Lubbock Christian Men

Chaps want to keep success going

By DAVE WOHLFARTH

Sometimes, maybe often, the LCU men’s team gets lost in the success achieved by the women’s team.

Like last year, for example. The Lady Chaps won their third Division II national championship in six years.

Anybody remember how the Chaps did?

Well, they did quite well, thank you. They won their first conference championship after years of coming close under Coach Todd Duncan.

In fact, Duncan called it the best season in his 10 years at LCU. The Chaps won the Lone Star Conference with a sparkling 17-1 record, finished 18-3 overall and were 10 points shy of earning a berth in the Elite Eight.

“We won the conference and made it to the Sweet 16,” Duncan said, “obviously in a very tough league, so we’re proud of that.” West Texas A&M was the thorn in LCU’s side. In a rather unusual twist, WT defeated the Chaps 82-78 at LCU’s Rip Griffin Center. Two days later, at WT, the Chaps upended the Buffs 103-85. “Through the years it always seems to be just one of those games where you know you’re going to have to play your best,” Duncan said. A few weeks later, in the South Central Coach Todd Duncan Regional finals, back in the Rip Griffin Center, WT prevailed 101-92. LCU shot 60 percent from the field that night, Parker Hicks scored 27 points and Lloyd Daniels 20 for the Chaps, but Qua Grant put in 40 for the Buffs.

“You know, we didn’t have many turnovers, shot a high percentage,” Duncan said. “”They just had a couple of guys play really, really well. And so we could just never get over the hump. But they performed at a high level that game.”

The Chaps won their first 16 games before losing that first

Lubbock Christian Chaps Roster Name, Ht., Pos., Class, Hometown

Rowan Mackenzie, 6-3, G, Soph., Perth, Australia Parker Hicks, 6-6, F, Sr., Decatur, Texas Cameron Copley, 5-9, G, Jr., Canadian, Texas Jalen Brattain, 6-8, F, Fr., Shallowater, Texas Ben Janssan, 6-3, G, Jr., Adelaide, Australia Aaron Gonzales, 6-3, G, Fr., Spring, Texas Ty Caswell, 6-7, G/F, Soph., Wichita Falls, Texas Zach Stepp, 6-5, F, Sr., Lubbock, Texas Karhan Jones, 6-2, G, Fr., Mansfield, Texas Aamer Muhammad, 6-1, G, Soph., Rio Rancho, New Mexico Lloyd Daniels, 6-4, G, Sr., Colts Neck, New Jersey Alec Zambie, 6-6, F, Fr., Plano, Texas

Coach: Tood Duncan Asst. Coach: Jason Imes 2020-2021 record: 18-3, 15-1

Lubbock Christian’s Parker Hicks goes to the basket last season. Hicks averaged 16.9 points and 7.3 rebounds a game for the Chaps. (LCU Athletics photo)

home game to WT, which later reached the DII national finals. LCU’s only other defeat was 72-71 to St. Edwards in the LSC postseason tournament.

After many years of being on the doorstep, as Duncan called it, of the Heartland Conference back in their NAIA days, the Chaps finally took a conference crown. And the coach was proud of it.

“We’ve been near the top, but we’ve never won it, so that was a big deal,” Duncan said. “The Lone Star Conference is just, top to bottom, I think the best Division II conference there is.”

The Chaps had to endure a lot – tight conference scheduling and four postponements because of COVID – but they produced their best winning percentage season (.857) in the Duncan years.

Two senior sharpshooters – Hicks and Daniels – led the way last season.

Hicks, a 6-6 forward from Decatur who transferred from Texas Tech, averaged 16.9 points, 7.3 rebounds and almost 2 assists per game. He led LCU with 47 successful 3-pointers, shooting .452 from beyond the arc. He became LCU’s first men’s NABC Division II All-American and was NABC first-team all-district.

“He’s versatile in that he’s a bigger player that can step out beyond the 3 and shoots it really well,” Duncan said. “So if he’s guarded by the other team’s biggest player, we can pull him away from the basket. If he has a smaller player on him, we can post him up. He can kinda score, you know, at all three levels: on the perimeter, mid-range and then at the basket. That makes a big difference.”

What about Daniels? Maybe he isn’t a sharpshooter. He’s more of a crooked shooter.

