Valley set to hire state champ Henson as new boys coach

BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS

Sports Editor, RTC

Harkening back to the origins of its boys basketball program, Tippecanoe Valley High School will hire state champion Eli Henson as its new coach, pending approval at its next school board meeting.

RTC learned of the decision to present Henson’s name to the school board Monday afternoon, and Valley administrators subsequently sent out an agenda for a board meeting scheduled for 6 p.m. Wednesday in which Henson’s name was listed.

Henson guided Manchester to its first ever state title when they beat University 59-54 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis March 29. That completed a 26-2 season for the Squires and capped an 84-35 run over five years for Henson at Manchester.

Henson is 193-139 after 14 seasons as a head coach. He went 62-13 his last three seasons at Manchester.

Henson also coached North White from 2011-16 and Whitko from 2016-20 before taking over Manchester. Prior to the 2024-25 season, Manchester had not won a sectional title since 1995 and a regional title since 1994. Led by 2,000-point, 1,000-rebound big man Gavin Betten and strong point guard Ethan Hendrix, Manchester also won their first ever semistate title.

Along the way, Manchester knocked off Rochester 71-46 in a sectional semifinal in what turned out to be Rob Malchow’s final game as Zebra coach.

Though he has no previous link with Valley, Henson has family bonds that date back to the opening of Valley in 1974: His grandfather Floyd was the last boys basketball coach at Akron High School from 1963-74 and the first coach at Valley from 1974-78 after the school consolidated with Mentone High School.

Floyd Henson died in 1998 at the age of 78.

Eli Henson’s father Dave is a 1968 Akron grad who played for his father in high school.

The Henson family could be deemed a basketball family.

Eli Henson is a 2004 Elwood grad who played for his father in high school, and Dave Henson has subsequently been an assistant coach on Eli’s staff at all three of his head coaching stops. In addition to Elwood, Dave Henson had previous head coaching stops at Caston, L&M, Whitko, North Miami and North White. Dave Henson coached Whitko to a sectional title in 1996 and North Miami to a sectional crown in 2009. Dave Henson also coached the North Miami girls to a sectional title in 2008.

Zac Henson, Eli’s brother, also has previous boys head coaching experience at North Miami.

Eli Henson, 39, is married to wife Stephanie and father of Hayden, 4, and Sadie, 3.

If approved, Henson would replace Joe Luce, who resigned after three seasons last month and has subsequently been hired as the new coach at Wawasee.

Valley graduates three seniors – Ian Cooksey, Blain Sheetz and DeOndre Hamilton – from last year’s 20-win team that lost to Columbia City in overtime in the Class 3A, Sectional 20 final.