Story by Blake Sandlin, Assistant Sports Editor

It took five years. Five trying, tumultuous years defined by transition, patience and faith. But in his final collegiate season, Jonathan Stark’s NCAA tournament dreams finally materialized.

The 22-year-old senior guard will be headed to his first ever NCAA tournament this weekend after a lengthy roller coaster of a career.

Graduating from Munford High School in Munford, Tennessee in 2013, Stark played the first two years of his college career at Tulane University. He averaged 12.7 PPG and 4.3 APG in two seasons and compiled a 32-33 record with the Green Wave.

From his 2013-14 freshman season to his sophomore season in 2014-15, Stark saw his minutes drop from 37.2 MPG to 31.8 MPG.

It was after that season that Stark made the decision to transfer out of the program.

“I just didn’t agree with some of the things the coach was doing at the program,” Stark said of his decision. “I felt like I wasn’t being used to the best of my ability, and I felt like I had to go somewhere where I had more of an opportunity to prove myself to the world.”

Insert Murray State. In the summer of 2015, Stark committed to the Racers under then Head Coach Steve Prohm. Per NCAA transfer rules, he was required to undergo a year of ineligibility for the 2015-16 season.

Stark watched from the sidelines as Murray State struggled through a rocky year that ended 17-14.

Following the 2015 season, after a one-year hiatus from the game, Stark made up for lost time and took the OVC by storm. He averaged 21.9 PPG to lead the OVC in scoring in his coming-out party with Murray State. Stark willed his team to the OVC tournament semifinals, scoring a combined 78 points in two games.

However, the Racers ultimately ran out of gas in the semifinals, and suffered their first losing season in 29 years with a 16-17 record. Stark said the team’s lack of leadership proved costly in that infamous season.

“I felt like last year we had inconsistent leadership on the team and I just felt like we needed leaders to just be consistent every day and to have someone for the young guys to look up to or someone to talk to if they have any questions,” Stark said.

As Stark and senior forward Terrell Miller entered into their final year with the Racer program, they became those voices. Their leadership has proved instrumental in this season’s spectacular 26-5 campaign that culminated in Murray State’s first NCAA tournament berth since 2012.
Stark came away as the OVC Player of the Year and the OVC tournament MVP and has transformed a sub-.500 team loaded with newcomers into a conference power-house poised to force an upset in the Big Dance.

Being the quiet, reserved player that he is, it was challenging for Stark to embrace the role of a vocal floor general, but he realized stepping out of his comfort zone was imperative to the growth of the team.

“For me, that was one of the biggest things I took away from last year,” Stark said. “I’ve never been a big talker and I’m still not a big talker. I’m still working on being a better talker and communicating with my team, but I’ve done a lot better job communicating with my team and leading my team not only by action, but by talking as well. I think that’s helped the younger guys.”

While this Racer team continues to garner notoriety on a national scale, Stark isn’t quick to forget the struggle. He believes the valleys he has endured – three seasons finishing at or below .500 and a grueling transfer process – has prepared him to appreciate the mountaintop even more.

“I appreciate everything that has happened,” Stark said. “I feel like everything happens for a reason. I think it was probably meant for us to lose last year just so the players coming back would be even more hungry. They didn’t want to have that same taste and feeling that we had last year, so I knew we were going to come in and work hard. The hard work paid off.”

As Stark’s college playing career begins to wind down, he will have one final chance to do what he has done his whole career: overcome.

“We’ve got a chance to shock the world,” Stark said. “I know we’re a small school, but I think we have the talent and the team to beat anybody in the tournament, so I’m blessed to have the opportunity.”

And when that final buzzer sounds on Friday night in San Diego, California, win or lose, Stark said he’ll always cherish the moments he got to spend as a Racer.

“I think what I’ll miss most about the basketball part is obviously my teammates and coaches first, but mostly this fanbase,” Stark said. “This fanbase is amazing; I never really experienced that at Tulane. It was a big transition for me with the fan support and even the community just supporting the basketball program. It’s a lot different. It’s like a family. It was a great experience for me; one of the best experiences of my life and I’m just happy I made the right decision to come to Murray State.”