Travis Timmons knows what it’s like to be a small-college basketball player trying to make it big.
After all, he was one himself several years ago and has been around the game nearly his entire life.
That combination is what makes Timmons a perfect fit for his job now. Timmons, a graduate of Rincon/University High School, is the assistant men’s basketball coach at the University of Saint Katherine in San Marcos, California, an NAIA program in desperate need of a makeover.
“The previous coaching staff had a lot of issues with the team,” the 29-year-old Timmons said. “Six or seven players were kicked off. There was another year where the program was shut down. We weren’t a team that was looked at in a good way on campus before we got here.”
The “we” Timmons is referring to is head coach Kevin Williamson. The two first developed a connection during Timmons’ playing days at Mesa Community College in 2011-12. At the time, Williamson was an assistant at a Division II school in Minnesota.
The pair continued to bump into each other at basketball events over the next several years. And when Williamson took the job at Saint Katherine in June 2019, he got Timmons to join him. Prior to joining Williamson’s staff, Timmons spent four years as an assistant coach at Eastern Arizona College.
“It’s crazy kind of how everything just came full circle,” Timmons said. “We have a really good friendship and I’m learning a lot coaching under him.”
Timmons and Williamson essentially had to start from scratch.
Travis Timmons, right, played at the junior college and small-college levels after graduating from Rincon/University High School in 2009.
“Taking over a program that had a black eye on it has been a little rough,” the Tucson native said. “In our first week last year, we had three returning seniors that just walked out and quit on us. We had to dismiss a few players early on as well because we needed to instill the discipline to the rest of the team.”
Saint Katherine eventually filled out its roster with a transfers. Despite a tumultuous first half of the year that included a eight-game losing streak, the Firebirds rebounded to post a 9-0 conference record that had them set up to go to the National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) Tournament before the COVID-19 pandemic hit.
“We were getting beat pretty bad at first, but our guys stuck through it,” Timmons said. “By the second half of the year, the team figured out how we wanted them to play and that led to our success.”
Timmons has gone through similar experiences.
After graduating from Rincon, where he was an honorable mention Arizona Daily Star Winter All-Star in 2009, the shooting guard made stops at Mesa Community College and Southeastern Oklahoma State University.
He has played and coached at the JC and small-college levels.
“I see a lot of the bad habits that have to be worked on both on and off the court. Just being able to guide kids in certain ways is the biggest thing because I’ve been there before,” Timmons said. “I want to be able to watch these young men grow on and off the floor.”
Saint Katherine will start playing at the NAIA level this season, a major challenge for the small school north of San Diego. Then there’s the virus: It’s unclear when (or if) a basketball season will be played.
Timmons believes his group is ready for the challenge.
“I think the team that adapts the best and doesn’t really complain about what’s going on in the world right now is going to be the most successful,” he said. “I’m hopeful we as a staff and team can do that this year.”
