More than a Coach: 750-plus wins don’t tell whole story of Chris Jennnigs’ impact at Jesuit
by William Weathers // GeauxPreps.com Contributor
Chris Jennings had finished his marketing degree at Nicholls State, where he enjoyed the kind of career that would later earn him a spot in the school’s athletics Hall of Fame.
Nicknamed ‘Jump Shot Jennings’ for his scoring prowess, the school’s career scoring leader and two-time all-state selection, Jennings appeared to have chosen a path outside of the basketball court to make a living when he returned to his alma mater to help referee sixth-grade games.
The school’s head coach at the time, Jerry Hernandez, who had replaced Duane Reboul, asked Jennings during that span to take a leap of faith and give coaching a try, at least on a trial basis.
“I had no inclination to be a high school coach, and that’s how it started,” Jennings said. “Once I started it, it was the right thing for me to do.”
Nine years as an assistant under Johnny Ponds further reinforced Jennings’ resolve, becoming Jesuit’s head coach in 1992, where he’s built a reputation as one of the state’s brightest coaches and has made the Blue Jays a consistent winner.
A recent road win for Jesuit was more than just the team’s 10th win of the season on Jan. 6. The Blue Jays’ 38-26 victory was also the 750th of Jennings’ career.
“I didn’t know,” Jennings said. “One of my parents came up to me after the game. That’s all about the people before. All of those coaches. I’m just the one that’s been here that long. I’ve had a lot of great assistant coaches along the way. A lot of great kids to coach. It’s all that stuff.”
Jennings said his wife, Meg, also a teacher at Jesuit, wasn’t able to attend the game and offered to congratulate her 65-year-old husband when he reached 1,000 wins.
“That was funny,” he said.
Jennings said he was aware that his win total was 737 when he was honored during a homecoming mass last fall for winning the school’s John Paquette Award, emblematic of 40 years of service to the school.
“They said something then about approaching 750,” he said.
Jennings, who counts Ponds, Reboul, Hernandez, Kevin Trower, Jimmy Tillette, and Paul Baricos among his coaching influences, was certainly appreciative of the work and dedication of the previous players who have worn Jesuit’s jersey. The commitment and dedication of his many assistants also wasn’t lost during his coaching journey.
Such gaudy numbers as 750 wins quickly took a backseat to the business at hand, which was preparing for the Country Day tournament two days later.
Asked whether anyone had saved the game ball from the win over Thibodaux as a keepsake, Jennings believed it was still with its rightful owner.
“That ball’s on a rack at Thibodaux,” he said.
Jesuit moved past the landmark triumph with an 11-point win (52-41) over Country Day, followed by a 68-67 overtime triumph over previously undefeated John Curtis. They were stopped short in the final, 48-42, against reigning Division II state runner-up Archbishop Shaw.
“I really like our growth,” said Jennings, whose team was 14-3 going into Friday’s road game against Brother Martin. “We have a strong senior class, as far as kids wanting to win. We’re playing really well. Against Curtis, we were making shots. Anytime you make shots, you’re going to be pretty good.”
Jennings’ own academic pursuits remain of paramount importance at Jesuit. He takes great pride in having been in the classroom for 41 years, teaching both Louisiana history and sociology, and helping impart his wisdom on bright teenagers.
“When you talk to parents who had kids in school and the years go by, they say, ‘My son didn’t play basketball, and you probably don’t know him.’ I also teach,” Jennings said. “I’ve also had great relationships with the kids in the classroom. That’s very important to me.
“Academics are so important to kids and for me to help them along the road, and develop relationships with them, but now they’ve got to work,” Jennings said. “They’ve got to do stuff. Nothing’s given to you. Nothing’s given to you in life. I’ve always been in the classroom, and I’ve always enjoyed it.”
Jennings fondly recalled the impact Jesuit had on him during his formative years. It was part of his incentive in returning to his alma mater and giving back in the classroom, not just in the basketball gymnasium.
“I just think it’s a great school. It’s a great place,” said Jennings, whose son Christopher is a sophomore and is part of his basketball program. “It helped me a lot growing up. It helped me become a young man. I love what we teach kids, how we go about it, the day-to-day life, and what’s expected. I just love everything about the place. I feel very fortunate to be able to get up every morning and head to Carrollton and Banks (the site of school).
