MASTER’S : New Coach Tries to Coax Old Hands Into Winners

After a two-season record of 11-47, The Master’s College, where basketball seemingly takes precedence over everything except good Gospel living, was faced with a three-tiered decision:

The Mustangs could drop basketball completely, a desperate--nearly blasphemous--step.

They could fire Coach Randy Stem, who had waded through two years of futility and frustration.

They could demote Stem to an assistant, bring in a highly respected head coach who would be willing to leave a bigger and better basketball program to become a part of Master’s ministry and presumably lead a team with little talent to untold glory.

The brethren went with No. 3.

Enter Mel Hankinson, who had a 255-194 record in 16 years of college coaching. Hankinson came to Master’s in May after resigning as coach of Samford University in Birmingham, Ala. He had coached at Slippery Rock (Penn.), Roanoke (Va.) College, Delta State in Mississippi and was an assistant to George Raveling at Iowa. At one point, his Delta State team was ranked fourth in Division II.

After Hankinson was hired, Stem said: “Stepping down was no problem. If he can get us winning faster, I said fine. I will learn more from him than from pounding my own head against the wall.”

Now it’s Hankinson’s turn. His preseason assessment of the Mustangs: “Realistically, I think this is a team with spirit. They’re good kids, but they’re short and small. Our perimeter shooting is suspect.”

Translation: They’re in trouble.

Hankinson, who coached an Athletes in Action team over the summer, brought with him J. T. Thompson, a 5-9 guard from the AIA team. Thompson played one year at Grossmont College near San Diego. “He’s a good defensive player who needs to improve his offensive skills,” Hankinson said. “But he’s spunky.”

Other newcomers include Ted Grissom, a guard from Glendale College, and David Moore, a freshman forward from Wyoming.

“The rest of the kids are from last year,” Hankinson said. “Our focus will be to encourage those in the program and spend lots of time on the road to get some athletes to come in and turn this thing around. If we can bring in five guys, we’ll turn it around in a hurry.”

Phil Hahn and Rocky Shipes, both 6-4 juniors, will have to hold things together in the meantime. They will be joined by 6-4 Roger Terry and 6-5 Dave Knechtel.