Sunrise Christian Academy basketball climbs nationally behind Kyle Lindsted

Relying on his keen sense of talent and a fearlessness that allows him to schedule anybody anywhere, Kyle Lindsted and his Sunrise Christian Academy (Bel Aire, Kan.) basketball program have become recognizable on a national level.

Now he's ready to take the next step. Lindsted won't rest until his five guys against the basketball brand of hoops are mentioned alongside the Oak Hill Academys and the Montrose Christians of the prep basketball world. And then he'll work even harder to keep it there.

"When I took over, Sunrise Christian Academy had a lot of history amongst small Christian schools in the state," Lindsted said. "But we decided that we were going to play bigger and better schools. We didn't want to be recognized as just another great basketball program locally, but as a program that's on the rise nationally. We started to schedule tougher and tougher teams and we got better and better."

A year ago Lindsted tested his team's moxie by taking the Buffaloes to Dayton, Tenn., to compete in the National Association of Christian Athletes Division 1A basketball tournament. Sunrise Christian responded by bringing home the championship hardware.

Lindsted (253-69) is hoping to cap the 2011-12 season with more of the same kind of success as he leads the No. 10 team in the MaxPreps Academy Top 10 Basketball Rankings. Only this time he's hoping to get a bid in the prestigious National High School Basketball Invitational in Maryland, March 29-31. Lindsted was recently notified that Sunrise Christian Academy is being considered for the elite prep basketball tilt.

For 6-foot-3 shooting guard Buddy Hield, playing in the tournament is simply about going head to head against the nation's best.

"It's a good tournament," he said. "It's a chance to play at a high level and against some great players. We're hoping for the opportunity, so we can compete as hard as we can go. We want to compete and win the championship, so we can make a name for our school."

Knowing that Sunrise Christian (19-4, ranked 125th) projected as a Class 2A program in Kansas, Lindsted prepared his basketball team for the rigors of national play by crashing the boards against some of Kansas' bigger and better hoops programs intentionally. The Buffaloes won five of six contests against a blend of Class 5A and Class 6A schools.

The Buffaloes also knocked off defending Missouri Class 3 state champion Hogan Prep Charter twice by a combined 147-107 margin.

Close losses to Huntington Prep (W. Va.) (49-39) and to Tilton School (N.H.) (47-42) – ranked 13th and 65th respectively in MaxPreps' latest Freeman rankings – in the opening two rounds of the State Farm Tournament in Washington, Ill., shouldn't hurt Sunrise Christian's opportunities come national postseason tournament selection time.

The Buffaloes did bounce back to take third place in the three-day slugfest by upending Trent Internationale (Sugar Land, Tex.) 59-42 in the four-team Team Works Division.

Sunrise Christian fell to No. 48 Sheldon (Sacramento, Calif.) 63-51 in the championship game of the National Division of the National Prep Classic in Santa Maria, Calif., but upended No. 17 Fort Bend Travis (Richmond, Tex.) 65-50 in the championship game of the Neosho Holiday Basketball Classic in Missouri.

The Buffaloes also took home top honors at the Topeka Invitational Basketball Tournament in Kansas. Sunrise Christian fell to Olathe South 61-60 at the Olathe South Basketball Tournament, but paid the Falcons back 58-40 in Topeka to get Lindsted's program back on track.

Now Lindsted and company carry an 11-game winning streak into Thursday's first-round Tri-State League battle at Wright Christian (Tulsa, Okla.).

"Our aim is to win the rest of our games, and win impressively," 6-9 starting center Lawrence Fejokwu said. "If we make the tournament, that'll be success for us. It's a chance for us to show people how good we are in the country as a whole."

Lindsted preaches in-your-face defense for 32 minutes and fundamentals, partly because that's where his strengths lie as a coach, but also because those two phases of the game are key to the success of his basketball team.

"We compete hard," Hield said. "We work hard and we play hard. Just being able to play defense. We're trying to get better offensively, but it's defense first on our team."

Coaching and teaching at an approved school in Kansas has allowed Lindsted to search the world over for his basketball talent. While he will never coach in a state championship game, Lindsted does not face the restrictions that State Activities Associations sometimes place on their member schools, allowing the Buffalo mentor to bring in the talent he needs to succeed.

Hield, an Oklahoma recruit from the Bahamas, headlines an international roster that includes players from the Bahamas, Estonia, Nigeria, France and Denmark. The senior, who Lindsted projects as a program changer once he steps foot in Norman, Okla., next fall, is averaging more than 21 points per game this season.

Joining Hield as a starter in Lindsted's backcourt is sophomore point guard Lourawls Nairin, also from the Bahamas. The 5-10 speedster, who is being recruited at a very high level, is not only uber-talented at handling a basketball, he can also get up and dunk it. Nairin is averaging about seven points and more than five assists for Lindsted this season.

Lindsted has pretty good size at the forward positions with 6-7 Estonia native Janari Joesaar and 6-8 Andre Sands, from the Bahamas, taking the court for him. Both juniors, Joesaar and Sands are being projected as high major prospects once they use up their high school eligibility.

Joesaar joins Hield in double figures, scoring 10.1 points and pulling down 5.2 rebounds a game. Sands, on the other hand, scores almost nine points a game and pulls down 6.3 boards.

Ruling the middle for the Buffaloes is senior shot blocking extraordinaire Fejokwu. The Nigeria native scores seven-plus points and rips down 5.7 rebounds to go with two blocked shots per outing. Fejokwu is backed up by 6-11 senior JJ Nganga from France, who Lindsted described as being a very good athlete with great feet and great hands for a big guy.

Seniors Franklin Uzonwanne (6-7) and Andreas Bigum (6-9) provide backup in the front court for Lindsted, while senior Wichita native Vequan Clark (5-11) and sophomore Bahamas native Nathan Bain (6-5) provide relief in the back court. Lindsted describes Bain as a highlight waiting for a place to happen.

Hield may be Lindsted's most potent offensive weapon, but the 12th-year coach is quick to point out that Sunrise Christian Academy's success on the scoreboard does not rely solely on the scoring abilities of one player.

"I preach to our guys about being selfless," Lindsted said. "That's key for us to win basketball games. Our strength is the great players that we have on this team. They could all go to other schools and be superstars. But they are willing to make the sacrifices necessary to be part of a team that wins basketball games. They've bought into what we're doing here and they are willing to give up some individual praise to be a part of it."

Now that Lindsted's approach to the game of basketball is front and center nationally, some of his peers are taking notice, including Lindsted's friend and rival Casey Autenrieth of St. Louis Christian Academy. The Cougars stayed with Lindsted's squad into the second half earlier this season, but then Hield warmed up in the 85-51 Buffalo win.

"They create so many mismatches," Autenrieth recalled of the mid-December clash. "If you try to cover their shooter, they have too much talent inside. We stayed with them for three or four quarters, but then Buddy sprung the lead on us. Our guys just hit a wall."

Austenrieth is in his fourth year as head coach of the Cougars and he hopes to bring his program to the level of Lindsted's.

"That program has really taken off under Kyle's dictatorship," Autenrieth said. "These last few years, he's really put together a strong program – it's become one of the premier programs in the country. Sunrise Christian Academy is very well coached in the fundamentals of the game and they play great defense and they rebound. They share the ball on offense. They are a fun team to watch."