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BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS
Sports Editor, RTC
AKRON — Former Tippecanoe Valley boys basketball coach Joe Luce said he resigned last week for career reasons, though he was not specific about any new position and added that he does not have a new position in place yet.
Luce told this to RTC in an interview in his office Monday.
“I’m looking forward to some opportunities that are going to be around the corner in the upcoming month that are going to be very beneficial hopefully to not only me but my family that I’m looking forward to,” Luce said. “I just thought that at this time it was the best decision to go ahead and resign and to let those things fall into place.”
Valley went 20-6 overall and 5-0 in the Indiana Northern State Conference in 2024-25. The season ended with a 45-43 overtime loss to Columbia City in the Class 3A, Sectional 20 final at NorthWood March 8.
Valley led by as many as 10 points, and Columbia City had to hit a game-tying 3-pointer with one second left in regulation to force overtime and another buzzer beater at the end of overtime to win the game.
Luce said the loss to Columbia City did not impact his decision.
“I don’t think winning or losing that sectional would have made a difference in the outcome of the decision that was made,” Luce said. “The thing that I’m most proud of was the overall season. We started with an unknown group of guys that really grew together and truly showed that they cared and loved each other and developed as individuals and ultimately as a group to become a very good basketball team that was able to win 20 games, win our conference and put ourselves in a really, really good position to win a tough sectional that we just came up a little short.”
Valley won the first ever INSC title, and Luce’s interview occurred the same day in which he was named the INSC Coach of the Year.
Valley went 54-21 in Luce’s three seasons, a span in which Luce oversaw Valley’s transition as a program. They won the Three Rivers Conference in their last year in that conference in 2022-23 and then spent the 2023-24 season as an independent.
Valley also renovated their auxiliary gym, weight room and coaches office during Luce’s tenure as part of a schoolwide improvement.
“Overall, everything that was laid out to me when I took the job, pretty much came to fruition,” Luce said. “The facilities was a big talking point when Mr. (superintendent Blaine) Conley presented the job opportunity to me and told me that they would make improvements in many areas, and they have. The auxiliary gym is definitely much improved. It has a beautiful floor. They’ve done some stuff with the lighting that makes it a place that you want to practice. We play younger games in there from our freshmen through our junior high and elementary schools. The additions that were made with the auditorium and the weight room were fantastic. There’s not a nicer weight room facility in the state of Indiana. They did that right.”
Six players saw the court for Valley in the sectional final. Three of them – Ian Cooksey, DeOndre Hamilton and Blain Sheetz – graduate. A fourth, 6-6 junior center Stephen Akase, is Luce’s son. Akase averaged 13 points and 8.2 rebounds per game last year.
“At this point, I don’t expect any types of decisions like that to be made,” Luce said of Akase’s future. “Stephen is a Tippecanoe Valley Viking through and through. He’ll definitely, no matter what that situation looks like, be a Valley Viking for life.
“And so I would anticipate that that’s something after the next few weeks, when I’ve made the final decision on what I’m going to be doing with my next stage of my professional life that we’ll look at, but I think if you ask Stephen, he’s very much invested in this program.”
Luce was also the dean of students. He said he enjoyed his time at Valley, referring to the “genuine family feeling of enthusiasm that comes from the Valley community.”
This was his sixth stop in his coaching career following stints at Fountain Central, Benton Central, Marion, Richmond and Jeffersonville. He has 392 career wins in 23 seasons as a head coach.
“The enthusiasm that comes from the community within the walls of the school from the students and the teachers and the family and the administration, it’s as good as any place I’ve ever been,” Luce said.
He thanked Conley, principal Brandon Kresca and athletic director Sam Sturtevant.
“I’ve loved my time here,” Luce said. “It’s been a great experience. It’s a wonderful community (and) a fantastic administration. … I just felt like with some of the things that hopefully are around the corner, it was just the best time to go ahead and resign at this point.”
