After 19 years at Orangewood Academy as one of the most successful Seventh-day Adventist basketball coaches in the game, Leslie resigned from his position as athletic director and head girls coach on March 22, 2024. Many in the community felt he was unjustly pushed out, resulting in more than a thousand signatures on an online petition in support of the school retaining him. Leslie shares his background growing up in the Church, attending Orangewood as a student, and how he built up such a successful athletic program over the years. He reflects on some of the accomplishments he’s most proud of, from baptisms, to college student athletes, to the successes and rankings his teams have achieved.

Leslie also delves into some of the philosophical differences and specific grievances that he feels ultimately led to his departure. 

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The boys head coach and athletic director at San Gabriel Academy in southern California gives context to the success his team has experienced in the California Interscholastic Federation in Division 2. Kevin talks about how he grew the program from the lower divisions into a perennial contender at higher divisions. He shares his perspective on playing at the Southwestern Adventist University tournament and talks about one of the top college prospects on his team, Mahamadou Diop. 

The guys discuss how sports is a character revealer, the influence of retired Walla Walla University AD Tim Windemuth, and how Adventist education could use competitive sports to address declining enrollment numbers across the North American Division.

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Oakwood University's men's head coach started his basketball journey with OU as a student in the 1980's playing on a touring team that visited churches and conferences, playing host teams as a recruiting tool. From his days with that original Ambassadors team to becoming an assistant and eventually head coach of the men's team in 2015, Simon has sought to keep the spiritual and personal development of his players at the forefront of his teams. For most of his head coaching tenure, OU played in the USCAA (United States Collegiate Athletic Association), and throughout the 2010's made three championship appearances, including two USCAA national championships. That success led to OU joining the NAIA in 2022.

Simon talks about the transition to a higher level of competition and how he responds to criticisms about pitfalls of competition and Adventist athletics in general, as well as the recruitment of non-Adventist players. He comments on the annual matchups with Washington Adventist University and how the schools have come to a place of great rapport after an initially contentious matchup. As head athletic director, Simon shares the difficulties of balancing both jobs, and reflects on how recruiting has changed since he first started. The guys talk about the transfer portal, how it is changing college basketball, and may negatively affect opportunities for high school seniors.

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North Tampa Christian Academy’s athletic director talks about his experience joining a brand new school in 2019 with a blank slate on which to build an athletic program. Over the past several years, NTCA has become the best overall Adventist basketball program in the country; in the 2023-2024 AdventistHoops post-season rankings, the boys were ranked #1 and the girls were #3 for Adventist teams. Seth talks about this transformation and his role in supporting the coaches and players that have come in, as well as the media and recruiting attention garnered by some of the student athletes there. He also shares his perspective on the criticism that the majority of players are not Seventh-day Adventists themselves. 

Dustin asks Seth, as a Southern Adventist University grad, why there is no athletic department at Southern despite it having the largest enrollment of our Adventist colleges. Seth talks about the Southwestern Adventist University academy tournament, and NTCA’s plans for attending next year. He also highlights student athletes Toni Bryant and Arianna Murray, and talks about the home and away games with IMG Academy next year, which is one of the top sports prep schools in the country.

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Southwestern Adventist University’s men’s head coach talks about playing in the NCCAA, success at an Adventist round-robin tournament at Union College this year, and why he takes his team to play a division one NCAA school every year. The guys discuss how difficult it is to try to coach more than one team in a season, as Tyler did early in his career, and what it’s like organizing the largest Adventist academy tournament in the world with around 50 teams coming each year to the Hoops Classic. 

Dustin rants about the importance of Adventist colleges recruiting high-level Adventist kids, even if they feel they have no chance of getting them. The topic of recruiting non-Adventist kids comes up, and the guys discuss some of the criticisms of situations where most of the team is not Adventist.