The 6-4 New Jersey native banged in 15.7 points, grabbed

(Continued from previous page) 2.9 rebounds and dished out about 3 assists per game from his guard position. He, too, was a first-team all-district selection.

“Well, he’s just a basketball player. He figures things out. He’s adept at finding a way to get the ball in the basket. He’s a really good shooter, you know, from behind the arc, but he’s a good finisher. A little unorthodox,” Duncan said.

Daniels was the most accurate Chap (among starters) from 3-point range, connecting on .571 of his 3-point attempts,. But unorthodox?

“He can just score from different angles,” Duncan explained. “It might appear he’s off-balance, and the ball just has a way of getting in the basket. He just really has an uncanny knack for his great feel around the basket.”

Duncan called Hicks and Daniels very coachable and the interchangeable 1A and 1B mainstays of his team.

What’s even better is that Hicks and Daniels will be back playing for LCU again this season. They took advantage of the NCAA’s COVID provision that grants last year’s seniors an extra year of competition if they’re full-time students.

Hicks graduated and is in LCU’s grad school. Daniels is finishing up some undergraduate studies.

A third senior last year, Zach Stepp, a 6-5 forward from Lubbock Coronado, also took advantage of the NCAA provision and is playing again this season. Stepp appeared in 11 games last year.

The quarterback for the Chaps is Cameron Copley, the 5-9 redshirt junior point guard from Canadian. Copley led the Chaps with 114 assists, averaging 5.4 per game. He committed only 40 turnovers.

“Almost a 3 to 1,” Duncan said of Copley’s assist-to-turnover ratio, “which is really good for a kid that’s playing all the time and handling the ball.”

Copley also contributed 6.4 ppg and 2.8 rpg. He was the team’s top percentage free throw shooter with a .941 accuracy

LUBBOCK CHRISTIAN CHAPS SCHEDULE

Date Opponent Time

Nov. 12 Regis Nov. 13 Colorado School of Mines 6 p.m. 7 p.m.

Nov. 18 West Texas A&M University

7 p.m. Nov. 20 Arlington Baptist 1 p.m. Nov. 24 U. of Hawaii at Hilo @ Honolulu, Hawaii 3 p.m. Nov. 25 Hawaii Pacific @ Honolulu, Hawaii 5 p.m. Nov. 27 Chaminade @ Honolulu, Hawaii 4 p.m. Dec. 6 Oklahoma City 7 p.m. Dec. 11 Western New Mexico @ Silver City, NM 5 p.m. Dec. 14 Cameron 7 p.m. Dec. 17 Rollins @ Las Vegas, NM 4 p.m. Dec. 18 Western Washington @ Las Vegas, Nevada 7 p.m. Dec. 31 @ Texas A&M Kingsville 7:30 p.m. Jan. 2 Texas A&M International @ Laredo 4 p.m. Jan. 6 Arkansas-Fort Smith 7:30 p.m. Jan. 8 Oklahoma Christian 4 p.m. Jan. 13 Texas A&M Commerce @ Commerce 7:30 p.m. Jan. 15 UT Tyler @ Tyler 4 p.m. Jan. 20 St. Edward’s 7:30 p.m. Jan. 22 St. Mary’s 4 p.m. Jan. 27 Angelo State @ San Angelo 7:30 p.m. Jan. 29 UTPB @ Odessa 4 p.m. Feb. 3 Midwestern State 7:30 p.m. Feb. 5 Dallas Baptist 4 p.m. Feb. 10 West Texas A&M University @ Canyon 7:30 p.m. Feb. 12 Cameron @ Lawton, Oklahoma 4 p.m. Feb. 17 Eastern New Mexico @ Portales, NM 7:30 p.m. Feb. 22 Eastern New Mexico 7:30 p.m. Feb. 24 Western New Mexico 7:30 p.m. Marc. 3-5 LSC Tournament TBA (Game times are local to the host city.) 74 College

Chap Lloyd Daniels (24) maneuvers against Qua Grant of West Texas A&M last season in Canyon. Daniels averaged 15.7 points and 2.9 rebounds a game for LCU in 2020-21. (LCU Athletics photo)

rate from the foul line.

Duncan pointed out that Copley played on five state high school championship teams, one basketball at Water Valley, two basketball and two football at Canadian. His dad, Andy Copley, was his basketball coach at both schools.

