Southern Indiana basketball standout shatters backboard, father's record

BROWNSTOWN, Ind. (WDRB) -- There are two things Indiana knows well: corn and basketball.

So many kids in small towns like Brownstown have a hoop in the driveway and big dreams. David Benter's son, Jack, was one of them.

"It's just been my thing I've done since I've been a little kid," said Jack Benter, a junior at Brownstown Central High School.

"By the age of 3, he was out shooting," David Benter said. "I know this is hard to believe, but shooting free throws and shooting free throws at a decent clip."

He grew up close to the very court where he's now a hometown star, and those big plans for the future all of a sudden don't seem so out of reach.

"It's kind of early, but he went ahead and verballed to Purdue University," David Benter said.

His tough, hard-nosed coach may have a little something to do with that. It's Jack's father.

"Sometimes, a couple of the other coaches will tell me, 'Hey it's OK to compliment him every once and a while,'" David Benter said.

This is David Benter's 25th year at the helm of Brownstown Central basketball. He also holds the single-game scoring record for the team with 47 points. Well, he did.

During a game against Silver Creek, a few weeks back, Jack Benter shattered the backboard after a dunk.

"Glass was hitting me in the face," he said . "No one believed it at first. And then it was like, 'Oh crap! It actually happened.'"

The game had to be postponed to another day so the backboard could be fixed. When it was, Jack Benter broke something else: his dad's record, by one point.

"Then, it just so happened he went out and broke it again and got 51 points," David Benter said.

The game against Austin High School was just days later.

"I give him a hard time, tell him I had one more rebound, one more assist than him," David Benter said. "You know, it's all in fun."

"I let him know now that I've got the record," Jack Benter said with a smile about his dad.

That father/son, player/coach bond is evident, but there's something else that's happened during the tough practices, games and conversations about the future. A talented, young basketball player is growing into a well-rounded man.

"The attributes, the competitive spirit, the discipline and the hard work will pay off and take him into the next chapter of life," David Benter said.

A real win for any coach, dad or both.