Bio

Christopher Avery enters his 9th season at Jarvis Christian University and his 6th as the head men’s basketball coach. He served as the assistant men’s basketball coach at JCU from 2014-2017 and was promoted to head coach prior to the 2017-18 season.

Avery came to JCU after a stint as assistant coach for the men’s basketball team at the University of the Southwest in Hobbs, NM. At USW, Avery was in charge of player development, developing scouting reports and practice plans, and overseeing study hall.

Avery started his playing career at the junior college level in California at Los Angeles Harbor College under Head Coach Tony Carter-Loza. At Harbor, Avery earned all-conference honors in the South Coast Conference. Avery transferred to USW to continue his playing career at the four-year level. As a player at USW, he garnered all-conference honors and played in the Red River Athletic Conference Tournament.

Following graduation, Avery had the opportunity to play professionally in the Philippines, but turned the opportunity down to coach as a way to impact the lives of others and teach the game of basketball.

In his time at JCU, Avery has recruited and coached nine all-conference players – Dion Fisher, Chasten King, Eric Stewart, Jaewon Williams, McShane Wyatt, Timothy Thompson, Semaj Matthews, Christian Bennings, and Kobe Wrice. Matthews also was named defensive player of the year, and King was the leading scorer in the nation during the 2018-19 season. Avery led the team to an RRAC tournament appearance during the 2020-21 season.

Avery has produced three professional basketball players in his time at JCU. Giovanny Martinez played at JCU during the 2018-19 season and is now a member of the Vacqueros de Bayamon team in Puerto Rico. Isiah Lopez and Jawan Butler-Stevenson both play in the Mexico Professional League. Lopez played at JCU from 2016-2018 and Butler-Stevenson competed at JCU from 2017-2019.

In addition to his coaching experience at USW and JCU, Avery has served as a player development coach for college athletes in California. He is also a member of the USA Basketball Coaching Academy.

“The reason I got into coaching was to give back and extend that olive branch the same way someone did for me,” Avery said. “Coming from Long Beach, I knew college basketball was a tool to get me to where I wanted to go, and because of that, I have had the opportunity to travel the country and meet several coaches in the process and recruit some great players. I try and teach my guys that basketball is a vehicle that can drive you wherever your hear desires. You must be willing to sacrifice and work hard to get where you want to go. As long as I am allowed, I plan on teaching the game and life lessons and skills as long as God allows me to.”

The Long Beach, CA native earned his master’s degree in sport management from Jackson State University.