Ja Havens became the seventh head coach for the East Central University men’s basketball program in April 2013. Havens came back to his roots in the Oklahoma basketball community after spending his playing career at St. Gregory’s and Northeastern State and the first seven of his 15 years in collegiate coaching in Oklahoma.
2018-19 saw a 16-12 overall record and a 13-9 mark in the Great American Conference, going into the tournament as the number six seed. The season produced one All-GAC First Team (Camron Talley) and one All-GAC Second Team (Da’Rion King) honoree.
Havens became the fastest coach in ECU history to garner his 100th victory in just six years. He earned the milestone Nov. 17, 2018 with a 109-71 win over Bacone College. Mickey McBride and Wayne Cobb his the mark in their seventh season and Jerry Anderson in his eighth.
The team also repeated its success in the classroom, claiming its second-straight National Association of Basketball Coaches Team Academic Excellence Award.
In 2017-18, the Tigers finished the season with a 15-12 overall record and a 13-9 mark in the GAC. ECU finished third in the GAC standings, but ended up falling in double-overtime to Arkansas-Monticello in the quarterfinals. The season produced one All-GAC First Team (Camron Talley) and two GAC honorable mentions (Brett Cannon, Da’Rion King).
Havens’ team also succeeded in the classroom, earning the National Association of Basketball Coaches Team Academic Excellence Award for the 2017-18 season.
Havens continued his strong success in the 2016-17 season, as the team claimed the 2017 Great American Conference Championship tournament title, a second-straight GAC regular-season title and the team’s first trip to the NCAA Central Regional in the NCAA era, after finishing with a 25-8 overall record and a 17-5 mark in the league.
The Tigers were led during the season by Braxton Reeves, who was named the unanimous Great American Conference Player of the Year, a unanimous All-GAC First Team pick, the GAC All-Tournament MVP, D2CCA All-American Honorable Mention, NABC All-District First Team and to the Reese's NABC All-Star Team, was named to the Bevo-Francis Award Watch List, 2017 Basketball Times Second Team All-American and a Division II Conference Commissioner's Association (D2CCA) Men's Basketball All-American Honorable Mention.
The season also saw Ishmael Donzo named to the All-GAC Second Team and Brett Cannon and KD Moore earning GAC All-Tournament honors.
The 2015-16 season was memorable for the Tigers, as they claimed the first GAC regular-season title, with a 22-8 overall record and a 17-5 mark in the league. ECU was represented by three players on the All-GAC teams, with Stirling Thomas and Braxton Reeves earning first team honors, while Ishmael Donzo was an honorable mention. Thomas added his second All-Central Region Second Team honor after leading the GAC in scoring.
In 2014-15, the Tigers continued to improve under Havens, advancing to the GAC tournament championship game, the first time to be in a league title game since 1997-98. ECU also saw its first player earn All-GAC First Team honors, in junior Stirling Thomas. The Tigers also had senior Henry Powno earn All-GAC Second Team honors and sophomore Braxton Reeves earn honorable mention accolades.
Thomas was also named to the Daktronics All-Central Region second team and along with Reeves helped ECU set a new single season record for three’s made in a season. Reeves hit a single season record 100 and Thomas 97.
The Tigers finished the season 21-10 overall and 13-7 in the GAC, marking the most wins in a season since joining the NCAA.
In his first season at the helm of the Tigers’ program, Havens made an immediate impact, helping the team have one of the more successful seasons since 2002-03 when they made their last trip to the Lone Star Conference Tournament. The Tigers finished 15-12 overall, their first winning season since 2007-08, improving from an 8-18 mark in 2012-13.
ECU was also the first conference team to earn a spot in the 2013-14 GAC Tournament, after being the only team to not advance to the tournament in the first two seasons of the conference. The Tigers fell in the quarterfinals to the eventual champion (Harding).
There were several other key moments for the Tigers over the course of the season, like being the first team from the GAC to win the unwinnable road trip to Harding and Arkansas Tech since the start of the conference in 2011-12. ECU also saw two players earn All-GAC honors in senior Colby Carr (2nd Team) and Brandon Lucas (Honorable Mention) and then senior Henry Pwono was named to the GAC All-Tournament Team after recording 27 points in just one game.
However, the improvement that Havens and the rest of the athletic department is most proud of is the perception of the team based on their off the court accomplishments. The team made improvements in the classroom and also increased their commitment of community service.
“For me and my staff, the number one thing that we wanted to do in the first season was to establish a culture of excellence that carried over to all aspects of the program including academics, being involved in the community and obviously competing and being successful on the court,” Havens commented.
The Tigers participate in several community service projects throughout the school year, with an emphasis on youth events to help the next generation of students learn positive skills for leadership and scholastic achievement.
Havens spent eight years as the assistant basketball coach at Drury University, which claimed the 2013 NCAA DII National Championship. He helped the Panthers to five Great Lakes Valley Conference West Division Championships and two tournament championships. Drury had great success in the NCAA, advancing to the NCAA DII Tournament six times and going 173-68 in the eight years he spent with the program.
Before moving to Drury, he spent four seasons at the University of Tulsa as an assistant coach and director of basketball operations. The Golden Hurricane earned two Western Athletic Conference championships during his tenure and advanced to the second round of the NCAA DI Tournament.
From 1999-2001, Havens was a graduate assistant coach at Northeastern State, when NSU claimed two straight Lone Star Conference North Division Championships and advanced to the regional semifinals of the NCAA DII tournament.
Havens started his coaching career at St. Gregory’s in 1998 and helped the team improve from a six-win season in 1997-98 to 14 in 1998-99.
Before starting his coaching career, Havens played for two seasons at Northeastern State (1996-98) and was named to the LSC All-Academic Team. He spent his first two seasons at St. Gregory’s (1994-96) and was named a NJCAA Distinguished Academic All-American.
Havens has had a hand in every aspect of college basketball coaching; including scouting, recruitment, on-floor coaching, academic progress, scheduling, public relations and community service. Academic accountability and community service are key areas for the student-athletes that Havens coaches.
Havens has strong family roots in central Oklahoma, as his family still lives in Shawnee, Okla. The Oklahoma native has built strong ties in the Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas, Kansas and Missouri coaching communities.
Havens was exposed to basketball at a very early age, as his father is legendary coach Jerry Havens. Jerry has been a coach for 38 years and has been inducted into the Oklahoma Coaches Association Hall of Fame, Oklahoma Basketball Coaches Hall of Fame and National High School Coaches Association Hall of Fame.
Havens grew up in Stillwater, Okla. and attended high school in Lewisville, Texas, so Texoma has been a key recruiting area throughout his coaching career.
Havens’ wife Angie is an occupational therapist, who also played at St. Gregory’s and Northeastern State. Both had the opportunity during their collegiate careers to play in the Kerr Activities Center. The couple has three sons: Trey, Trent and Ty and one daughter; Tatum.
Havens’ Career Coaching Record
Year School Record
2013-14 East Central 15-12
2014-15 East Central 21-10
2015-16 East Central 22-8
2016-17 East Central 25-8
2017-18 East Central 15-12
2018-19 East Central 16-12
Totals 114-62
