DJ Balentine has joined the Henderson State basketball program as an assistant coach.

Balentine reunites with head coach Jimmy Elgas after playing for him for three years at the University of Evansville in the Missouri Valley Conference when Elgas served as the Purple Aces’ assistant coach.

Balentine saw unprecedented success during his time with the Aces, becoming the all-time leading scorer at Evansville in 2016 with 2,464 career points. He also led the Missouri Valley Conference in scoring three years in a row, a milestone only achieved by two other players in history: Larry Bird and Oscar Robertson.

Balentine finished his career at UE as the fourth all-time leading scorer in MVC history and claimed the NCAA scoring title in 2016.

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).

After his time overseas, Balentine served as the assistant coach at Indiana University-Kokoma from 2020-22, where he held 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.  

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

https://hsusports.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster/coaches/dj-balentine/764