Kansas high school basketball scores (Dec. 7): Kapaun wins in Eck’s City League return
It’s been a quarter of a century since the last time Steve Eck coached a game in the City League, but it was like nothing had changed on Tuesday in his triumphant return to the Wichita high school basketball ranks.
The Kapaun Mount Carmel boys team, coached by Eck, won 45-43 over Wichita Heights at home on Tuesday in a battle between City League contenders and state-ranked teams. Kapaun was No. 5 in Class 5A, while Heights was ranked third in Class 6A.
It was the first high school game coached by Eck, who resigned as coach of the Hutchinson Community College men’s basketball team in April, since 1996 — the last year he won a state championship at Wichita South to conclude a decade-long dynasty where he led the Titans to 10 straight City League titles and six state titles.
“It was a special night and it didn’t feel much different to me now that I’m back,” Eck said. “I still feel like I’m 30, 34, 35. I don’t look like it anymore, but I feel like it.”
It was only fitting that his first City League game back was against Heights, coached by Joe Auer, the all-time winningest coach in the league’s history and the only coach left in the league who witnessed Eck’s powerhouse teams at South.
“He’s a living legend and one of the best basketball coaches in the state of Kansas, so for him to come back to our league where he started his career is just a great story for the city of Wichita and for our league,” Auer said. “It’s a pretty cool opportunity to compete against him again.
“I remember coaching against Steve in 1996 and he welcomed me to the City League and I wouldn’t say he welcomed me with open arms (with blowout wins). His teams were great and my teams had a lot to learn and he was willing to teach us some lessons.”
Following his all-time run at South, Eck spent the last 24 seasons building a Hall-of-Fame career at the community college level. He’s the only coach in NJCAA history to take four different schools (Butler County, Redlands, Cowley and Hutchinson) to a No. 1 national ranking and led Hutchinson to the 2017 national title.
Besides adjusting to a rule change here or there (like the closely-guarded rule in high school) and no shot clock, Eck said the transition back to the high school game has been seamless.
He believes what worked for him in the late 1980s and 1990s can work for him again in the 2021-22 season.
“I’ve run the same things for 45 years now,” Eck said. “The kids at Kapaun are great, but my kids at South were great and my kids at Hutch, or wherever I’ve been, were great. My kids are going to play hard and be coachable, otherwise they’re not going to play.”
Eck’s ability to summon the best from his players has been stuff of legend for decades. His former players still rave about him, like current Eisenhower boys coach Steve Blue, who played for Eck at South and still receives a birthday call from his former coach every November to this day.
“It’s great for high school kids because there’s no one better than coach Eck at putting in the time to get to know kids and building relationships,” Blue said. “He always finds ways to bring out the best in kids and he’s just going to make the City League even better. The Kapaun kids are very lucky to have an all-time great coach like that.”
Since Eisenhower opened, Blue has built the program to one of the most consistent contenders in Class 5A. He says “like 99% of what I do is what I learned from coach Eck.”
“As far as my coaching philosophy and the way he builds relationships, I’ve tried to duplicate that,” Blue said. “The thing people don’t know about coach Eck is how funny he is. He’s hilarious and I try to bring that into my coaching every now and then. He’s not a cusser. He’s not a screamer. He’s someone who talks to you and finds a way to get the best out of you. I’ve tried to emulate him as much as I can.”
Now 25 years later, Eck is still finding ways to win in the City League.
On Tuesday, Kapaun’s defense was superb and it controlled the pace to limit a talented Heights team to just 26 points through three quarters. The Falcons made things interesting with a late rally, but the Crusaders were able to hold on. Will Anciaux led Kapaun with a game-high 19 points, while Henry Thengvall added 10 more.
“Heights was a very athletic team, they kind of reminded me of my old South teams,” Eck said. “They’re long and athletic and we wanted to limit our turnovers and take care of the ball against them. We played pretty good team defense and our guys were focused tonight and they stuck to the game plan and did a good job.”
Eck admitted it felt good to feel the thrill of playing in the City League once again and said it wouldn’t have happened without the right situation he found at Kapaun.
“It was a special night,” Eck said. “I’m really happy to be at Kapaun. We’ve got the best student section in the state and you can quote me on that. We’ve got great fan support, a great administration. I’m just very happy here.”
Kansas high school basketball scores (Tuesday, December 7)
Boys
5A No. 3 Andover 55, Campus 30
5A No. 10 Andover Central 42, 5a No. 7 Maize South 37
Berean Academy 50, Eureka 30
4A No. 7 Buhler 57, Salina South 47
Cedar Vale-Dexter 54, 1A-2 No. 7 Attica 40
3A No. 5 Cheney 76, Wellington 30
Circle 79, Parsons 52
Douglass 69, Fredonia 41
Goddard 39, Arkansas City 28
Goessel 39, Little River 38
3A No. 1 Hesston 53, Nickerson 18
Hutchinson Central Christian 65, Burrton 43
5A No. 5 Kapaun Mt. Carmel 45, 6A No. 3 Wichita Heights 43
5A No. 1 Maize 51, Hutchinson 48
4A No. 5 McPherson 68, Newton 64 (OT)
Oxford 54, Udall 51
Pratt 68, Chaparral 54
4A No. 4 Rose Hill 64, Garden Plain 20
Salina Central 64, Goddard Eisenhower 54
Sedan 63, Bluestem 26
Southeast of Saline 64, Smoky Valley 51
Valley Center 77, Kingman 52
Wichita Independent 63, Marion 29
Wichita North 60, Wichita West 56
Wichita South 65, 5A No. 6 Bishop Carroll 39
Wichita Southeast 81, Wichita East 80 (OT)
Girls
Andover 47, Campus 28
5A No. 2 Andover Central 51, 5A No. 7 Maize South 37
1A-2 No. 8 Attica 43, Cedar Vale-Dexter 13
Berean Academy 41, 3A No. 6 Eureka 31
5A No. 9 Bishop Carroll 50, Wichita South 20
Bluestem 46, Sedan 40
Circle 40, Parsons 33
Douglass 32, Fredonia 29
2A No. 3 Garden Plain 48, Rose Hill 20
Goddard 61, Arkansas City 23
3A No. 8 Haven 50, Conway Springs 25
Hutchinson 43, 5A No. 5 Maize 32
Hutchinson Central Christian 55, Burrton 31
Kingman 56, Valley Center 49
1A-1 No. 1 Little River 50, Goessel 21
Marion 50, Wichita Independent 43
4A No. 6 McPherson 49, Newton 26
3A No. 3 Nickerson 35, 3A No. 10 Hesston 28
Oxford 42, Udall 25
Pratt 42, Chaparral 33
5A No. 3 Salina Central 66, 5A No. 10 Goddard Eisenhower 39
Salina South 61, Buhler 50
Smoky Valley 53, 3A No. 9 Southeast of Saline 47
4A No. 8 Wellington 55, 3A No. 2 Cheney 49
6A No. 9 Wichita Heights 66, Kapaun Mt. Carmel 36
Wichita North 50, Wichita West 37
Wichita Southeast 36, Wichita East 21
Monday’s scores
Boys
Canton-Galva 62, Hutchinson Central Christian 31
McPherson Elyria Christian 52, Little River 45
Sedgwick 62, Belle Plaine 27
Valley Center 64, Andale 52
3A No. 4 Wichita Collegiate 59, Labette County 49
Girls scores
4A No. 3 Andale 47, Valley Center 26
Hutchinson Central Christian 56, Canton-Galva 17
Little River 46, McPherson Elyria Christian 26
Sedgwick 49, Belle Plaine 35
This story was originally published December 8, 2021 at 6:00 AM.
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