“Thinking you’re going to spend your whole life there, that was not my intent. It just happened,” Jennings said. “I met my wife there, and we have a son there. It’s great. It’s really a neat thing to have your family there, to go through all of this stuff.”
St. Thomas basketball coach Danny Broussard is one of the nation’s top high school coaches, who was inducted into the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame last June.
Broussard is the nation’s third active winningest coach with 1,172 wins – a total that ranks him sixth overall. Because of the amount of respect he’s developed for Jennings, there’s not a better coach in his estimation to have on your sideline with a game on the line.
“When someone’s asked me who is the best coach in Louisiana,” said Broussard, who has won six state championships and been state runner-up five times. “Chris Jennings would be one of my top picks, especially if it’s a close game. He just knows the game. He’s a competitive guy by nature. I’ve always enjoyed playing him, and you’re going to have to play your best to beat him. What a great career he’s had. I’m glad to have played a part in some of his wins.”
St. Thomas More defeated Jesuit in Jennings’ first season in 1995 in Country Day’s tournament.
In an effort to slow down the Blue Jays’ top player, Broussard went to a box-in-one or diamond-in-one defense, much to Jennings’ chagrin.
“He was upset and said that was the only time he’d gotten beat by a box-in-one,” Broussard said with a laugh. “He had a kid that was really good, and we felt that’s where most of their scoring came from. It came down to the last shot of the game.
“You know going in that it’s probably going to go down to the last shot,” Broussard said of matchups with Jesuit. “It’s always been a close game, and you learn to respect guys like that.”
STM nipped Jesuit 46-44 in the final of the Sunkist Shootout, and the Cougars also prevailed over the Blue Jays in the semifinals of Teurlings Catholic’s tournament last year.
With a bid on the line for the 2010 Class 5A state tournament in Lafayette, Jesuit won a nail-biter 47-44 in the quarterfinal round.
“It was a great atmosphere,” Broussard said. “The game was sold out. We’ve had some great wars, and I love playing against him. You know that his teams are going to be prepared.”
For the 25th consecutive year, STM will travel to take part in Country Day’s freshman tournament. For the 25th straight time, a group of coaches – including Jennings, Broussard, and Mike McGuire of Country Day – will go to breakfast on Sunday morning to catch up, swap stories, and talk basketball.
“It’s a friendship that’s lasted over time,” Broussard said. “You learn to respect guys like that and what they’ve done for the game of basketball. When you have guys like that (Jennings) in the coaching profession, we’ve played every now and then, we’ve become the best of friends. We talk on the phone, exchange some ideas. We’ve had some great battles.”
Coaching against Jesuit requires opposing teams and coaches to be at their best, Broussard said.
“They’re going to guard you,” he said. His teams are always known for playing man-to-man defense. The night you play him there’s going to be limited opportunities. We kind of resemble each other in a lot of ways. We’re known for normally not beating ourselves, and I think he’s the same way. They’re not going to turn the ball over. You’re not going to play them and force 20 turnovers. They’re just too sound.
“He’s a very fundamental type of coach,” he said. “He’s known for his solid man-to-man defense, and they’re really good in half-court sets. Guys like him make me a better coach. I’ve attached myself to him and guys like Mike McGuire and Errol Gauff (of Archbishop Hannan). They’re excellent coaches, and you learn from guys like that.”
Nine years into his tenure, Jennings led Jesuit to the top of the mountain in Class 5A basketball in 2001, the first time since 1966. The school’s eighth overall state crown was a tribute to a team that was able to regain its composure after a late losing streak going into the postseason.
“We lost to teams that we really shouldn’t have been losing to,” Jennings said. “After the last one, we were back at 6 a.m. the next morning. Usually, that means running for an hour or two before school starts. They came in and talked about us being too good for this to be happening. The kid kind of took over the meeting. They all kind of took great ownership of sacrificing for the team. Then we went on our run, where we didn’t lose a game.”
