'Change the narrative': No. 2 North Eugene boys basketball aiming for OSAA 5A state title

North Eugene boys basketball has made huge strides over the last three years in making itself a Class 5A state title contender.

In guard Joey Banry's freshman year, the Highlanders went 2-12. Then, North Eugene placed fourth at the state tournament last season. Now, with a senior-loaded roster and the state tournament around a month away, the team is 17-2 and No. 2 in the OSAA rankings as of Saturday.

"From (our) sophomore summer through junior year, our goal was to change the narrative," said Banry.

The Highlanders (7-0 Midwestern League) graduated three of its starters from last season but are exceeding expectations, with at least three players scoring in double-digits in almost every game this season.

In one of the most exciting performances so far, North Eugene earned a 58-56 league victory over Thurston on Jan. 24.

Banry, a team co-captain, said the win sent an even bigger message to all 5A opponents.

"It said that we can pull out those close games," he said. "We've been killing some teams in our league ... but then we got a team that comes and challenges us at home and actually puts up a fight.

"We were actually down at halftime ... It kind of shows that we have the grit and perseverance to be able to do that (win). We're not just killing easy teams."

North Eugene makes an early statement in march to OSAA Class 5A state tournament

North Eugene has already made an early statement as the frontrunner for the 5A state title. The Highlanders avenged a couple nonleague losses from last season by defeating Mountain View twice, 6A Roseburg and earned a 75-41 league win at Churchill for the first time in over a decade.

"We're a pretty experienced group, which makes it nice because we felt like our starting point was further along than in past years," North Eugene head coach Blake Gee said. "It made a big difference for us and competing against these teams."

The Highlanders went 2-1 at the annual Holiday Inn Wilsonville Invitational Tournament and at the Abby's Tournament in December. North Eugene's only two losses this season were against 4A North Marion and 6A South Medford.

A Highlanders brotherhood

North Eugene went through a major coaching change after Bill Wagner, who led the Highlanders to a state title in 2007 and returned to the program a decade later, left before the start of the shortened spring 2021 season.

As a farewell, Wagner coached the freshmen team that year while Gee, who had served an assistant coach under Wagner, was in his first season as the varsity head coach.

"He's done a phenomenal job of taking it and making it his own," Wagner said.

Banry, Jonas Spencer and Elias McKinnis were among the core freshmen on that team. Banry said he remembered the team finished with a better overall record than the varsity team.

Spencer said Wagner's big thing was "putting our defensive principles in place and a lot of help on signs, which to this day we still carry on in our practices."

The trio along with a few other key players have grown up together and started playing with each other on their seventh-grade basketball team.

"I honestly call it a brotherhood," said Spencer, a co-captain.

Banry, Spencer and McKinnis were the only three sophomores to make the varsity squad in the 2021-22 season. Banry said that year was learning "how to mesh together" as a team and later in the season was when he stepped into more of a leadership role. He said the experience made for a good setup for the last two seasons.

Pair of Sheldon transfers add depth

While most of the team has played together for years, a few senior transfers are also adding depth, including former Sheldon players India Mohiuddin and Kamani Winger.

Mohiuddin's journey to North Eugene was unusual.

He didn't see any playing time his freshman year at South Eugene after he suffered a torn meniscus in his left knee while snowboarding.

"I had completely torn it off from the bone," Mohiuddin said.

Mohiuddin transferred to Sheldon his sophomore year. Getting back into basketball shape proved to be tough after shin splints required him to sit out half of the season.

He said he spent that time getting both legs back into shape and lifting after losing all the muscle in his quads and hamstrings.

By his junior year, he said he was playing his "best basketball" but didn't feel happy at Sheldon. He first thought of transferring to North Eugene after pickup games with Banry and Spencer, but said the decision was difficult.

"It took a lot of convincing with my mom," Mohiuddin said. "She wanted me to stay dedicated to a school."

The results have paid off for Mohiuddin, who transferred along with Winger.

"It made the transfer a lot easier, knowing that one of my best friends was coming with me," Mohiuddin said.

Winger adds depth coming off the bench as a 6-foot-6 wing. He scored 10 or more points in at least four games this season, including a double-double (11 points, 10 rebounds) in the Highlanders' win over 6A Willamette in December.

Mohiuddin, a 6-foot-4 wing, scored more than 20 points in at least three games, while also averaging more than 10 points in a slew of games.

Mohiuddin said his teammates have taught him how to create opportunities for others, himself and be a better teammate.

What's next for the Highlanders?

The Highlanders will look to capitalize on their success with playoffs and the state tournament on the horizon and only five more league games left to play.

North Eugene will host Springfield (4-14, 1-6 league) at 6:45 p.m. Tuesday.

Edith Noriega is a sports reporter for The Register-Guard. You may reach her at ENoriega@gannett.com and follow her on Twitter at @Noriega_Edith.

This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: North Eugene boys basketball looks to contend for OSAA 5A state title