MUNCIE, Ind. — The last time the Muncie Central Bearcats Boys’ Basketball team won a regional was in 2006. That year, the Bearcats went 20-6 and made it to the state championship, where they fell to the Lawrence North Wildcats, led by future NBA stars Mike Conley and Greg Oden.
However, Muncie Central hasn’t made it past the regional round since. In fact, the Bearcats haven’t even won a sectional championship since 2014, a pattern that Head Coach Jeff Holloway is eager to change.
“I want people to feel how I felt and how people that I went to school with felt back when we were playing,” said Holloway, who was a senior for the Bearcats during Muncie Central’s semi-state run in 1994. “I want these kids to experience the same thing.”
Holloway returned to the sidelines over the offseason after fulfilling the role of athletic director since 2021. He previously coached the team from 2014-17, going 35-38 through three seasons with the team, before taking a job with the Avon Orioles. In both 2016 and 2017, the Bearcats made it to the sectional championship game, but fell short to the Homestead Spartans in back-to-back seasons.
“You look at those games and I can’t get through the film sometimes because you’re like, ‘Man, if we would have did this right here, we would have back-to-back sectional championships,’” added Holloway. “But I wouldn’t change how I cared about the kids. Poured into them and tried to make them better players and better people.”
Holloway says that for the program to rebuild, it’s critical to have kids in the community looking up to the players on the team. For Muncie Central, Fan Jam was the perfect opportunity to get kids in the fieldhouse showcasing their skills.
“It’s more important than the varsity scrimmage that we had the elementary teams out here getting to play on this floor in front of people, and hearing people cheer for them,” said Holloway, as the shoes of children shooting around after the event squeaked on the court behind him. “They can aspire to be a Bearcat one day, and get on this floor, and wear that uniform and represent.”
It’s not just Holloway who knows the impact that kids in the community viewing the players as role models can have. Senior guard Shemar Taylor was once an elementary schooler who looked up to the high school players in the same way that he’s looked up to today.
“I was doing the same thing when I was a little kid,” said Taylor. “I always wanted to just play in here and just be a Bearcat. It’s just fun being a Bearcat. They say: ‘Once a Bearcat, always a Bearcat.’”
The motto “Once a Bearcat, Always a Bearcat,” that Taylor echoed, was visible on merchandise worn in the crowd on Saturday evening. It showed the community the pride that basketball is still capable of bringing out in the Muncie Central area. Senior Landen Wells loves his community, and his goal is to deliver them success on the basketball court.
“We got a good community, coming behind us, coming to all the games,” said Wells. “We have a good community. Everybody wants to come see us, and we’re gonna make sure we’re gonna win for them.”
Coach Holloway also echoed that the program needs to make strides for the community’s support to stay strong. As the athletic director, he’s keen on restoring the Bearcats’ programs to a championship level.
“You know, obviously, people come to things when you have a winning team and winning programs,” voiced Holloway. “The community is behind Muncie Central, and I think we just have to work hard to get our programs back to where they used to be.”
Muncie Central will take on the Wapahani Raiders in their season opener on Tuesday, November 25th, at 7:30 p.m. at the historic Muncie Fieldhouse.
For more information, visit munciecentralathletics.com
Contact Jayden Collins with comments at jayden.collins@bsu.edu.