That year’s Jesuit team proved to be a sum of its parts. Without any Division I signees, the Blue Jays relied on execution on the offensive and defensive ends and terrific team chemistry.
Current Jesuit principal Jeremy Reuther was a starter on that team, and the Blue Jays also boasted starters Charles Haydel, now a pediatrician in New Orleans, who calls Christopher Jennings one of his patients.
Jennings was unaware of the endeavors of senior Jay Betca, who had asked to miss a week of practice one summer to attend flying lessons.
“I asked him what he was doing,” Jennings said. “He told me he was training to be a Navy SEAL. I had no idea until his senior year. The school brings out the best in these kids. Maybe I played a little role in that.”
Jesuit advanced to the final, where they faced Shaw for the fourth time that season.
The Blue Jays’ record against the Eagles to that point? 0-3.
Jesuit won its 30th game of the season and pushed aside its previous shortcomings against Shaw for a 53-41 victory, ending the school’s 35-year state title drought.
“That’s what I remember most about that team,” Jennings said.
Jesuit will hold a 25-year reunion for that team before the Jan. 23 District 9-5A game with St. Augustine.
Jennings experienced other deep postseason runs. Jesuit lost in the state quarterfinals in consecutive years to McKinley and Catholic of Baton Rouge (2018-19). The Blue Jays also reached the semifinals twice in 2010 and ’18 when they were eliminated each time by Scotlandville.
Jesuit is a team built with leadership this season, where they have 13 upperclassmen – including seven seniors – on its 17-man roster.
The Blue Jays won their first six games this season until a 51-43 setback to De La Salle. The avenged that loss to the Cavaliers, 54-38, and added another win over H.L. Bourgeois (69-59) before heading to Tampa, Fla., after Christmas for a tournament hosted at Jesuit High.
It’s been customary for the past 20 years for Jennings to place his team in a holiday tournament at one of the nation’s 50 other Jesuit High Schools to compete against out-of-state competition and further develop their bond.
Jesuit’s first game of the event – a 64-24 loss to St. Xavier of Cincinnati – proved to be quite eye-opening.
“They just do everything right,” Jennings said. “They have good players, but are not overwhelmingly athletic. They’re kind of like we are, a little bit bigger. They just ran stuff and competed at such a great level. They beat us by 40, and they just never stopped.
“When they got up to 20, they wanted to make it 30,” Jennings said. “When it was 30, I think they wanted to make it 40, and they just kept playing the same way the whole time. Sometimes teams showboat and screw around when they get up on you like that. They didn’t do any of that. In watching the film, you could see their high level of execution, and I think we learned from that a lot. It was a great learning lesson for us.”
Jesuit’s response was a 70-41 win over Regis High (N.Y.) and a competitive battle with host Tampa-Jesuit that the home team won, 65-59.
A week later, Jesuit traveled to Thibodaux for its 11-point win that was Jennings’ 750th career victory. Zach LaGraize had 14 points, and Sven Jensen added 7.
“We didn’t shoot really well,” said Jennings, whose 500th win was 20 years before over John Ehret on Dec. 11, 2005. “We’re holding people down on defense for the most part.”
That was followed by the Country Day tournament two days later, where Jesuit registered its second win this season over the host school. That set up a date with then-unbeaten John Curtis, where senior point guard Tanner Hughes provided the winning basket with a driving layup with 0.9 seconds to go in overtime.
Hughes, who finished with eight points, is the son of Brian Hughes, the point guard on Jennings’ first team in ’92. LaGraize had a team-high 22 – including 12 in the fourth quarter – and Jensen had 13 and Duke Nitcher 9.
Shaw stretched a two-point game in the fourth quarter into a six-point victory in the final.
Jesuit opens league play on Jan. 27 at Archbishop Rummel and hosts Curtis on Jan. 30.
“I like this team. I like our makeup, I like our locker room,” Jennings said. “I think that they want to win. No one on this team is playing college basketball. They want to win, and they’ll do whatever they need to do. I love the group of kids we have.”
“I love practice,” Jennings said. “It’s like I become a different person. My personality changes a bit. I love the kids. I’m setting high expectations and helping them reach it for them to help them along the way. Obviously, I love being in the gym. It’s worked out well for me.”