Becoming a Bruin

Well, it feels like the past few months have been a roller coaster ride, as I've been trying to find a coaching position for this upcoming season.  I'm very excited to announce that God has opened a door for me to coach at NCCAA DI, Bob Jones University in Greenville, SC.  My young coaching career has been filled with mostly part-time and volunteer positions, so I am extremely thankful for my first "full-time" position where my job is to get paid to coach basketball!  How cool is that?!

My wife and I have spent numerous hours praying that the right position would open up, and it has.  I am looking forward to working with a great head coach in Neal Ring and being part of BJU's inaugural season of intercollegiate athletics.  I didn't think that when Coach Ring first talked to me about coming to BJU it would actually happen.  I had a lot of skepticism and was doubtful about the whole situation, but I guess good things happen when you talk to coaches at the Final Four!

I look forward to being part of a program where Jesus Christ is lifted high and lives will be impacted for the Kingdom of God.  Anyone who knows me understands my passion for basketball and my desire to use the game to proclaim the gospel message of Jesus.  I am so thankful for the opportunity to coach at an institution where I can do that.  I am also grateful for my mentors who have discipled me along the way and continue to make huge impacts in my life.  Coach Peter Wehry, Coach Paul Whitt, and Wayne Simien (there are many more coaches, too!) have been some of my greatest coaching role models and I appreciate everything they do.  I am pumped up to begin work as a Bruin and I am ecstatic to see the awesome things God does with our basketball team!

A Post Inspired By Jimmy Fallon, The NBA Lockout, and Jesus Christ

"With no scheduled games, players don't have to travel to 30 different cities, unless they want to visit their kids."  I heard this tonight during Jimmy Fallon's 'Pros and Cons' segment on NBC's Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.  It really made me think of the sad reality, that this is probably true for a good amount of NBA players.  With so much temptation on the road there is no doubt in my mind that many NBA players struggle with purity.  I was reminded of the testimony of former NBA player, Wayne Simien, who experienced this temptation first hand.  During his rookie season, as soon as he walked in the locker room, his teammates were taking cash money bets that he would fall to temptation.  Once they found out he was a Christian, they immediately tried to make him fall into sin.  How soon would he cheat on his wife?  How long would it be before he was in a club getting wasted?  How many women would he get with that night?  These are only a few of the temptations that were out there for Wayne.  Praise the Lord that he had a great mentor and friend in another former NBA player, A.C. Green.  On road trips out west, A.C. would stay with Wayne in the hotel room to keep him accountable.  There would be other close people to Wayne that would always stay with him on road trips no matter where they were playing.  My point is that Wayne was wise and knew that he needed people to hold him accountable or else the chances would be greater that he would fall to Satan's lies.  The lies that say sin satisfies.  All glory to Jesus that Wayne's teammates never won any of those bets they placed on him!  People that don't know Jesus do not understand this.  They chase an ambition that doesn't satisfy.  We need to realize that only JESUS CHRIST can satisfy.  As Christian coaches, we need to pray for other coaches and our players as we are on road trips that we can all stay pure and holy before a righteous God.  I wish I could expound on this more, but I just had to get it off my chest.  I hope players at all levels, especially the NBA, realize that they will never be satisfied by earthly pleasures.  I hope and pray that the quote from Jimmy Fallon penetrates the hearts of coaches and athletes, because it's really not funny.  It's a reality and it's sad.  Coaches: Stand up for Jesus.

I Am Second

I just wanted to take some time to post some awesome videos from the I Am Second website.  If you have not ever heard of I Am Second, I strongly encourage you to watch these videos.  The link to the website is www.iamsecond.com Pass them along.  Enjoy!

WAYNE SIMIEN - Kansas Jayhawks, Miami Heat

LECRAE - Rapper

TONY DUNGY - Former NFL Coach

JOSH HAMILTON - Texas Rangers