OKLAHOMA CITY – As the MACU Men's and Women's Basketball teams prepare to open their 2024-25 seasons, both programs bolstered their coaching staffs for the upcoming year with a pair of familiar faces as Tichic Fikipo will serve as an assistant coach and the head coach for the JV team on the men's side while Karley Miller will serve as an assistant coach for the women's program.
Fikipo is rejoining the men's program that he competed with for the past two seasons as he saw action in 25 games and made one start. In his MACU career, the Kinshasha, Congo native finished with 33 points and shot a highly efficient 50 percent from the field while pulling down 29 boards and dishing out four assists from his low-post position.
"Tichic embodies everything we want our program to be about," stated MACU Men's Basketball head coach Josh Gamblin. "He is a servant leader and loves to help young people. We are so happy to have him here and he has already made a tremendous impact on our program."
Fikipo's biggest impact came in a 73-70 win at Oklahoma Panhandle State on Dec. 1, 2022 when he came off the bench to score four points and pull down four boards in the hard-fought road victory. He later scored a MACU career-high five points in MACU's 82-79 comeback victory over the Aggies later in the season on Jan. 28, 2023 inside the Gaulke Activity Center.
"I have always been a team kind of guy," said Fikipo. "To be given the opportunity to come back to be a part of a tremendous program with one of my mentors is a blessing. I am looking forward to pouring back into the program that has poured into me."
On the women's side, Miller played a massive role in her lone 2023-24 season with the Evangels. The Wellston, Oklahoma product competed in 29 games and made one start, closing out the campaign with 137 points on a 35.5 percent shooting clip while being one of the team's top three-point shooters, going 30-for-92 (32.6 percent) from range.
Miller's biggest impact was felt on the defensive end as she ended the year with 74 rebounds and finished with the second-most blocked shots on the team with 15 to go with 12 steals.
"Karley has a terrific basketball mind and is going to be a great addition to our staff," said MACU Women's Basketball head coach Hannah Moeller. "In a short amount of time, she has already been a tremendous help in recruiting and practice. We look forward to watching her passion for basketball take on a new identity as she steps into the coaching world."
Miller played a massive role off the MACU bench throughout the season. Her biggest game as an Evangel came in a 104-55 win over Central Christian inside the Gaulke Activity Center on Jan. 6 as she scored a career-high 25 points and shot a blistering 7-for-10 from the three-point arc in the victory.
Miller also notched a pair of double-doubles later in the season, turning in a 16-point, 10-rebound performance in the 98-39 victory at Central Christian on Feb. 10 before coming up with another 16-point, 10-board performance just a week later in a 97-74 home win over UNT Dallas.
"I am so thankful for the opportunity to coach here at MACU," stated Miller. "I want to thank God for leading me to MACU as a player and also to thank Coach (Hannah) Moeller and Coach (Kelsie) Dutton for allowing me to continue working in the sport of basketball."
The MACU Men's Basketball team officially tips off its 2024-25 season on Oct. 24 as the Evangels will be at home for a 6 p.m. tip-off against Kansas Christian. The women's team will also open its campaign inside the Gaulke Activity Center as the Evangels host Providence (Mont.) for a 2 p.m. tip-off on Nov. 2.