“He’s just a winner, a guy who’s been here long enough, he knows what we want. We can trust him,” Duncan said. “He’s not your typical size for a player. But his intelligence and his toughness and desire, I mean, he’s coachable. If he’s 6-5, he’s probably not at LCU, either.”

Rowan Mackenzie and Ty Caswell were the other usual starters for the Chaps last year. Mackenzie, a 6-3 sophomore guard from Perth, Australia, contributed 11.4 ppg and 4.7 rpg. Caswell, a 6-7 sophomore guard/forward from Wichita, Kansas, scored 7.5 ppg and pulled down 4.8 rpg.

Aamer Muhammad, a 6-1 sophomore guard (9.3 ppg) from Rio Rancho, New Mexico, started two games and saw considerable action off the bench. Jalen Brattain, a 6-8 freshman forward (5.7 ppg, 2.2 rpg) from Shallowater, and Ben Janssan, a 6-3 junior guard (2 ppg) from Adelaide, Australia, provided depth.

Two other notable players from last year won’t be back. Gonzalo Corbalan, a 6-4 freshman guard from Chaco, Argentina, sparked with 7.6 ppg and 3.5 rpg statistics, accepted an offer to play professional basketball in Spain.

“He was a really good freshman for us,” Duncan said. “We hated to lose him.”

The Chaps’ tallest player last season, Cade McDowell, a 6-11 sophomore forward (2.7 ppg) from Nashville, Tennessee, chose to concentrate on his pre-med studies this season. Cade is the son of LCU President Dr. Scott McDowell.

Duncan said the president and son both still are supportive of the team.

A couple of freshmen may make an impact on a veteran squad. Aaron Gonzales is a 6-3 guard from Klein High School in Spring, near Houston. Alec Zambie is a 6-6 forward from Fort Worth Christian.

“We think they’re really going to be good,” Duncan said. “They really fit our culture and our program. You can just tell they’re kids that will have really successful careers. It’s just a matter of

Lubbock Christian’s Aamer Muhammed shoots a jumper last season. Muhammad averaged 9.3 points a game, mostly coming off the bench. (LCU Athletics photo)

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time and how long it will take.”

Your team looks loaded, Coach.

“Well, we’ll see,” he replied. “It’s a fragile situation.”

He’s hoping this year’s schedule marks a return to normal and not as fragile as last year’s.

There are plenty of nonconference games on the Chaps’ schedule, featuring trips to Hawaii and Las Vegas for tournaments. The Chaps will take on WT again, this time in a nonconference game in the six-team extravaganza in the Rip Griffin Center to open the season.

Lone Star Conference action begins Dec. 31. Asked which the LSC teams will pose problems, Duncan began with WT.

“You’ve got to start with WT always. I know they lost some really good players, but I think they earned it, going to the championship game. I think those guys do a really good job,” he said. “I think St. Edwards will be really good. And Dallas Baptist. Those are the teams that jump out, just based on what they had last year and what I know what they’re coming in with. There’s probably a lot of teams that are going to be pretty tough.”

Backing up to last year, Duncan was named not only the NABC district coach of the year but also the Clarence Gaines Coach of the Year honor for NCAA Division II. “Big House” Gaines coached for 47 years at Winston-Salem State University in North Carolina. Gaines died in 2005. Duncan said he didn’t know Gaines.

“I never did. But growing up as a kid and a young coach, I definitely knew of him,” he said.

He called it quite an unexpected honor and when a coach has a successful season, awards often follow. He also credited his assistant coach, Jason Imes.

“He’s been with me all 10 years, and he’s part of any award I get,” Duncan said.

Those 10 years have resulted in a 156-101 record for the Chaps, a .626 winning percentage. Previously, he coached at Trinity Christian for 15 years. His Lions won more than 400 games and captured the state TAPPS championship in 1999.

Daughter Ashley, now a graduate student playing an extra season on LCU’s women’s basketball team, and son Ethan, the school’s all-time leading scorer, both played for Trinity Christian. Ethan is a freshman playing at Texas Tech, although he will miss this season as the result of a shoulder injury that required surgery.

Parker Hicks Lloyd Daniels Zach Stepp Cameron Copley of Lubbock Christian passes the ball last season against UT-Tyler. Copley averaged 6.4 points and 2.8 rebounds a game in 2020-21 and was the Chaps’ top free throw shooter with a .941 percentage. (LCU Athletics photo)