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 |
