Steve Green begins his 13th season leading the South Plains College Texan basketball team where he has attained an overall record of 301 wins and only 83 losses and enter the 2012-13 season as the defending NJCAA Champions.
Green's 2011-12 Texan squad became only the sixth team in the history of the NJCAA - the first since 1999 - to complete an undefeated season en-route to claiming their second NJCAA Championship in five seasons with a 81-68 victory over second-ranked Northwest Florida State College in the title game. With the victory, South Plains finished the season with a 36-0 record and Green became only the 11th coach in NJCAA men's basketball history to win multiple national championships.
Following the season, Green was named NJCAA Coach of the Year for the second time while Texan Marshall Henderson earned Division I Player of the Year accolades.
Green also led the Texans to the 2007-08 NJCAA Championship, defeating Salt Lake CC 67-56 for the title.
In addition to his success at the national level, Green has also led two other schools to WJCAC championships, has been named WJCAC Coach of the Year four times (1988-89, 1989-90, 2006-07, 2011-12) and sports an overall head coaching record of 455 wins compared to only 126 losses.
After assistant coaching stints at the University of Arkansas, Lamar University, and the University of Houston, Green made his NJCAA head-coaching debut at Howard College in 1988. He took over a program that had five-straight losing seasons prior to his arrival, but led the team to a No. 1 NJCAA national ranking in just his second year at the school. From 1989-1991 Green led the Hawks to a record of 61 wins and only 6 losses, winning two consecutive WJCAC championships along the way and a Region 5 championship during the 1990-91 season.
Green then left the Hawks for nearby Midland College in 1991 where he led the Chaps to a record of 73 wins and 24 losses and a top-10 NJCAA national ranking in each of his three years guiding the team. He was named Region 5 Coach of the Year for the 1993-94 season when his team took home the regional championship to earn his second trip to the national tournament.
From 1994 until 1999 Green served as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator for the San Diego State University Aztecs and then spent one year as an assistant coach at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi before his arrival at South Plains College prior to the 2000-2001 season.
Green received his Bachelor's degree from Oklahoma Christian College where he played basketball and tennis. He then earned a Master's degree in education and kinesiology from Sul Ross State University.
A native of Miami, Oklahoma, Green played football and basketball at Miami High School where he earned All-State honors in both sports while winning a state championship in basketball.
The Green File
Hometown: Miami, Oklahoma
High School: Miami High School
College: Oklahoma Christian College (Bachelor's)
Sul Ross State University (Master's - Kinesiology/Education)
Coaching Career
2000-Present: Head Men's Basketball Coach, South Plains College
1999-2000: Asst. Men's Basketball Coach, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi
1994-1999: Asst. Men's Basketball Coach & Recruiting Coordinator, San Diego State University
1991-1994: Head Men's Basketball Coach, Midland College
1988-1991: Head Men's Basketball Coach, Howard College
Coaching Highlights
• NJCAA National Champions (2007-08, 2011-12)
• NJCAA Coach of the (2007-08, 2011-12)
• WJCAC Coach of the Year (1988-89, 1989-90, 2006-07, 2011-12)
• Coach of six WJCAC Championship teams
Howard (1989-90, 1990-91), SPC (2001-02, 2002-03, 2006-07, 2011-12)
• Coach of six Region 5 Championship Teams
Howard (1990-91), Midland (1993-94), SPC (2001-02, 2002-03, 2007-08, 2011-12)
Hank Plona enters his second season as an assistant coach for Steve Green's Texan basketball team after serving in a similar role at Indian Hills Community College in Ottumwa, Iowa, where he helped coach the Warriors to a 23-10 record and an appearance in the Region XI championship game.
At South Plains, Plona will play an integral role in the recruitment of student-athletes as well as assisting with player schedules, academics, and other daily office operations.
Prior to his stint at Indian Hills, Plona served as an assistant coach at the University of Arkansas, Fort Smith where he was responsible for coaching the post players. Plona also recruited Jake Toupal, a player who would go on to be named the Heartland Conference Freshman of the Year for the 2010-11 season.
A 2007 graduate of Providence College with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, Plona completed a Masters of Business Administration degree in December, 2011.
Coaching Experience
May 2011 - Present: Assistant Men's Coach, South Plains College
October 2010 - May 2011: Assistant Men's Coach, Indian Hills CC
June 2009 - September 2010: Assistant Men's Coach, University of Arkansas-Fort Smith
June 2007 - May 2009: Graduate Assistant Men's Coach, Providence College
November 2004 - June 2007: Undergraduate Student Manager, Providence College
A former SPC Texan basketball player, Justin Brown enters his second season as an assistant coach at his alma mater and returns to South Plains after a year at Prospectives Charter School in Chicago, Illinois.
The Chicago native helped Prospectives to an undefeated season and a city championship.
Brown played for the Texans from 2005-2007 and helped South
Plains to the Western Junior College Athletic Conference (WJCAC) championship
in the 2006-07 season, the last time the Texans won the conference
championship before the 2011-12 team did so last season.
After SPC, Brown transferred to Southwest Baptist University, an NCAA Division II school located in Bolivar, Missouri where he helped the Bearcats to back-to-back conference championships (2007-08, 2008-09). During the 2009-10 season he began his coaching career, serving as a student-assistant for the Bearcats.
Brown received a Bachelor's degree in Sport Management from Southwest Baptist and is currently pursuing a Master's degree in Secondary Education from Lubbock Christian University.
