A masterful motivator and consummate competitor, Gipson has led Northeastern to an NCAA Division II national championship, four NCAA Tournament appearances and five Lone Star Conference North Division titles in 12 seasons. 

His 211 wins is third best behind legendary coaches Jack Dobbins (314 wins) and Ken Hayes (224 wins), but his winning percentage (.615) is by far the best in school history.  He also reached his 100^th & 200^th NSU coaching victory more quickly than any previous RiverHawks mentor.  His NSU record is 211-132 as he enters his 13^th season in 2008-09.

Gipson is only one of two head coaches to lead teams, the other Nolan Richardson, to a national championship on different college basketball levels. Gipson and Richardson won NJCAA naitonal championships and NCAA titles.

 

Gipson began his college coaching career as a graduate assistant at the University of Tulsa under Richardson.

Gipson was named the 2003 Division II Coach of the Year by the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC), earned the Molten/Division II Bulletin Coach of the Year award and was a coach at the USA Basketball Trials in the summer of 2003.  He also received the top coaching honors in the South Central Region and Lone Star Conference North Division. The LSC award was his fifth straight.  Gipson has coached more the 30 players who have played professionally.

The NCAA title was the first for Northeastern State in any sport and the first championship won the RiverHawks in 67 years of basketball.  Gipson was inducted into the NSU Athletic Hall of Fame in 2004 for his outstanding coaching feat in 2003.

Northeastern State isn't the only institution which has reaped the benefits of Gipson's coaching prowess.  He led the Northeastern Oklahoma A&M (Miami, Okla.) to the NJCAA national championship in 1989 and logged a 217-87 record during his tenure.  After a five-year stint at the University of Toledo, Gipson left the coaching profession for one year before heading to Tahlequah.  Gipson's overall coaching record stands at 496-292 (.629).

He says basketball is his "passion" and Gipson is quick to list the legendary Henry Iba as his mentor.  The Ohio native earned his bachelor's degree from Heidelberg College in 1974 and a master's degree from the University of Tulsa in 1984.  In addition to coaching basketball at NSU, Gipson is an instructor in the College of Education, is a member of the Board of Directors for the NABC and was recently selected as the third Vice President for the NABC.

Gipson is married to Jennifer Craver.  Gipson's younger brother, Randy, is the women's head basketball coach at Northeastern State, the only brother duo in America to coach the same sports of different genders

Jon enters into his second season as assistant coach for the RiverHawks men’s basketball team. As an assistant, Coach Havens is primarily responsible for recruiting, academics, game preparation, scouting opponents, film breakdown, on floor coaching, team travel and player development. “Coach Havens has proven himself as an extraordinary recruiter. His basketball knowledge and passion for the game has set him apart from other college basketball coaches,” said Coach Gipson.

Before joining the RiverHawks program, Havens was an assistant coach at the University of Texas Pan-American for the 2009-2010 season.  At UTPA Havens was the recruiting coordinator whose responsibilities included constructing scouting reports on opponents, on-floor coaching and academics.

Prior to his stint at Texas Pan American, Havens spent two years as an assistant coach at St. Edward’s University in Austin, Texas. During his time at St. Edward’s, Havens was a part of two conference championship teams and coached six players that held either all-conference or all-region accolades. Preceding his time at St. Edward’s, Havens spent one season at Allen County Community College where he was an assistant coach for the Red Devils (2006-2007). In the course of that season the team finished second in the Jayhawk League Eastern Division with a 22-9 record and advanced to the NJCAA Region VI Tournament. Seven athletes under the guidance of Havens went on to garner Division I scholarships. Prior to coaching at ACCC, Havens was an assistant for the Heartland Conference member Incarnate Word under Coach Al Grushkin (2005-2006).

“We are very fortunate to have Coach Havens in our program. He comes from a well known Oklahoma basketball family and was an excellent player at UTSA, “said Coach Gipson. Coach Havens was a four-year letter winner at the University of Texas San Antonio. He led the team in three-point shooting during his tenure with the Roadrunners. He also finished his career in the top-5 assists, top 10 in three-point field goals made and top 30 in scoring. Havens graduated from UTSA in 2004 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in history. Coach Havens resides in Tahlequah and was married in the summer of 2011 to Lauren Crim. 

Jordan returns to the RiverHawks for his first year as a graduate assistant for the men’s basketball program after working under Head Coach Larry Gipson as a student assistant for four years. As a graduate assistant Coach Nagel has many responsibilities that include preparing scouting reports, film exchange, on floor coaching, checking classes, and basic day to day operations. “Jordan has a bright future in basketball if he continues his development as a coach. He has excellent organizational skills and has done a good job working with our players in individual workouts,” said Gipson.

Nagel played basketball at Sapulpa High School and was a three year starter for the 6A Cheiftans. He graduated from SHS in 2007. Nagel received his Bachelor of Science degree in Education from Northeastern State in May of 2011. Jordan is currently working on his Master’s Degree in Health and Kinesiology at Northeastern State. He is the Son of Larry and Donna Nagel.