DJ Balentine Returns To UE As Director Of Player Development

DJ Balentine returns to UE as Director of Player Development

Balentine is Purple Aces’ all-time leading scorer

 EVANSVILLE, Ind. – One of the best to wear the Purple Aces uniform is back!  University of Evansville head men’s basketball coach David Ragland has announced the addition of DJ Balentine as the Director of Player Development.

“We all are excited to welcome back Aces great, DJ Balentine as our new Director of Player Development.  Aces fans had the privilege of cheering on DJ during his storied career here at UE and now will be able to watch him grow and develop as a coach,” Ragland exclaimed.  “DJ is as energetic as his game was, he is extremely personable but also an up-and-coming superstar in this profession.  I admire and respect Jimmy Elgas a ton and grew a good relationship coaching against him while we were both assistants in this league.  Jimmy is a very good coach and has groomed some of the most talented young assistants across college basketball today.

Jimmy echoes the thoughts that I have on DJ’s potential to grow and be a valuable addition to our staff as we build towards chasing championships on and off the court here at UE.”

Balentine returns to Evansville following a season as an assistant coach at Henderson State University in Arkansas where he reunited with former Aces assistant coach Jimmy Elgas.  He helped the team to a successful 2022-23 season as the Reddies earned a berth in the GAC Tournament Semifinals.  Coach Elgas was on staff for three of Balentine’s four seasons with the Aces.

Prior to joining Henderson State, Balentine served as the assistant coach at Indiana University-Kokoma from 2020-22, where he helped the team to a 39-6 overall record, including an 18-1 conference record, leading to a Rivers State Conference Championship and a trip to the Sweet 16 at the NAIA National Tournament in 2022.

“As our Director of Player Development, DJ will focus on formulating a detailed plan of success for our student-athletes both on and off the court.  We want to be able to clearly communicate with our student-athletes our expectations of them individually,” Ragland added.  “We will focus on each person’s strengths while assisting them in their areas of improvement.  DJ will also be heavily involved in our day-to-day off-court operations.”

“DJ will also be able to have a hand in our on-court instruction of our student-athletes due to the new rules being passed by the NCAA.  We want to establish an environment in which we allow our student-athletes to have a first-class experience.  We feel with our staff additions and realignment that we are making a huge step in the direction of providing a first-class student-athlete experience.”

Finishing his UE career with 2,464 points, Balentine passed Colt Ryan’s program record of 2,279 points.  Leading the Missouri Valley Conference in scoring for three consecutive years, Balentine joined Larry Bird and Oscar Robertson as the only other players to do so.  He wrapped up his career as the #4 scorer in MVC history.

Following his collegiate career, Balentine saw a four-year professional basketball career, which gave him the opportunity to travel around the world to countries such as Lithuania (2016), Netherlands (2017), Iceland (2018), and Cyprus (2019).

Balentine earned his Bachelor’s degree in Sports Advertising and Management with a minor in Business from Evansville in 2016.