This week, AverettCougars.com will feature all five members of the Averett University Athletics Hall of Fame Class of 2018 leading up to Saturday's induction ceremony. Monday's feature is on former men's basketball coach Jimmy Allen.
When Jimmy Allen took over a struggling men's basketball program in 2004, what impressed the first-time head coach and led him to Averett University was the tightness of the campus community. He credits that support for the quick turnaround of the program, which saw the Cougars go winless prior to his arrival to winning four conference championships and making three consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances over Allen's six seasons in Danville from 2004-2010.
Allen, now the head coach at Division I Army West Point, is one of five members of the 2018 Averett Athletics Hall of Fame class who will be inducted on Sept. 29 during Homecoming Weekend.
"This is so much about all of the people at Averett that were there when I was there and helped support our program," said Allen, whose teams went 97-70 during his tenure. "They helped us have success on and off the court and I hope everybody who was there feels like they are being recognized. This is not a recognition for me as much as it is for everyone who was a part of our program during that time. It doesn't happen because of one person. It doesn't happen without that support."
The men's basketball program was mired in a 32-game skid when Allen came to Averett after spanning 11 seasons as an assistant coach at Emory & Henry College, as well as Division I Navy and Wofford University. Not even Allen could imagine such a quick turnaround that saw the Cougars play for a conference tournament title within two seasons.
"I think when you go into a situation like that, you're optimistic," Allen said. "You want to think that things are going to go well and you're going to have success. But you're also a little concerned and worried about how long that's going to take."
Perhaps Averett's 87-75 win over St. Mary's College of Maryland in his Allen's debut to open the 2004-05 season set the tone. It ended the long losing streak that had spanned two seasons, but more importantly it boosted the team's confidence and was instrumental in everyone buying into Allen's vision.
Allen's first team went 13-14, including winning a USA South Conference quarterfinals game before bowing out in the semifinals to N.C. Wesleyan College. What followed in the moments after that tough loss to the Bishops in the bowels of Greensboro College's Hanes Gymnasium, which was the host site of the tournament, is still etched into Allen's memory nearly a decade and a half later. His team was enduring the emotions of a season-ending loss in the basement locker room. Yet, up the flight of stairs, a crowd of Averett fans who had made the trip down for the game were gathered and chanting support for the Cougars even in defeat.
"It was awesome," Allen recalled. "Our guys were in tears. The point that I made to those guys was that they made this basketball program relevant again. That's pretty special. That's one of those memories I'll never forget."
With the help of a solid recruiting class, Year 2 of the Jimmy Allen era saw the Cougars go 20-8 with a 9-3 mark in the USA South to claim the regular season crown. However, Averett suffered a heartbreaking overtime loss in the conference tournament championship game. Although tough at the time, it was all part of the journey as the program continued to take a step forward.
Just before the 2006-07 season, Allen landed a big-time transfer in Jonathan Rumley, who happens to join him in the 2018 Averett Athletics Hall of Fame class. The addition of Rumley helped take the Averett men's basketball program to the next level. The Cougars opened the season with nine consecutive wins, including an 81-73 victory over then-No. 1 Virginia Wesleyan University, which snapped the defending Division III national champions' 29-game winning streak.
With a deep, talented roster, Averett once again returned to the USA South championship game. The Cougars rallied from a six-point deficit in the final 36 seconds of regulation to force overtime, and they held off N.C. Wesleyan College 108-105 in double overtime to cut down the nets. Allen reminisced about the comeback win as if it happened last week. Dimitri Braakman coming off the bench to score 14 points in four minutes of playing time in the first half. Shaun Hagwood coming off a screen by Lymon Gregory and hitting a 3-pointer, getting fouled on the play and hitting the free throw to get averett back within four points in the final seconds of regulation. Rumley getting a steal and scoring to tie it.
Braakman's unlikely heroics is symbolic of what helped Averett sustain success during Allen's six-year run in Danville despite times were the Cougars dealt with injuries or adversity.
