Odell, who just completed his 14th season at Azusa Pacific, guided the Cougars to a 29-10 record, which included a 15-5 GSAC slate, despite having just 1 senior on the team. After a sluggish start by program standards in which Azusa Pacific lost 5 of its first 14 games, the Cougars reeled off 11 straight GSAC victories through January and early February. The team then won 5 straight down the stretch to clinch the conference crown for the 12th time in the past 13 years and appear in the GSAC Tournament championship game for the fifth straight year.
At the NAIA Championship Tournament in Kansas City, the Cougars knocked off Houston Baptist (88-72) in the opening round, downed Sooner Athletic Conference champion Oklahoma Christian (100-93) in a triple overtime thriller, downed No. 1 seed and defending national champ Mountain State (82-66) in the quarterfinals, and upset No. 4 seed Robert Morris (96-88) in the semifinals before falling to John Brown (65-55) in the national championship game.
Now with a 395-99 (.800) collegiate coaching record, Odell is narrowly second to North Carolina’s Roy Williams (466-116/.801) as the winningest collegiate coaches over the past 14 years.
Odell becomes the first Cougar ever to be named NAIA Coach of the Year in men’s basketball but joins past and present Cougar mentors Terry Franson (men’s track & field), Christian Johnson (women’s soccer), Kevin Reid (men’s track & field), Sharon Lehman (softball), Mike Barnett (women’s track & field), Vic Sheely (football) and Marvin Mardock (men’s track & field) who were also named NAIA Coach of the Year.
As for the players, junior Lance Soderberg was accorded NAIA All-American second team recognition. The 6-foot-9 forward led the Cougars in scoring (14.2 avg.), rebounding (7.1 avg.) and shot blocking (1.1 avg.). He tallied 5 20-point games during the year, including a career-high 25 in a victory over Westmont. He also tallied 4 double-doubles, which included an 18-point, career-high 17-rebound effort vs. Point Loma Nazarene.
Senior guard Larry English received NAIA All-America honorable mention after averaging 12.1 points and 3.5 assists through the 39-game season. Twice he scored a career-high 30 points, including one in the triple-overtime victory over Oklahoma Christian in the “Sweet 16” round of the NAIA Tournament. English averaged 18.6 points in 5 NAIA Tournament games and was named to the all-tournament team along with teammate Brice Prather, who averaged 11 points and 9.8 rebounds in Kansas City.
