Jason Delaney is on the brink of Indiana basketball history.

The two-time state championship coach has Cathedral in Saturday night’s Class 4A boys basketball state championship game at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in downtown Indianapolis.

With a win over top-ranked Chesterton, Delaney would become the first coach to win three state championships at three different schools and he would be the first coach to lead a private school to a 4A state championship.

“There are guys who have dreamed to be here and never even get the opportunity so I don’t take any of this for granted,” said Delaney. “I am beyond blessed with my career …  the young men I’ve been able to coach and be around who probably affected my life in more of a positive way than anything else. I just take time to really be thankful for that opportunity.”

No. 8 Cathedral (25-6) will take on No. 1 Chesterton (29-0) at approximately 8:15 p.m. Saturday in the final game of the IHSAA boys basketball season.

Delaney previously won state championships with Waldron in 2004 and Indianapolis Arsenal Tech in 2014.

Delaney burst onto the coaching scene in 2004 when he led Waldron to an undefeated season (27-0) capped off by a 69-54 win over Fort Wayne Blackhawk Christian in the state championship game.

“It was one year that changed my life forever,” said Delaney, who now has 291 career wins after starting his coaching career with 28 straight victories. “It’s been really neat during this run to have some of those guys from that team reach out to say congratulations. In each and every one of those texts back to them I say thank you because I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for them. They believed in a 27-year-old guy that was just getting started. I owe it all to them. This is a dream.”

In 2004, both Shelby Eastern Schools, Morristown and Waldron, had boys basketball head coaches to hire. Delaney and Scott McClelland were the finalists for the Morristown position and McClelland won out.

“I remember coming down to the final two and him getting it and talking to him on the phone,” recalled Delaney. “I remember thinking what now because it was the middle of September.

“Waldron opened and I went back in front of that same school board and interviewed. I can still picture and remember every bit of the interview process. They gave an opportunity to a young man and it was a great experience.”

The school system hired two state championship winning coaches that year. McClelland led Morristown to the 2018 Class A state title.

Delaney still has the fondest of memories from his one year at Waldron.

“Looking back to that season, the community stands out to me,” he said. “How much they embraced it, the sold out crowds, the school pride, all those things when I think back on it. What a great group of young men they were and now they are doing great things as husbands and fathers and employees. That’s the true measure of it all.”

Delaney moved on to Southport in 2005 and stayed four years before one-year stints at Anderson Highland and Indianapolis George Washington. He was named Tech’s head coach in 2011 and was there for five seasons.

The Titans went 37-10 in Delaney’s first two seasons but couldn’t get out of the sectional, including a 66-50 loss in the 2013 sectional to a Cathedral team that went on to play for the state title.

One year later, Tech finished on top with a 63-59 win over Lake Central in the 4A state championship game. After two more seasons at Tech, Delaney was hired at Cathedral, where he has averaged 18 wins a season over the last six years.

“The first (state title), I don’t even know if I knew what was going on because it was my first year,” said Delaney. “The second one with Tech, we had to go through two years of heartbreak to win that one.

“We endured five years of heartbreak with this one so when we got that first sectional win over North Central to open it up (this year), it was very emotional for the guys that have been here. Going through this again, the biggest thing is you try to stay in your routines because all these different things are pulling at you this week with meetings and media and the events you have to go to. For me, the biggest thing is I can use that experience to be the calming force for these kids.”

Cathedral is balanced – five players are averaging double digits in the scoring column – and led by Indiana Mr. Basketball candidate Tayshawn Comer (16.4 ppg, 6.4 apg).

“The ultimate leader. The ultimate teammate,” said Delaney of his senior point guard (photo, above). “I cannot say enough good things about that kid and his character. He makes your program better just by the kid that he is. He is so appreciative of everything you do for him.”

With wins over Terre Haute North and Ben Davis in the Southport Regional, Comer became Cathedral’s career scoring leader, breaking Scott Hicks’ mark set in 1983.

Chesterton is seeking to become the first undefeated state champion since Warren Central in 2018. The Trojans would be just the fifth unbeaten state champion since Waldron in 2004.

“They are a lot like us,” said Delaney. “They are a really good team. They know their roles and they are led by a really good point guard who makes everything happen.”

Chesterton senior point guard Thomas Grayson enters the title game averaging 19.5 ppg and 5.6 apg for head coach Marc Urban, making his first state finals appearance.

“They don’t get rattled,” continued Delaney. “We tell our kids we are the underdog. They don’t know how to lose. They have not experienced that yet.

“For us, we have to be ready to go. We have to close it out. We’ve got to understand it’s going to be a mountain to climb, and they are ready to do that. It will be the biggest challenge we’ve faced all season.”

New for Delaney this year is the special moments he shares with his 12-year-old son Jaxon.

“My son gives us scouting reports on everyone,” said Delaney. “I have never pushed him into basketball but he loves playing basketball. He’s a sixth grader now. I enjoy being around him and doing the basketball stuff with him. He loves going to games. He loves knowing all the players.

“He gets on You Tube and can tell me everything about the teams we are playing. He is really highly involved. That is fun for me and him.”

Delaney’s daughter, Jayda, was born eight months before the Tech state championship. Now she is one of Delaney’s biggest fans.

“She is eight years old now and she is fun to be around because she gets excited just because it’s dad,” said Delaney. “To experience it now with them is a little bit different because they are grown up.”

Delaney and his wife, Jamie, have been married 19 years.

Sitting at the Monday morning IHSAA meeting for the finalists, Delaney looked around and saw familiar looks from coaches make their first state finals appearances.

“The crazy thing is I looked at some of the ages of the other coaches and I remember being that young guy there,” said Delaney. “It’s almost to the point now that I’m an older veteran. I don’t know how I feel about that really.”

Delaney has already established himself as one of the state’s top coaches. On Saturday, a Cathedral win would put him in rarefied air.

“Cathedral is a football school. It’s kind of like being at Alabama or Notre Dame,” said Delaney. “To see the excitement now with basketball and see the kids show up, the fans show up, it’s pretty special.

“There has only been one state championship in basketball (at Cathedral) and that was in 1998 in 3A. We’ve talked since we got here about being the first team to put up a 4A banner, which is the hardest road there is when you look at what you have to go through, especially starting in Sectional 10. To have a chance to be the first private school to win a 4A state title, that’s pretty special too.”