UNOH basketball games with Mike Mullen, I was immediately impressed with the level of talent the top tier teams in the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference boasted. My initial impression was that it was going to take a long time for the Racers to catch up to the league front-runners. But head coach Chris Adams widened his recruiting net and closed the gap in impressive fashion. The fruits of Adam’s efforts began to pay dividends last season as UNOH won a record 22 games and joined the WHAC front-runners in pursuit of the league title. This season, Adams steered UNOH to a share of the league title, establishing another school record with 24 wins and counting.
Four years ago, after suffering through a 7–22 season, Adams cleaned house and began the rebuild that resulted in today’s success. “I kept two players from that roster (Johnny Elliot and Jon Slagle) and began recruiting players who had talent and character,” remembers Adams. That formula has proven prosperous.
The Racers boast plenty of talent. Their leading scorer, Lawrence Jackson, has All American potential and their guard combo of Ed Jenkins and Josh Scott provides UNOH with two gritty competitors who stepped up in critical moments all season. In his third year, Aaron Cross has become a confident leader who wants the ball in crunch time. But it is the depth of the Racer squad that has propelled them into the national limelight. Adams often goes 12 deep and can alter his lineup to take advantage of their speed, length, long distance shooting or defense. Having those numbers can be a huge advantage for coach Adams, but it also presents a challenge trying to keep his players happy and on the same page. Accepting roles and supporting one another is the key to great chemistry and the Racers clearly have it.
Perhaps no two players exemplify the unselfish commitment to team success as do senior Jon Slagle and newcomer Ziar Anderson. You will not find their names at the top of the stat sheet. Anderson is scoring just 3.8 points a game and Slagle 2.3 per contest. But these two young men are as important to their team’s success as any player on the team. And the fact they come from completely different backgrounds and experiences only makes their stories more compelling.
Jon Slagle was recruited from nearby Sidney Lehman Catholic High School because Adams was impressed with his athletic versatility and leadership. “I liked that he was a multi-sport athlete and how hard he competed,” says Adams. “Jon is high character and one of those guys who just knows what it takes to win games,” he added. Slagle provides great defense and will nail the open three if left open. And although no records are kept for it, he has to be the UNOH all-time leader in charges taken.
The personable Slagle has a quick smile and wit and talks freely about the role he has been assigned. “I’m willing to do whatever it takes to help this team win, even if it means filling up those minor stats at the bottom of the sheet,” says Slagle.
Slagle’s Mom and Dad are at virtually all of the Racer home games. On senior night last Saturday, nearly 50 members of his extended family showed up to offer John support. After the game, the Slagle clan lined up for a family portrait with Jon smiling in the middle. As the photographer snapped the picture, they all produced a picture of Slagle attached to a pop-sickle stick and held them in front of their faces. The scene was deserving of a Norman Rockwell painting.
Ziar Anderson’s story converges from a different reality. Anderson’s early life was spent living in the infamous Breevort Public housing projects located in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood in Brooklyn, New York. To say it was a tough environment would be putting it mildly. Asked to describe his neighborhood, Ziar replied, “It was a ghetto with a lot of gang banging and drug dealing.” To compound his challenge, Ziar’s Mom and Dad both passed away when he was very young. By the age of 12, Ziar was on his own. He then moved to South Carolina where a family member took him in. A few years later, while in high school, Ziar was abandoned and left on his own again. For nearly a month he came home to an empty house and relied on his wits for survival. Eventually he moved in with his AAU coach, who became like a father to him, and immersed himself in basketball. The soft spoken and serious Anderson declared, “I knew I wanted to graduate and get a college education. Basketball saved me.”
After a successful high school career, Ziar spent one season at Demark Junior College where he was discovered by Adams on one of his recruiting visits to the south. “I was watching a game and was drawn to Ziar. He showed a passion that was unselfish, and he played with a very high motor,” remembers Adams. “When the game was over, I couldn’t get to the locker room quick enough and get him to UNOH.”
Anderson has become the team’s defensive stopper. He started every game for UNOH until a knee injury forced him to sit for a few weeks. Upon his return, Ziar controlled Davenport University’s top scorer, Dominez Burnett, leading the Racers to their biggest win of the season. Last Saturday, he helped hold Lourdes College’s leading scorer to just seven points. Anderson said, “In junior college and high school I had a different role and was a scorer. To be honest, I didn’t like the role at first but I’ve adjusted to it. I’ll do whatever it takes to help us win.”
The WHAC postseason tournament begins Thursday night at home for UNOH and the Racers now fix their sights on loftier goals. A win against Madonna University will earn them a second home tournament game Saturday and the opportunity to move into the conference postseason championship game. And the NAIA Division 2 national finals in Branson, Missouri, looms on the horizon.
As a team, the Racers are focused, confident and ready for the challenge that awaits them.
