Three and a half years ago Park Hill boys head basketball coach David Garrison took over a program that had not had a winning season in over five years. Looking to build a successful program, he turned most of his attention to the then varsity squad. Meanwhile, there was the optimistic comfort of seeing a freshmen team simply dominate at the lower levels that gave him hope there would be something special one day. A single loss to Lee’s Summit West in the postseason tournament was the only blemish on the young Trojans’ record that year.
Those Trojans are now seniors and have been part of a transformative change for the Park Hill program in recent years. It comes full circle Friday night as eight seniors play their final home game against the same Lee’s Summit West Titans who dealt them their only defeat three years ago, capping off a three game stretch over four days.
Following their freshmen year, the Class of 2011 played a role in gaining Park Hill its first winning varsity season in half a decade as sophomores. They took a huge leap forward last year as juniors, assuming four of the five starting roles, by racking up 19 regular season wins including an undefeated conference title, their first since 2002. As seniors, they’ve put together a 14-6 season so far while still undefeated in conference. Friday night’s game could clinch them a share of their second straight conference title and put them momentum for their ultimate goal: a district title and run through the Missouri Class 4 playoffs.
“Sky’s the limit. Our goal last year was to get to the Independence Event Center (quarterfinals), and we haven’t even mentioned that this year, because we know we want to go to Columbia (state),” Nathan Wilson said.
Wilson, Chris Nsenki, De’Aris Flint, Anthony Walters, Burt Taylor, Luke Bossert, and Travis Perry make up a group of seven that have played together throughout their high school years and even beyond as some competed both with and against each other throughout their youth. The eighth senior, transfer point guard Tre Durham, was welcomed with open arms this season, fitting in almost immediately.
“The thing about these seniors is that aside from Tre, you’ve got a group of kids who’ve been around each other forever, they’re like a family. They know each other’s quarks,” Garrison said. “It’s nice to get a guy like Tre who has just gelled right away.”
“He distributes and he doesn’t mind,” Wilson said. “We needed someone who can push the tempo and he can do all that.”
“I wish he would’ve been here last year. He’s kind of a missing piece,” Flint added.
Speaking of history, Flint and Wilson themselves have been best friends since middle school. The two recently committed to play football next fall at Northwest Missouri State.
“He’s the quarterback and I’m a receiver, we’ve got to be friends of some kind. We’re best friends and enemies at the same time,” Flint joked about the competitive nature they have between them.
On the court, Nsenki has been their top scorer for the better part of two years as he recently surpassed 1,000 points for his career. On any given night he can be a game changer. His knowledge of the game has allowed him to open up opportunities for his teammates, but one thing that can be said of this year’s Trojan squad is each player knows their general roll. While Durham, Walters, and Taylor provide a consistent presence at the point guard position and tenacious defense at the top of the key, Wilson and Flint provide an agile, but strong mid-post game threat to Nsenki’s scoring. Junior Connor Farmer at 6’6” contributes as Park Hill’s go to pure post player.
“We like to hang our hat on defense, we brag about steals and charges,” Wilson said.
“We know who the scorers are, Chris is going to get his points, but we come out and see who can get the most stats on defense,” Flint added.
While on the court is certainly important, Garrison pointed out that the entire class has contributed to this year’s success including Bossert and Perry who haven’t seen as much playing time due not only to the Trojans’ larger than average senior class, but also the depth of the team overall.
“I can’t say enough good things about them. They’re ultimate team players. During games, they’re like coaches, always looking for things that we need to do better. When they get an opportunity to play they make the most of it,” Garrison said.
The past several years will culminate in the next couple weeks into what the Trojans hope are their finest moments.
“That last week of February we’ll put all the chips on the table and see what happens,” Garrison said. “We’ve built the program on defense and blocking out. We just have to remind ourselves of what has helped us win games.”
While their coach is focused on the mental and strategic approach to the season’s final stretch, the players know exactly what they want and speak candidly about it.
“He (Garrison) knows where we want to go. We talked about it, because we think we can go all the way,” Flint said.
