Northeastern State University Men's Basketball

Ja Havens is NSU's eleventh head men’s basketball coach and played at Northeastern State for two seasons (1996-98) under NSU Hall of Fame head coaches Ken Hayes and Larry Gipson. After one year away from NSU, he returned as a graduate assistant under Gipson. They won two straight Lone Star Conference North Division championships and advanced to the regional semifinals of the NCAA Division II tournament. He has been a member of teams that have gone to nine NCAA Division II Tournaments and two NCAA Division I Tournaments.  The 2024-25 season saw Havens oversee a top-three scoring offense in the MIAA (78.1 PPG), coaching the conference's top scorer in Trey Phipps (21.0 PPG) and its top rebounder in Ethan Blackmon (7.7 RPG). NSU made a return to the MIAA Tournament and completed multi-game regular season sweeps over Arkansas-Fort Smith, Missouri Southern and Pittsburg State. Additionally, the RiverHawks knocked off the nation's #1-ranked team when defeating Washburn inside the NSU Event Center on Feb. 15. Havens would coach Phipps to an All-MIAA Second Team selection, while he led Blackmon to a Third Team nod. NSU would also go on to rank 19th nationally across Division II men's basketball in average attendance (1,091), while their 9-5 home record matched their strongest home win percentage (.643) of the Havens era. In his fourth season leading the program, NSU battled injuries but would go on to finish the season strong, claiming late-season wins against a trio of MIAA tournament teams in Washburn, Missouri Western and Lincoln. Anthony Allen received an All-MIAA Honorable Mention nod, while Ethan Blackmon was one of the league's top freshmen, averaging 11.6 points per game and scoring at least 20 in three of the team's last four games.  The 2022-23 campaign saw the RiverHawks return to the MIAA Tournament for the second consecutive season, while Christian Cook, Dillon Bailey and Rashad Perkins claimed All-MIAA selections. Bailey also earned the MIAA's inaugural "A Game" Scholar award for men's basketball.  The RiverHawks made an 11-win improvement in Havens' second season and qualified for the MIAA Tournament, where they won their first postseason game since 2013. Northeastern State would have one of its most attended seasons, finishing in the top 25 nationally in NCAA Division II attendance.  In his first season at the helm of the NSU program, it was a season unlike no other for Havens and his staff with the RiverHawks going to multiple COVID-pauses and a limited roster.  NSU played six games in nine days to end the season and swept rivals Central Oklahoma. Havens came to NSU from East Central University (Ada, Okla.) where he was head coach for seven seasons, carrying a record of 131-74, and was the fastest coach in ECU history to win 100 contests.  Havens led the Tigers to back-to-back Great American Conference (GAC) Regular Season Championships (2016 and 2017) and won the 2017 GAC Tournament.  He also took the Tigers to their first NCAA Division II Central Regional during that 2017 season. At East Central, Havens posted a winning record in each of his seven-seasons and never missed the postseason, with 14 players named All-GAC, and one named as Player of the Year.  Havens posted three straight 20+ win seasons at ECU and won 25, a program-best in 2017. Under Havens, ECU earned honors in the classroom, claiming the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Team Academic Excellence Award three times (2018, 2019, and 2020). Before arriving in Ada, Havens spent eight years as the assistant basketball coach at Drury University, which claimed the 2013 NCAA Division II 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 Division II Tournament six times and going 173-68 in the eight years he spent with the program. Prior to 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 Division I 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. Havens' father Jerry is a member of Oklahoma Coaches Association Hall of Fame, Oklahoma Basketball Coaches Hall of Fame and National High School Coaches Association Hall of Fame.  His brother Jon is the head men's basketball coach at Richland College (Texas) and was an assistant coach at NSU. Havens grew up in Stillwater, Okla. and graduated high school in Lewisville, Texas. Havens' wife Angie is an occupational therapist and also played women's basketball at Northeastern State.  The couple has three sons: Trey, Trent, and Ty and one daughter, Tatum. Coaching History 2020-Present: Northeastern State, head men's basketball coach 2013-20: East Central, head men's basketball coach 2005-13: Drury, assistant men's basketball coach 2001-05: Tulsa, assistant men's basketball coach and director of basketball operations 1999-2001: Northeastern State, graduate assistant 1998-99: St. Gregory's, assistant men's basketball coach Four-Year Head Coaching Year-by-Year   Season Team Overall Postseason 2024-25 Northeastern State 14-15 MIAA Tournament 2023-24 Northeastern State 11-17 2022-23 Northeastern State 12-15 MIAA Tournament 2021-22 Northeastern State 16-14 MIAA Tournament 2020-21 Northeastern State 5-17 2019-20 East Central 17-12 GAC Tournament 2018-19 East Central 16-12 GAC Tournament 2017-18 East Central 15-12 GAC Tournament 2016-17 East Central 25-8 GAC Regular Season Champions GAC Tournament Champions NCAA Tournament Second Round 2015-16 East Central 22-8 GAC Regular Season Champions GAC Tournament Semifinals 2014-15 East Central 21-10 GAC Tournament Finals 2013-14 East Central 15-12 GAC Tournament

Rueter enters his third season as an assistant coach on the men's basketball staff at Northeastern State University. The 2024-25 season saw Rueter assist in coaching a top-three scoring offense in the MIAA (78.1 PPG), while additionally coaching the conference's top scorer in Trey Phipps (21.0 PPG) and its top rebounder in Ethan Blackmon (7.7 RPG). Phipps would go on to receive an All-MIAA Second Team selection, while Blackmon earned a Third Team nod. Rueter helped NSU make a return to the MIAA Tournament after completing multi-game regular season sweeps over Arkansas-Fort Smith, Missouri Southern and Pittsburg State. Additionally, the RiverHawks knocked off the nation's #1-ranked team when defeating Washburn inside the NSU Event Center on Feb. 15. Rueter helped oversee a three-win improvement on home contests from the previous year, coaching a team that matched the strongest home win percentage (.643) of the Havens era. His first campaign with the program saw him assist in the development of All-MIAA Honorable Mention selection Anthony Allen, as well as one of the conference's top freshman in Ethan Blackmon. The RiverHawks battled injuries during the year, but finished strong in the last month, with three wins over MIAA Tournament teams.  He came to Tahlequah in 2023 from NCAA Division I Eastern Illinois where he was a graduate assistant for the previous two seasons. He was part of a coaching staff that earned the Ohio Valley Conference's Freshman of the Year and Newcomer of the Year.  The Panthers set a record during the 2022-23 season for steals and had its highest team grade point average since 2008. Rueter was on the Eastern Illinois bench in a stunning road upset at Iowa. Entering as a 30.5-point underdog, the Panthers had the largest point spread upset in NCAA history, winning 92-83. He graduated from Eastern Illinois in May 2023 with a Master's Degree in sports administration.   A native of Columbia, Ill., Rueter played men's basketball at Lincoln Land Community College (Ill.) before completing his career at NCAA Division III Monmouth College (Ill.) where he earned a Bachelor's degree in 2020.  Rueter was an accomplished athlete at Gibault Catholic High School where he held school records in career assists and season assists. Rueter holds the Illinois High School Association's (IHSA) record for ninth-most assists in a game with 21. As a four-year letterwinner, he won three regional titles and two sectional championships.   Rueter is the son of Dennis, a member of the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame with over 40 years as a head coach at Gibault Catholic. The pair spent one year on the bench together during the 2020-21 season where Jacob served as an assistant coach and head junior varsity coach. Coaching History 2023-Present: Northeastern State, assistant men's basketball coach 2021-23: Eastern Illinois, graduate assistant