WEST LAFAYETTE — When Carson Cunningham approached Zayn Kirkendoll about playing basketball at Carroll College, he didn’t talk up his own college achievements.
The man who scored nearly 1,000 points in three seasons at Purdue didn’t push his professional basketball career, or the books he’s written about the sport.
To lure Kirkendoll from San Jose, California, to a school of 1,200 students in Helena, Mont., Cunningham talked about Kirkendoll.
“When it came to me talking to other coaches, they didn’t seem as genuine or involved,” said Kirkendoll, now a senior guard with the Saints. “Most coaches are just like, ‘Let me see your tape.’ He seemed to genuinely care bout me and my well-being and my future.”
It’s also clear that Cunningham, in his second year guiding the NAIA program, genuinely cares about Carroll College. The former Boilermaker returns to Mackey Arena Friday night for an exhibition game against Purdue, the first leg of a three-game weekend in his home state.
After starring at Andrean and Purdue and returning to coach at his high school alma mater for five successful seasons, Cunningham has established a new base. He said he and his wife, Christy, a former Purdue volleyball player, are “consistently walloped” by the state’s natural beauty.
“Both of us are floored by the quality of student-athlete here,” Cunningham said. “They’re fun to work with. There’s not a lot of drama. Folks are interested in school, and interested in getting better at basketball and competing.”
Cunningham contacted Purdue coach Matt Painter shortly after taking the Carroll job to express interest in setting up a game. Painter, whose first collegiate coaching experience came at Division III Washington & Jefferson College, is impressed with the job Cunningham has done rebuilding a program in Helena.
“He’s a guy who can wear a lot of hats and be good at it,” Painter said. “Any time you’re dealing with highly intelligent people that are motivated, that have a good rapport with people, they’re going to be successful in what they do.
Cunningham and assistant coach Carlito Labarda bonded shortly after the former transferred from Oregon State to Purdue. Cunningham had to sit out a year due to NCAA transfer rules, and Labarda, a Boilermaker manager and also a West Coast transplant, became his personal workout buddy.
“He was a gym rat,” said Labarda, who also spent one season as a student assistant under Keady. “We would work out at midnight sometimes, or early in the morning. We’d work out in parks if Mackey Arena was not open. We just connected.”
That connection survived the following 15 years, even as Labarda returned to the Pacific coast to begin a career in finance. He stayed in basketball by coaching at high schools and junior colleges, but when Labarda told Cunningham he would come join his staff if he ever landed a college coaching gig, he thought it was a harmless pledge.
Until Cunningham took the Carroll job, and Labarda’s phone rang as he drove down a California highway.
“I had to pull over to the side of the road and think about it, because my whole life was going to change,” said Labarda, who was in the process of opening up his own financial brokerage. “But my passion has always been basketball. I knew if I didn’t take this job I would probably regret it later down the road.
“Is it less money? Yeah, but I didn’t care. I do it because of the special bond with Carson and his family. We trust each other and he’s allowing me to coach, so I love that.”
Carroll College won two games in the season before Cunningham’s arrival. He pushed that total to nine last season, as the Saints ranked No. 1 in all of NAIA in free throw shooting percentage and chopped their defensive scoring average from 78.8 to 70.5.
Not surprisingly, Cunningham has established at Carroll many of the attitudes and principles he learned from Keady — from the four-out, one-in motion offense to practice schedules and the names of drills. He doesn’t mention the Boilermakers by name. The coach with a Ph.D. in history who is teaching a “History of Global Games” course this semester uses a non-basketball analogy.
“He actually likened it to a boxing match,” Kirkendoll said. “He says you have have to start off by delivering some body blows and working, and eventually you go for the knockout blow.
“It’s outworking everybody on the court. The hardest-working team will come out with a victory, and that’s what he preaches. Get on loose balls, hustle plays, boarding, boxing out — just trying to be physical.”
Cunningham isn’t required to teach courses as Carroll’s basketball coach. But the former DePaul University instructor made sure he would have that option before taking the job. It’s not the only example of the two-time Academic All-America selection keeping a proper perspective on basketball.
Kirkendoll said the Saints perform over 200 hours of community service each year, which could range from basketball camps to walking kids to school. When Labarda heads out on recruiting trips, he says he is instructed to scrutinize players on three criteria: character, grades and talent — in that order.
“If they don’t have all three, we don’t recruit them,” Labarda said.
Labarda said the Saints players have been talking about the chance to play Purdue “for a month.” Kirkendoll said it’s an opportunity to earn respect both at home and in a new area of the country.
Not surprisingly, Cunningham has established at Carroll many of the attitudes and principles he learned from Keady — from the four-out, one-in motion offense to practice schedules and the names of drills. He doesn’t mention the Boilermakers by name. The coach with a Ph.D. in history who is teaching a “History of Global Games” course this semester uses a non-basketball analogy.
“He actually likened it to a boxing match,” Kirkendoll said. “He says you have have to start off by delivering some body blows and working, and eventually you go for the knockout blow.
“It’s outworking everybody on the court. The hardest-working team will come out with a victory, and that’s what he preaches. Get on loose balls, hustle plays, boarding, boxing out — just trying to be physical.”
Cunningham isn’t required to teach courses as Carroll’s basketball coach. But the former DePaul University instructor made sure he would have that option before taking the job. It’s not the only example of the two-time Academic All-America selection keeping a proper perspective on basketball.
Kirkendoll said the Saints perform over 200 hours of community service each year, which could range from basketball camps to walking kids to school. When Labarda heads out on recruiting trips, he says he is instructed to scrutinize players on three criteria: character, grades and talent — in that order.
“If they don’t have all three, we don’t recruit them,” Labarda said.
Labarda said the Saints players have been talking about the chance to play Purdue “for a month.” Kirkendoll said it’s an opportunity to earn respect both at home and in a new area of the country.
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