Kim Elders (Head Coach) kim_elders@cornerstone.edu
Over the past eleven seasons as the head coach for Cornerstone University basketball, Kim Elders has established himself as one of the top coaches at the NAIA Division II level. During that time, Elders averaged 27 victories (four seasons with 30 or more), took his teams to four Final Fours, two Elite Eights, one Sweet Sixteen and captured the National Championship once (’99).
Elders, who begins his seventeenth season at the Cornerstone helm, has a career record of 396-171. Elders’ teams have averaged 25 wins per year since he took over the program in 1993. His victories and winning percentage (.698) rank number one at the school. Since the 1995-96 campaign when the CU program began to establish national level status, Elders has garnered several coaching awards, including: WHAC Coach of the Year (’96, ’99 & ’05), NAIA National Coach of the Year (’99), NABC National Coach of the Year (’99), and BCAM Coach of the Year (’99). Elders also earned National Coach of the Year in 1996 in the NCCAA.
Elders has led the Golden Eagles to four regular season conference championships (’96, ’99, ’05 and ‘07). His teams have played in eleven consecutive (thirteen of the last fourteen) WHAC Championship playoff games, capturing the title five times (’99, ’01, ’02, ’04 & ’06).
During his tenure, CU has been in the top 20 nine times. He has coached fifteen Academic All-Americans, 34 All-Conference players and sixteen All-Americans.
On four different occasions Elders has taken his teams overseas on mission’s trips. The first one was in 1998 to the Philippines. Two years later they spent three weeks in Singapore, ministering and putting on clinics. In 2003, the team took a 12-day trip back to the Philippines, sharing the Gospel in many of the areas they did four years earlier. In the spring of 2005, Elders led his team back to the Philippines – this time to the northern part of the country.
“These trips were the highlights of my career,” says Elders. “To use the abilities that God has given us to help further His kingdom is an opportunity not everyone gets. They were life-changing events for all of us.”
Elders began his coaching career in 1981 at Grand Rapids Baptist Academy, leading the JV Mustangs to a 70-29 record in five seasons. The next four years he spent at Freedom Baptist Academy where he guided that athletic program during its inaugural years. He served as Athletic Director and Boys basketball coach during that time.
Arriving at Cornerstone in 1990, Elders responsibilities included Assistant Basketball Coach and Head Baseball Coach. Three years later, he was named Head Basketball Coach, inheriting the team that went 8-24 the previous season.
Elders, a 1977 graduate of Grand Valley State University, earned a B.S. in Physical Education. In 1993, he received his M.A. in Athletic Administration from Western Michigan University.
Besides coaching, Elders’ other responsibilities at CU include Associate Athletic Director and professor in the Kinesiology Department.
Elders lives in Ada with his wife Holly and four step-children: Nic (22), Zac (19), Cam (17) and Missy (14).
Lance Roark - Assistant Coach
Lance Roark has been an integral part of CU’s basketball success for 18 years – three as a player and 15 as the junior varsity or assistant coach. As a player, Roark is still considered one of the best point guards to put on a Golden Eagle uniform. During his senior year, he established a single season record when he dished out 243 assists – a record that still stands to this day. To go along with his 7 APG, Roark also averaged 15 PPG and 7 RPG, which earned him First Team All-Conference honors. He was equally successful in the classroom, maintaining a 3.3 GPA and was named to the WHAC All-Academic Team that same year. After graduating from CU in 1994, he received his master’s degree in educational leadership at Grand Valley State University in 2001. He currently teaches language arts and physical education classes at Sparta High School in Sparta, MI. He has served in the Sparta district as the varsity basketball coach, junior varsity soccer coach, and assistant baseball coach at various times since 1995. He is married to Jodi Hillaker Roark (CU '96) and has two daughters, Alexandra (10 years old) and Avery (7).
Eric DeSantis - Assistant Coach
Eric DeSantis begins his fourth season as a Golden Eagle assistant coach. He completed his undergraduate work at Moody Bible Institute (Chicago, Ill.) in 2003 with a degree in family ministries. While at Moody, he played
three seasons on the men’s basketball team. DeSantis was named Most Valuable Player after his senior season. He also led his team on mission trips to
both Egypt and Alaska.
DeSantis received his master of arts in counseling from
Cornerstone in December of 2005. He is currently employed at Pine Rest Christian Mental Health Services as a licensed practitioner working with adolescents.
DeSantis’ responsibilities include recruiting and working with both the post and perimeter players.
Dennis Graham--J.V. Head Coach--Ast. Varsity Coach
Dennis Graham enters his first year as the head junior varsity men’s basketball coach and varsity assistant coach at Cornerstone. He will also serve as the recruiting coordinator. He completed his undergrad work at Cornerstone University in 2005, majoring in Elementary Education, while having a double minor in English and History. During his time at Cornerstone, he was involved with the basketball program for three years as a student manager.
As a coach, Dennis has several years of experience in many different realms of coaching including head coaching stints at Vestaburg High School where he was the varsity girl’s basketball coach as well as the junior varsity boys coach and coached both boys and girls basketball at Sparta Middle School. In 2004, Dennis coached one season of AAU basketball with the Grand Rapids Storm 16U team and last year served as a volunteer assistant at Alma College.
Currently, Dennis is working toward his Masters Degree in Management at Grand Valley State University.
Dennis_M_Graham@Cornerstone.edu
