Basketball Coach at Master’s Leaves to Recruit Prospects

Just when it seemed that The Master’s College might go on losing basketball games throughout eternity, it came up with an almost unheard of master plan for success. The brethren at the Christian school, who apparently have had their fill of turning the other cheek, recently decided to take a proper in-your-face stance.

First, ignore the fact that the Mustangs, 11-47 over the past two years, are 0-5 this season.

Second, never mind that newly hired Coach Mel Hankinson has all but disappeared from campus, rarely showing up for practices or games. Truth be told, after watching the team practice for a few weeks and evaluating the scant talent and size of his players, Hankinson no longer could bear to watch.

His preseason observation: “They’re good kids, but they’re short and small. We got to get out on the road and get some athletes.”

In Hankinson’s estimation, taking a lot of time teaching the players already on the Mustang roster was tantamount to washing windows on the Hindenburg. The week before Master’s season opener at Westmont College, Hankinson decided to redshirt the season as coach and become a full-time recruiter, saying: “It’s the best way to get this thing turned around in a hurry.” He proposed the idea to Athletic Director Geoff Zahn, school President John MacArthur, his assistant coaches and players and, in a surprising show of support, was granted permission.

Said Bob Provost, executive vice president at Master’s: “We feel God has given us an outstanding coach. Mel recommended that we allow him this time to become primarily a recruiter, that that would be the best use of his time. We agreed.”

With that, Hankinson took off for Atlanta, Memphis, and Birmingham, Ala., while the team he was hired to coach was playing in the Covenant College tournament in Lookout Mountain, Tenn. Earlier this week, he left again, this time for Jacksonville, Fla. and Mobile, Ala. “Next, I’ll work Washington and Oregon,” he said.

The new emphasis on recruiting would not necessarily help Master’s if it weren’t for an influx of athletic scholarship cash. Not only has Hankinson been handed money to travel coast to coast, his bags are full with offers for free rides back at Master’s for the tall and talented.

Even though school officials wouldn’t specifically reveal the number of scholarships they have given Hankinson, the coach said, “We would be competitive with any college division team in the country.” The NCAA Division II limit for scholarships is 12 and the NAIA has no ceiling.

Randy Stem, head coach at Master’s the past two seasons and now running the team as Hankinson’s top assistant, said the new coach has “about 60% more scholarships than I did.” A year ago, Stem said he had eight full scholarships, each worth about $9,000. “When we first talked to Mel about becoming coach, we had to give him the tools to work with,” Provost said. “That was part of the agreement to have him come here. After he got here, he started making specific recommendations.”

Charlie Eppler, director of communications for the NAIA, called Hankinson’s recommendation to take a year to recruit “unusual” and “weird.” It’s been done before, most recently by Gene Bartow at Alabama-Birmingham and Bill Foster at Miami. But in each of those cases, the program was beginning from scratch, not building while playing a schedule concurrently. Another obvious difference is that UAB and Miami are big-time schools.

“Most NAIA schools don’t have those kinds of resources,” Eppler said. “The coaches are busy enough sweeping the gym floors, coaching and being sports information directors. That’s a weird case.” Then he asked, “Do they want to become an NCAA Division I school?”

A good question, really, but one Master’s officials try to avoid.

“We don’t even know what it takes to become competitive in the NAIA,” Zahn said. “We’d have to have 101 things fall into place to have that happen. I’m not even concerned with that right now. Our goal is to be up there in the NAIA--with Biola and Westmont.”

A lofty goal, considering Master’s dismal basketball history. But that was before Hankinson showed up. The coach, a veteran of college basketball and a head coach for 16 seasons, admitted when hired in May that the major reason he even considered coming to a basketball ghetto like Master’s was because of his religious beliefs. He said he wanted to be a part of the ministry. The ministry looked sweeter, though, when the school flaunted beaucoup scholarships in his face. Now, he’s taking advantage of the freedom Master’s administrators offered.

“I’m really excited about the recruiting,” he said. “The response has been great. We might get an early commitment from a recruit by Dec. 12.

“They’ve made a serious commitment to basketball here. This is the most prudent and wise way to build. The administration understands.”

So, Hankinson said, do his players, who spent the preseason getting to know the man they thought they’d be playing for, as well as his philosophies and style of play. “We know we don’t have the athletes we need,” said Steve Hume, a 6-4 junior forward. “So we just look at this like it’s a sacrifice for the future. It’s hard to go from one coach to another right before the season. We learned his system and then to have him leave--it was an adjustment.”

But, after years of losing, the entire program is undergoing more than adjustments. Zahn said when Hankinson first came aboard, he compared the basketball program to a patient in critical condition. “When Mel came in,” Zahn said, “he said this program needed surgery--major surgery.”

Only time will reveal whether the combination of money and Hankinson are what the doctor--or maybe in this case, what the good Lord--ordered.