RIVER VALLEY SPOTLIGHT

RIVER VALLEY SPOTLIGHT: Slavens filling up score sheet for Hackett at 22.3 points per game

Hackett junior Eli Slavens filling up stat sheet for Hornets

Hackett guard Eli Slavens looks up the court in a game against Paris earlier this season. The junior guard is averaging 22.3 points per game this season for the Hornets.
(Submitted Photo/RNN Sports/Jim Best)
Hackett guard Eli Slavens looks up the court in a game against Paris earlier this season. The junior guard is averaging 22.3 points per game this season for the Hornets. (Submitted Photo/RNN Sports/Jim Best)

HACKETT -- It's game day, and Eli Slavens is fielding questions from curious classmates.

"How many points do you think you'll score tonight?"

The Hackett Hornets guard has been getting this question a lot lately.

Slavens may not be the most prolific scorer in a league full of them, including Cedarville's Lane Hightower, Charleston's Brandon Scott and Paris' Sam Muldrow, but he's certainly on the radar of every coach in the 3A-4 Conference.

Just a junior, Slavens is averaging 22.3 points per game. He can beat you off the dribble or, if left alone, he can attack from outside the three-point arc.

"My style of play varies; I play with a rhythm," Slavens said. "Whatever happens, happens. I develop my shot where, if you play me back, I'm going to try and shoot over you, and if it you play me tight, I'm going to try and drive by you."

The humble Slavens, while pleased with his success this season, knows there is always room for improvement.

"Honestly, I'm just trying to get better," he said.

Hackett boys basketball coach Kent Elmore started seeing growth in Slavens about this time a year ago, when the sophomore started seeing the game slow down.

But the real process, Elmore will tell you, started happening in the early morning hours before school when no one was looking.

"We open the gym in August when school starts, and he's here every day," Elmore said. "We open the gym every morning at 6:15, and he comes in about 6:20 and shoots until the bell [8 a.m.]. I've never had that before."

While the early morning shooting has made a difference, Slavens admits he's not an early riser by nature.

"I'm actually more of a night person," Slavens said. "Sometimes I will go to the gym from 9:30 to 11, especially over the summer. Over the summer I pretty much spend the night in the gym. I live about three minutes from the school, so I'm there all the time."

Lately, Slavens' morning shoot-arounds have become unofficial team practices, too. His teammates, seeing the improvement in his game, are wanting to elevate their games as well.

"It's [the gym] almost like getting away," he said. "It's a reason to try to get better. It's translated to some of my teammates showing up early, too. I just want the best for myself, and my team wants to get better, too."

Slavens leads by example. The 5-foot-10 point guard is not physically imposing, but what he lacks in stature, he makes up for in court savvy, Elmore said.

"He's one of the most undersized guards I've coached that can get to the rim on a consistent basis," Elmore said. "You don't know if he's going to drive to the rim or pull up. That's something he's practicing every morning by himself on. The work ethic he puts into it carries over to the game."

Slavens, who plays catcher on the baseball team, is also an astute golfer, a sport from which he's learned a lot from his basketball coach, too.

"He's a really good golfer," Slavens said of his coach.

A Mansfield native, Elmore led the Hornets to 18 victories during the 2021-22 season. And, despite a mostly younger roster, Hackett could easily have a better record than the one they'll carry into the upcoming 3A-4 District Tournament, Slavens said.

"At one of our practices, Coach Elmore told us out of all those games we lost by a total of 10 points," Slavens said. "It just shows that we're getting better, and what I like about our team is how fast we can adapt and grow.

"You have to find that clique, and we've been able to find that. I put a lot of props on our assistant coaches [Tanner] Womack and [Brett] Bailey, too."

Growing up in a rural community has helped Elmore have a connection with his players that coaches from a larger school might not understand, Slavens said.

"He understands our athletes in a way he can bond with us," Slavens said. "Coming from the same type of small school, he understands the game of basketball. I'm glad to represent him."

The Hornets have the potential, Slavens said, to be good long after he's graduated.

Slavens and fellow juniors Dawson Clay and Cole Ketchum and senior Jacob Gardner carry a bulk of the load. So does 6-foot-4 sophomore Hayden Foster, a scoring and rebounding machine.

"He [Foster] puts in as much time as Eli," Elmore said.

The youth of this year's team gives Slavens hope that next season and beyond might be even better.

"I love that about our team, how young we are," Slavens said. "What's so amazing about how young we are is we have some freshmen, too, who may step up when they get finished with their season. We'll be a solid team next year, and even after next year when I graduate."

The Hornets have some work to do at the district tournament as far as earning a shot at regionals.

Elmore believes Slavens would be a lock to play at the next level with just a little more height. As of now, he's almost 5-11.

"I think he needs to get to the 6-foot mark. [But] I don't think he's done growing, either," Elmore said. "I definitely think he's got a chance."

So does Slavens.

"Playing for another school, collegiate school, would be great," he said. "Why would I want to quit basketball now? There's no telling what could or couldn't happen. I want to play for as long as I can."

  photo  Hackett guard Eli Slavens dribbles across the court against the Paris Eagles. Slavens, a junior, is leading the Hornets in scoring at 22.3 points per game. (Submitted Photo/RNN Sports/Jim Best)
 
 
  photo  Eli Slavens, a junior guard for the Hackett Hornets, is averaging 22.3 points per game this season. (Submitted Photo/RNN Sports/Jim Best)
 
 

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