| Chris Shovlin has come back
after six seasons off and is shovelin' in the points. Wilkes photo by Steve Finkernagel |
At 6:30 each morning, Chris Shovlin takes six kids to school with a book bag on his own back. Shovlin, 26, is not a regular college student-athlete.
Shovlin, a 6-1 guard, is averaging 27.4 points per game. The Kingston, Pa., native has always been a scorer, ranking 18th in the state’s high school basketball records with 2,564 points at G.A.R. Memorial high school.
After a 6-year break, he is currently playing his junior season at Wilkes. That follows two years of basketball from 2004-06 in which he won the MAC Freedom League Rookie of the Year award, and reached the conference finals.
Shovlin had to leave school, his degree and basketball pursuits behind to support his first born child, Caidence, who is now 6. “I had to be a father figure. I had to support my family,” Shovlin said.
Shovlin went off to work in an attorney’s office for five years, during which he had two more biological sons, Camrin, 4; and Caleb, 3; and was engaged to Candice Valenti, who has three sons of her own, Dante, 10; Gavin, 8; and Donovan, 7.
“As I got older, I kind of realized the bigger picture, and in the bigger picture I needed my degree, and to finish my academics,” Shovlin said. Shovlin returned to Wilkes to finish up a year and a half of school.
As a kid, Shovlin attended Wilkes coach Jerry Rickrode’s annual basketball camp and the two kept in contact through high school. “I would have really wanted to recruit Chris [Shovlin], but he was a higher level kid. He actually got a scholarship to Monmouth University out of high school,” Rickrode said.
But that August, Shovlin visited Rickrode and told him that he did not want to go to Monmouth. He wanted to stay home.
Rickrode told him, “Christopher, you signed a letter of intent, you have to give it a shot.” Rickrode got a call the next month from Shovlin. He was transferring.
In half a season his freshman year, Shovlin averaged 18 points per game. Sophomore year, he put up 17 points per game.
After he left Wilkes, Shovlin only spoke to Rickrode once in five years. But last year, after hearing rumors through the blue-collar town that Shovlin might return, Rickrode was approached by Shovlin himself at a local eatery, Rodano’s on Wilkes-Barre’s Main Street.
That night, the two spoke of only family and school. Basketball was not broached, but in the days to come, it was. Not long before the season, Shovlin approached his former coach again and expressed interest in returning to the court.
“If it ever got to a point where it curtailed my academics or my family I wouldn’t do it. But, I’d like to give it a shot,” Shovlin told him.
So far, it has been a heavy workload. When Shovlin gets back from practice, he works towards his business degree by doing homework at the same table as his kids, as they learn how to multiply, add, read and write. Later in the night, he takes them to practice of their own.
“By the time I finish my homework and go to bed, I am exhausted by the end of the day,”Shovlin said.
But, it is not affecting his performance on the court. Shovlin is a better player now than he ever was.
“I feel like as I got older, I gained more of a mental aspect of the game,” Shovlin said. “My all-around game is better because of my new mentality.”
Shovlin went from a player that averaged 3.7 assists and 4.2 rebounds in his first two seasons, to now averaging 6.6 assists and 6.1 rebounds per game. “He can do a lot more than score,” Rickrode said. He has been a big asset to Wilkes’ 5-4 men’s team.
Shovlin is known for his scoring, but his best attribute is his ability to make the right decisions in the air. “A lot of players get into the lane and have to make a decision before they jump, but he has the ability to react,” Rickrode said.
After he graduates, Shovlin guesses his next decision is to pursue a law degree, but he will react if things change.
He has always had that ability.
Sea Gulls sprinting
The Salisbury men’s basketball team is off to a 9-1 start, their best since the 1996-97 season. For the second straight year, Salisbury has defeated No. 1 Virginia Wesleyan. Salisbury has two more tough matchups this week, facing Randolph-Macon on Wednesday and Division I William & Mary on Friday.
“Whenever you are playing a team that is No. 1, you know that the room for error is so much less. The opportunity to play against the best is something our guys really relish. We have a lot of guys who really enjoy that challenge,” coach Josh Merkel said.
One of them being Tim Harwood, who tallied 21 points in Monday’s win. Harwood’s first start of his collegiate career was last year against Virginia Wesleyan. He has started every game since. According to Merkel, on game days, Harwood gets in the gym and makes 400 shots. Seriously.
Top 25
Men: No. 8 Franklin and Marshall, defeated Haverford Saturday 61-59 to hold onto their perfect 7-0 overall record. F&M is 5-0 in the Centennial Conference, but have won their last two games by just five points. No. 10 Ramapo moved into the top ten after their 110-76 victory of St. Joe’s-LI and improved to 8-0. Ramapo will face No. 3 North Central (Ill.) at the D3hoops.com Classic in Las Vegas on Dec. 28th. No. 15 Catholic improved to 8-1 with a 67-55 victory over Randolph-Macon on Monday. No. 16 St. Mary’s defeated Marymount by a score of 70-56 to improve to 7-1 overall on Dec. 8, the last time the Seahawks have played. They return to action on Dec. 22nd at FDU-Florham.
Women: No. 8 Messiah defeated Bridgewater State 57-37 on the opening day of the Puerto Rico shootout in San Juan on Monday. Senior Dori Gyori followed up her Commonwealth Player of the Week effort from last Friday with 20 points and 10 rebounds in the win. No. 13 Lebanon Valley crushed Marywood in a 73-40 win on Monday night and improved to 8-1 as Renee Fritz and Tierney Hiltz both recorded double-doubles. No. 12 York (Pa.) improved to 8-0 with a 67-35 Capital Athletic Conference victory over Wesley on Dec. 8. York is 2-0 in the Capital Athletic Conference. Their 8-0 start is the best in school history.
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