"In order to sustain success, you have to have a lot of people willing to be unselfish. When I think about why were we were able to get through those times when we had injuries or whatever, I think about guys like Dimitri Braakman, Max Stone, Jeff Wehling and even Justin Parker, who didn't play much as a freshman and played a little bit more as a sophomore and a little more as a junior and then finally as a senior played a huge role on the court," Allen said. "Everyone has a role and no one's role is bigger than anyone else's. Some roles require people to play more and they may have to play well and score a lot of points, but their role isn't any more important than someone who isn't playing and is running scout team plays.
"We had some really good players who didn't get a lot of recognition on the court, but they were unselfish and they were willing to stay and be a part of something special," Allen continued. "So when we needed those guys on the court, they stepped up. Dimitri Braakman scored 14 points in the first half in our first championship win and he hadn't played as much. He was a good player and didn't get to play as much as he wanted to, but his attitude was great every day and he supported other people. Max Stone and others were the same way. That's key to having that kind of success."
From 2006-07 to 2008-09, Averett won three consecutive USA South Tournament titles and made three consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances. The 2008-09 team, which featured a senior-laden class of guys such as Rumley, Damien Brown, Ryan Frazier and Parker, advanced to the second round of the NCAAs before falling to eventual Final Four participant Guilford College.
Twice Averett had its NCAA Tournament runs ended by Final Four teams, including Virginia Wesleyan, which advanced back to the national title game in 2006-07.
"What separated us from getting to the Final Four was like six points," Allen said. "Especially for those kids and that run, having gone through those years and seeing them grow and watch out program get better thanks to their investing, it makes coaching worthwhile. It's why you do why you do what you do as a coach — to have those relationships and try to help them have success on and off the court."
Although there are plenty of memories on the court, some of Allen's favorite memories with his teams didn't involve basketball.
"Yes, some were winning championships and going to the NCAA Tournaments," said Allen, who was a three-time USA South Coach of the Year. "But we got a community service award for working with the Big Brothers Big Sisters organization. That meant as much as any of the NCAA trips — not just to me but to our players. Our guys worked really hard to be good members in the community."
Allen also recalls all the fundraising his team did for their trip to China prior to the 2008-09 season. His players worked a number of events, including 18-hour days in concession stands at the NASCAR races at nearby Martinsville Speedway. But those opportunities to bond as a team really helped build team chemistry.
Those who played for Allen at Averett remember the attention to the little things as what set Allen apart and prepared the Cougars for success. It's all about the details — everything from practice plans and film sessions down to how the bench was supposed to operate during games.
"When I was in the moment, I don't think I realized it as much but Coach Allen did such a great job," said former player Damien Brown, who is now an assistant coach at the high school level. "I'm always referring back to my college days with Coach Allen and all the wonderful assistant coaches we had there in my four years. Now, as an assistant coach of a high school program, I understand that every little detail matters. Paying attention to those little details usually makes or breaks you."
For Allen, the honor of being inducted into the Hall of Fame is less about him and more about everyone who had a hand into the program's success — from Averett Presidents Dr. Richard Pfau and Dr. Tiffany M. Franks, to Directors of Athletics Charles S. Harris and Sam Ferguson, to the support of people in admissions who helped sell and recruit the university to prospective students, to professors who cared about the student-athletes to the rest of the members of the Department of Athletics. And, of course, the players who bought into the program.
"When you get a coach of the year award or when you are recognized [by being inducted into the Hall of Fame], I think it says something about everyone who was a part of the basketball program and the school during my time there," he said. "To me, a coach of the year award is a 'team of the year' award. In the last 25 years, I haven't played a second. We had a great mix of people at Averett that were really on the same page. That's why you have success."
Allen's time at Averett has no doubt influenced him since leaving to be an assistant at Army West Point after the 2009-10 season before being promoted to head coach prior to the 2016-17 campaign.
"Every relationship helps you learn and grow," Allen said. "I was fortunate to have experiences at Averett that helped me grow as a coach and become better as a coach. I was able to come to West Point as an assistant, and there's no question that a huge part of what I do now as a head coach started there at Averett."
