Men's Basketball
50th Anniversary Pilot Profiles - Garrett Skipper
Bethel College Basketball will be profiling athletes from the past leading up to a celebration of the 50 years of Pilot Basketball this November
The first 11 points Garrett Skipper scored with Homer Drew present came against the Pilots. An Elkhart Memorial graduate, Skipper began his college career at Marian and played the Pilots twice in 1980-1981. The Knights took the regular season encounter but Bethel won an NAIA playoff game at the Indianapolis school, 55-45, later that season. Skipper tallied five in the victory and six in the playoff loss.
“We thought we had equal or better talent and more size at Marian,” said Skipper. “But Bethel had a way of overcoming obstacles.”
Things didn’t work out at Marian and Skipper spent a year working in a trailer factory before arriving at Bethel.
“I couldn’t picture myself working in a factory the rest of my life,” said Skipper. “When I talked to Coach Drew, Bethel sounded pretty good.”
Marian’s loss turned into Bethel’s gain. The 6-3 forward poured in 1521 points and led the Pilots in rebounding all three years at Bethel.
Skipper turned out to be one of Bethel’s most consistent weapons, scoring in double figures in all but four games his first year with the Pilots and Bethel lost three of those four games. Skipper combined with Jerome Calderone to provide 45 percent of Bethel’s scoring in 1985-1986. They maintained that pace despite a variety of specialized box-and-one and triangle-and-two defenses designed to key on Bethel’s two stars.
The biggest moment in his career came in a struggle with Tri-State at Elkhart’s Northside gym in 1984-1985. Bethel built a big lead despite a 3-of-16 shooting performance from Skipper, but the Trojans rallied for a 67-67 tie in the final seconds. Those last seven seconds belonged to Skipper however, as he arched an eight-footer over Tony Gary, Tri-State’s 6-5 center, to beat the buzzer and win the game.
“It was fitting for him to hit the winning bucket,” said Drew. “Not just because he’s from Elkhart. He’s been a quiet hero all along for us.”
Skipper played a key role under the boards when Bethel lost starting center Keith Mensah in 1984-1985. Skipper was the tallest remaining Pilot in the lineup and responded with an average of eight rebounds an outing. He usually ended up defending against the tallest player in the other lineup too. With Skipper filling in and Jack Carpenter and Jerome Calderone in the backcourt, Bethel finished a surprising 25-10 that year.
Skipper scored 20 points in his first game at Bethel (versus Nazareth) and averaged 14 his first year. But that average improved each season- 15.5 in 1984-1985 and 17.0 in 1985-1986.
