On June 1 Mendocino College Eagles men’s basketball sophomore point guard Gabe Howard signed a National Letter of Intent (NLI) to continue his college education and basketball career at Greenville University, a liberal arts university in Greenville, Illinois.
Greenville University is a four-year Christian university, affiliated with the Free Methodist Church, a church with an evangelical foundation. The University is located in the city of Greenville. Greenville has a population of around 6,800. It is located in southern Illinois about 51 miles east of St. Louis, Missouri.
The university offers as broad range of academic programs and courses of study leading to B.A. and B.S. Degrees. They include Art, Biology, Business, Chemistry, Communications, Criminal Justice, Digital Media, Education, Engineering and Physics, History and Literature, Political Science, Language, Mathematics, Music, Mathematics, Psychology, Social Work, and Sports and Kinesiology.
Howard will be playing for the Greenville University Panthers men’s basketball team, one of 15 NCAA Division III intercollegiate athletic teams that the University fields.
Those teams include men’s and women’s basketball, men’s and women’s cross country, men’s and women’s track and field, men’s and women’s soccer, men’s and women’s volleyball, men’s and women’s tennis, baseball, softball, football. In addition, the University fields two club teams in bass fishing and cheerleading.
The University athletic teams are affiliated with three organizations, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SLIAC) and Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC).
The men’s basketball team is a member of the SLIAC. The SLIAC fields 10 men’s basketball teams from universities and colleges that include Greenville, Eureka, Blackburn, Westminster, Webster, MacMurry, Principia, Spalding, Iowa Wesleyan and Fontbonne.
The Panthers are led by head coach Dr. George Barber, who was an assistant coach at Bradley University and the University of Kentucky before becoming Greenville’s head coach in 1999. Barber earned a Master’s Degree and Doctorate at the University of Kentucky.
This past 2017-2018 season, Greenville claimed first place in the conference with a 14-4 conference record and a 19-9 overall season record.
The Panthers won the conference postseason tournament, defeating Blackburn College 126-119 in the tournament championship game. The tournament championship earned Greenville a berth in the NCAA Division III Tournament for the first time in program’s history.
The Panthers run an up-tempo offense and a pressing defense. The team scored in triple-digit figures in all but a couple of their games in the season, even then, scoring in the 90’s in those games. In six games, Greenville scored over 140 points.
Howard, who was the Eagles’ point guard for the past two seasons, was also a scholar-athlete, maintaining a near 4.0 GPA in his studies at Mendocino College.
As a team, this year’s Eagles, according to Eagles head coach Billy Offill, were the best group of scholar-athletes Offill has coached at the college.
The team is in the running to win the California Community College Scholar Team Award, given to one team per sport in the state in each school year. The award is the highest academic team achievement award given annually by the CCCAA.
In order to qualify, all team members must demonstrate the best combination of athletic and academic achievement compared to their counterparts across the entire state.
Last year’s (2016 season) Mendocino Women’s Soccer Team won that award for that sport. The 2017-2018 Eagles men’s basketball team could make it two Scholar Team Awards in two years for Mendocino College.
Howard was the team leader of that exceptional group of scholar-athletes.
Taking his educational and athletic endeavors to the next level, Howard explained why he chose Greenville University to pursue his upper division studies toward a Bachelor’s Degree.
“Greenville was the best fit (basketball wise) because they (the basketball team) play similarly to the way we play here at Mendo. They have a good coach, a good program, a good team and they run a good system. That’s a good fit.” Howard will receive a full academic scholarship from the University.
Howard believes that going to a different region of the country will help him grow as an individual. “It will challenge me, not just as a player, but as a person. I will be able to continue to grow at Greenville and experience a different location (in the country).
“I will be able to travel to different places in that region.” In addition to St. Louis, Chicago is to the north, Kansas City to the west, Indianapolis and Louisville to the East.
Explains Howard, “It will be somewhat like living here (in Ukiah). I’ll have to travel to go see and do things. But I will be living in a small town where I can stay focused on school and basketball. Moving from one small town to another should be an easy adjustment.”
Perhaps not as easy of an adjustment Howard will have to make will be dealing with the winter weather in Greenville. Originally from Anchorage, Alaska, where he grew up with snowy conditions, Howard has much preferred the weather here in Ukiah and in Northern California.
He admits he’s not tremendously thrilled to be going a part of the country that will offer snowy winters. But having experienced it before, he feels he’ll be able to adjust to it.
Having completed two years of college education at Mendocino College and having earned an A.A. degree, Howard will be enrolling as a junior at Greenville where he will pursue a Bachelor’s Degree in Financing in Business Administration. Greenville University has a strong reputation in those areas of study.
Howard thanked the Eagles coaching staff for their work and support during his two years at Mendocino College. “I want to thank all the people who have helped me through my journey here, starting with “Coach O” (Offill). Though we’ve had a rocky relationship (at times), we’ve managed to pull off something that’s been great. Even beyond basketball, he’s showed me a lot about myself.
“I didn’t have a lot offense coming out of Alaska. “Coach O” saw I had potential and he gave me an opportunity. Next thing you know, two years later I’m going to the next level. I want to thank him and the assistant coaches, Coach Nate (Henry), Coach Esco (Michael Escobedo) and Coach (Marc) Otten. When I needed to talk to someone, Coach Otten was there. Even if it wasn’t basketball related, he was there for me.
“There was a lot to take in as a young player, coming to a new environment. They all brought me in and took care of me.”
Coach Offill praised Howard for sticking with the program though the team struggled in the first half of his freshman year (2016-2017). After trimming the roster to 8 players, that team excelled in the second half of that season, paving the way for a much better 2017-2018 season.
“Gabe believed enough in the program to stick with us through a rough first year. It was of my roughest seasons ever as a coach. He started every game as a freshman. To have him come back as our point guard was a key for our success this year. We went 18-9 in his sophomore year, doubling our wins from the previous season. He’s one of the few players I’ve had here who has started every game in his two-year career.
“Both years he was top five in the state in assists and steals.
“That’s about him, not about me. He was a near 4.0 student off the court. He was a student-athlete that our whole community could be proud of. People would come from his church to watch him play. A lot of people enjoyed what he did, sticking his nose down and playing great defense, not caring about the glory. He just wanted to win.
“I never had to worry about him at all. At times we might have had a rocky relationship, getting our heads together on a basketball level, but we always were together on a personal level. He’s a great leader and a great point guard.
“He’s moving on to a program that values a true point guard. He’s a winner. He makes winning plays and he’ll make winning plays at the next level, too. This guy will find a way for you to win.
“We get transfers here because of the way we play. Gabe is transferring to great place (Greenville) because of the way they play. They play great defense and average 130 points a game. They press the whole game. So for them, he’s an A+ recruit. Coach Barber has said Gabe is a great fit for them.
“Gabe will be hard to replace. But I’m happy for him he’s found a new home that will allow him to continue to grow as an athlete, as a player, as a student and as a man. He was a special player to coach, and I appreciate his family having the faith to let him come all the way from Alaska and let me coach him. It was a great experience.
“Now coach Barber in Greenville is going to get the two best years of his career. I’m am really proud of the growth he made as a player in the time that he was here. He’s a winner. Big hearts come in small packages. You’re lucky as a coach when you have a winner on the floor as your point guard.
“When I saw him on film when he was playing in high school, I saw some of that. Transferring that to the junior college level is difficult. Now his task will be doing that at the four-year level.
“He is a great human being and a great basketball player. We were fortunate to have him here. He was a good ambassador for Mendocino College basketball. He’ll make us proud at the next level. There’s no doubt in my mind. He’s got a bright future.”