A native of Rochester, Minn., Katie's primary responsibilities include direct care of Texan and Lady Texan student-athletes, supervision of student athletic trainers, as well as management and administration of the athletic training room.
Prior to being hired at South Plains, Edens spent two years with Lubbock Sports Medicine while also working towards a Master's degree in Athletic Training at the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, which she finished in May, 2012.
Edens is a 2006 graduate of Bemidji State University where she earned a Bachelor of Science degree in elementary education, specializing in mathematics and coaching. She spent time as a teacher in Washington and her home state of Minnesota prior to entering the field of athletic training.
In addition to his duties leading the SPC athletic department, Tubb also enters his second year serving as the President of the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA), where he is responsible for a myriad of duties including presiding over annual, executive, and special meetings for the second largest intercollegiate athletic association.
Tubb - who has served in multiple capacities over the years and has been instrumental in the growth of two-year collegiate athletics - was recently the recipient of the highest honor bestowed upon by the National Alliance of Two-Year Collegiate Athletic Administrators (NATYCAA) when he was recognized and received the L. William Miller Award at a Dallas awards luncheon on June 25, 2012. In 2006 and 2010 Tubb was named Athletic Director of the Year by the National Association of College Athletic Directors (NACDA).
At South Plains College, Tubb is responsible for supervising all sports programs and coordinating other activities specifically designed to promote athletics at the college. Additionally, Tubb is responsible for the Texan Dome, the intramural and recreational program, and Texas High School University Interscholastic League (UIL) events hosted by the college including the boys and girls Region I Class A basketball tournaments and the Region I Class A track and field, tennis, and golf championships.
All 30 of SPC's NJCAA national championships have occurred under Tubb's watch and the 2011-12 season was one of the most successful in the history of SPC athletics as SPC athletes brought home national titles in the women's half-marathon, men's basketball, and men's and women's track and field. The Texan basketball team became only the sixth team in history to complete an undefeated season en-route to claiming the NJCAA national championship and also brought the basketball championship home in 2008.
Since taking over as athletic director in 1983, the Texan and Lady Texan basketball teams have also claimed a combined 13 Western Junior College Athletic Conference (WJCAC) championships while both teams have won the Region 5 tournament seven times on their way to earning a spot in the NJCAA Tournament.
Under Tubb's direction the college has also hosted eight NJCAA Championship events, most recently the 2012 Outdoor Track and Field Championships where the Texans and Lady Texans swept the team titles. South Plains College is scheduled to host the 2012 NJCAA half-marathon, 2013 golf, and 2014 and 2016 outdoor track and field championships.
Tubb is most proud of the success SPC athletes have had in the classroom where a high percentage have graduated and moved on to compete and attend four-year institutions. He gives much of the credit for to the high quality of coaches that South Plains College has been able to attract and to the Assistance for Student-Athlete Program (ASAP) that has been installed over the years and includes mandatory study halls, drug testing, faculty mentor programs, and special classes covering time management, drug abuse, test taking, and sex education, among others.
Tubb also oversees the operation of the Texan Club, the athletic booster club at SPC comprised of civic leaders and local businessmen and women.
Tubb knows what it means to be a student-athlete at SPC. He played on the men's intercollegiate golf team under head coach Bill Powell as a student during the 1966-67 school year before transferring to West Texas A&M University where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in mathematics with a minor in physical education and graduated as a member of the Alpha Chi Honor Society in 1971. In 1981, Tubb earned a Master's degree in physical education from Sul Ross State University. The following year, 1982, Tubb was selected as an Outstanding Young Man of America.
Following a 12-year career as a high school coach and teacher, Tubb returned to his alma mater in 1983 when he accepted the role as director of athletics.
Active in the community, Tubb is a past president and Rotarian since 1983. He has also served in various positions including president of the Levelland Country Club, local board member of the American Cancer Society, and director of the George White District of Boy Scouts of America.
Tubb is a lifetime member of the Texas High School Coaches Association and a former member of the Basketball Advisory Committee. He served as Director of Region 5 from 1999-2009 and has been a member of NATYCAA since 1989 and has sat on the NATYCAA board since 2001. In April 2010 he was elected to serve as the NJCAA 1st Vice-President for men, a position he maintained until being elected President.
Tubb and his wife, Kathy, have been married 45 years and have a son, Chad, and a daughter, Lesli, who is a coach's wife and teach in Lubbock, Texas. Lesli has two children, Kayli and Kade.
Joe Walker enters his fifth year at South Plains
College. Hired in October, 2008, Walker
came to South Plains College from Texas Tech University where he served as the
Director of Operations for Track and Field and Cross Country for four years.
At SPC he assists with marketing and promotions of the athletic department, handles statistics at basketball games, responds to media requests regarding sports programs, and assists with UIL activities, among other duties assigned by the athletic director.
Additionally, Walker was instrumental in creating and now coordinates the NJCAA Region 5 website and is responsible for communicating with coaches from around the region to gather scores and other information relevant to the schools competing in Region 5.
Walker is a 2003 graduate of the University of Arkansas and attained a Masters degree in education from Sul Ross State University in 2011.
1965-66, 1970-71, 1972-73, 1989-90, 1990-91, 1995-96, 1996-97, 2001-02, 2002-03, 2006-07, 2011-12
Region V Champions
1991-92, 2001-02, 2002-03, 2007-08, 2011-12
NJCAA Champions
2007-2008, 2011-12