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Walla Walla University junior guard Andrew Vaughan came out of the proud tradition at Portland Adventist Academy, but also emphasizes how important his experiences outside of Adventist basketball were to get him to where he's at today. Without compromising his Sabbath beliefs, he found ways to participate in AAU and The Grind Session (an elite prep basketball circuit), which helped him to make the jump to the college game. He's proud to play for a Seventh-day Adventist university, and gives advice to younger Adventist players on how to reach the next level.

Andrew reflects on the grind of a full season of college basketball, both physically and mentally, and how he's managed to steadily increase his scoring average each year, most recently averaging 15 ppg for the Wolves this past season. The guys discuss why some higher-level Adventist academy teams don't come to the Adventist tournaments due to the timing of their state playoffs, and consider possible solutions. They also toss around the idea of regional or East-West AdventistHoops showcases for top-tier academy players.

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Brothers Blake and Braden Essex play for Union College ("Union Adventist University" starting in May 2024) in Nebraska. Their basketball journey has gone from playing together in Colorado at Mile High Academy, to living apart when Blake started college at Union and Braden moved to Texas, to being reunited on the court again this season at Union.

The Essex boys talk about their basketball influences growing up, what their childhood driveway battles were like, and how they motivate each other on the court today. They share how the Warriors season is going this year as an independent school, and describe the competition they face each week as they progress toward joining the NCCAA (National Christian College Athletic Association).

The guys reflect on how their parents influenced their development, what they appreciate about Union College Head Coach Drew Mekelburg, and the lessons they've learned from basketball that they'll take with them throughout their lives. They also give advice for young Adventist basketball players, encouraging them to exemplify Jesus in all that they do on the court.

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Washington Adventist University Shock third-year guard Michael Brown shares his experience growing up in the DMV and attending both Spencerville and Takoma Academies in Maryland. He shares his favorite high school accomplishments, including playing alongside his older brother for two years, and attending the Southwestern Adventist University Hoops Classic five years in a row.

Mike reflects on why he decided to attend WAU even though his brother chose Oakwood, what the experience was like to play against his brother in the annual Oakwood vs WAU game, and what the transition to the college game was like during a tough COVID year. The guys discuss the Shock's season progress so far and speculate how well the team could do in their NAIA conference this year.

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KiAndre Gaddy currently plays for NCAA Division 1 Tarleton State University in Texas. Previously he played at Walla Walla University after finishing his high school career at North Dallas Adventist Academy. In 10th grade, everything changed for KiAndre when he went from playing middle linebacker in New Jersey, to moving across the country to Dallas, Texas, and playing organized basketball for the first time. He also started going to church and became a Seventh-day Adventist, attending the Dallas Fellowship Church with his mom and relatives. KiAndre talks about how raw he was as a sophomore at North Dallas, and how he worked to improve his game over the next several years, capped off by a senior season with 39 wins and a Division 1 State Championship.

He talks about why he chose to play at Walla Walla University the following year, and what he appreciated about the spiritual environment there. The guys discuss the jump in competition and skill at the college level, and how KiAndre improved to become an All-conference NAIA player in his two years at Walla Walla. The conversation touches on the additional increase in physicality and talent at the D1 level, and what he’s had to do to continue to get better over the past two seasons at Tarleton State. KiAndre emphasizes how good the NAIA competition is, and why it was a great opportunity for him to improve before transferring to a higher division.

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Kevin Mitchell has coached at numerous levels of basketball, and has extensive experience in skill development as a trainer. He’s worked with youth players all the way up to NBA players like Jayson Tatum and Joel Embiid through “Pure Sweat” and trainer Drew Hanlen, one of the top NBA trainers in the game. Kevin was the California Pacific Conference Coach of the Year in 2020, when he led the La Sierra University women to the conference tournament.

The guys discuss the current state of skill development and how much preparation should go into, not only each workout, but the long term plan for a player. He also shares his perspective on the thought process of many high school and college players, which is that they have to play at a D1 school or bust.

Kevin talks about his current 2023-2024 squad at La Sierra, made up of a completely new roster, and why it’s important for our smaller Adventist schools to play NCAA Division 1 schools.

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