Story by: Mike Bennett, Special to Evangel AthleticsÂ
Coach Steve Jenkins watched intently from the sideline at Ashcroft Center before sauntering over to give some time-tested advice. He’s led the team for 38 seasons
Soon, players and coaches head into the film room for a study session.
There are serious looks on the players’ faces. They certainly have a serious task this season — getting back to chasing championships.
The Crusaders take the court for the first time on Nov. 2 bent on showing that the 2018-19 season was an anomaly, something to forget and move forward.
They finished 6-23 overall and 5-19 in the increasingly tough Heart of America Conference.
All six top scorers are back, including a senior, junior and four sophomores.
The Crusaders lost seven times by seven points or less. They lost late leads. Frustratingly, those trends were evident the season before when Evangel lost six times by two points or less and an amazing 13 times by six points or less.
“We have to win more close games,” Jenkins says in his candid and polite style. “We are better this year.”
He is “cautiously optimistic” that Evangel can rebound with a strong season. “They grew a lot last season,” Jenkins says.
It’s been seven years since the Crusaders won a conference title and five since they made the championship game. Last season’s record certainly is not indicative of the success Jenkins has had in a hall-of-fame coaching career. He has led the Crusaders to 665 victories, the third most of any active NAIA men’s coach.
He guided Evangel to a national NAIA title with a 35-1 record in the 2001-02 season. More than half of his victories have come in the HofA.
The Crusaders have won seven conference championships and qualified for 13 NAIA national tournaments under Jenkins. He has been honored seven times as HofA Coach of the Year.
His teams have finished the season with single-digit victories only four other times before last season: eight in 1984-85, nine in 1995-96, seven in 2016-17 and eight in 2017-18.
This season’s players appear more muscular and agile and confident. They are taller. There is an air of maturity in the gym.
“We have a little more height, a little more depth,” Jenkins says. “I like our kids. We have had some good practices.”
Players spent productive time in the weight room last spring. “We saw great improvement there. Every player put on some good pounds,” Jenkins says.
Senior Clark Brewington, a 6-foot-7 forward who can drain 3-pointers, could be primed for a big year. He started every game last season and averaged 11.2 points, 4.4 rebounds and 2.2 assists.
Junior guard Chris Stocks joined the team at the start of the winter semester after graduating from Three Rivers Community College. He averaged a team-leading 14 points in 17 games. Stocks also averaged 2.9 rebounds and 2.2 assists.
“He’s tough. He gets the job done,” says Jenkins, who notes Stocks’ strong abilities to drive inside. “He can get the ball in the lane and score or pass off to a teammate for a 3-point shot.”
Last year’s freshmen know the system better and will be more polished, Jenkins says.
Following is a closer look at them:
— Cade Coffman of Mountain Grove started every game at guard and led the Crusaders with an average of 5.7 rebounds. He averaged 9.9 points.
— Guard Edriel Martinborough started 17 games and averaged 8.5 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 2.4 assists.
— Ike Egwu started 13 games and averaged 6.0 points and 4.3 rebounds.
— Pavel Antonov started 13 games and averaged 6.7 points and 4.4 rebounds.
Both Egwu and Antonov showed great potential as inside players. They grew more consistent and more confident as the season went on. They can run, rebound and score from close to the basket.
New players include junior guard Nate Davis, a transfer from Dakota Wesleyan who made seven 3-pointers and scored 25 points against Morningside College during his freshman year.
He averaged 7.8 points and 2.9 rebounds per game as a sophomore. “That’s certainly a good pickup,” Jenkins says. “He hasn’t disappointed us.”
Davis is a second-generation Crusader: “His Dad (Chip) played for me in the early 1990s,” Jenkins says.
Others who could play extensive time include redshirt freshman Josh Pritchett of Rolla and sophomore Max Bilbrey, a Nixa native who transferred from Nebraska Wesleyan.
Jenkins recruited Pritchett hard before he chose to start his career at Rockhurst.
Evangel opens Nov. 2 with a game at Trinity Christian in Chicago.
The Crusaders play four more games on the road — Ozarks, Baptist Bible, Williams Baptist, and Mount Mercy — before opening at home in a conference game against Graceland on Nov. 20.
