Kevin Churchill admits his name does not often get mentioned as much as some of his teammates. But out of all those star players whose names are always in the headlines, he has been at Carleton longer than any of them.
Churchill is now technically in his sixth season with the Carleton Ravens men’s basketball team. After redshirting in his first year, he is now in his fifth and final year of eligibility.
He said out of all his great memories from his time with the team, he said he will never forget the feeling to win all the championships he was a part of.
“I’ve been lucky enough to win a number of national championships,” he said. “For me, when I was a younger guy, it’s always great seeing the fifth-year guys get their final win. Watching those guys go out on a high makes me want to end my university career the same way.”
As new teammates have come and gone in each of those six seasons, there has only been one person at the university to truly be a part of every step in Churchill’s journey—Ravens head coach Dave Smart.
Smart said it is interesting to look at Churchill’s development over the past six years into a skilled and reliable rotation player.
“He’s come a long way since his freshman year where he sort of walked into something he didn’t know and didn’t understand, and now he is doing so well,” Smart said.
Smart said doing little things that contribute to victories may be a reason why Churchill doesn’t stand out, but his coach said the work ethic he brings to the team is noticeable.
“He’s bought into what we’re trying to do. His effort and training is second to none,” Smart said.
In his final season, Churchill has evolved into a key piece for the Ravens. He’s averaged nine points and 4.7 rebounds per game, playing just a fraction below 20 minutes a night while starting in most games.
Despite Churchill rarely filling up the stats sheet because of his quiet offensive game, he is anything but quiet on the floor and in the room, according to forward Tyson Hinz.
“When you’ve got Phil [Scrubb], Tommy [Scrubb], and myself on the team, Kevin’s pretty loud because we’re quiet individuals and it’s what we need,” Hinz said. “He does it by example. He’s the one that shows the way and we follow him.”
Smart agreed with Hinz’s belief of the importance of Churchill being a passionate leader on and off the court.
“[Churchill] is a great leader, not just by example but he’s really our vocal leader. We don’t have a lot of vocal leaders on our team,” Smart said.
Hinz, being the lone other fifth-year on the team, said he’s formed a close relationship with Churchill over the years from the moment their paths crossed.
“It’s tough to describe [our bond] once you start to get playing in a real team like Carleton has with its team culture,” he said. “I think you gain something unique at Carleton that you can’t experience anywhere else, and Kevin and I will always be bonded because of it.”
Churchill has done a lot of work off the court as well that is deserving of recognition, including being the Ontario University Athletic East division’s representative for the Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) Ken Shields Award three straight times to end his playing career. The award goes to a player for excellence in athletics, academics, and community involvement.
“I take a lot of pride in my studies and putting time in the community,” he said. “It’s nice to be recognized for kind of all three facets—for sports, my studies, and putting in work in the community.”
Churchill said he’s looking forward to battling for a fourth straight national championship, especially against the Ravens’ cross-town rivals, the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees, in the CIS final Sunday at 2 p.m.
He said although he’s captured four national championships in his five previous years at Carleton, he does not see any particular Canadian title as being more important than others.
“To me, each team’s different. This is a different team than last year, same with the year before. So it’s all about getting it done with this group of guys,” he said.
With that in mind, Churchill said he’s going to work hard in his final CIS contest to help his team win by doing what he does best—leading by example.
“I’m not the biggest guy on the team. I’m not the leading scorer or rebounder. There are guys who are way more talented than me,” he said. “But I just try to play my role . . . I just try to communicate that with the guys, and hopefully that helps us be successful.”
