University of San Francisco Athletics

Video: Kruize Pinkins - Working Man

The little town of Marianna is located in the Florida Panhandle, just under the Alabama border off I-10 between Tallahassee and Panama City. It's called the "City of Southern Charm" for its quaintness and slow, easy southern manner, much like the neighboring towns of Altha, Chipley, Sneads, Graceville, Blountstown and Cottondale.
 
The Florida Caverns Park is a must see, with its waterfalls, walk-through caves and underground rivers. There is a marker in town commemorating the Civil War Battle of Marianna, a small but important engagement on September 27, 1864,  where the Union Army scored a victory over the Confederates on the way to establishing to stronghold in northwestern Florida.
 
As the sweet smells of azaleas, dogwood, butterfly weed and fiddlewood cut through the thick air, you are transported back into a William Faulkner novel, offering a reminder you are in the Deep South and worlds away from the tourist meccas of South Beach and Orlando.
 
Make your way down to the town square next to the courthouse and you might find some of the town's older gentlemen quietly playing checkers near the white gazebo. Their drawn, blood-shot eyes tell you all you need to know about a not-too-distant, unconscionable past.
 
While Marianna for the most part has caught up with modern times, it's still very much a rural southern community. Many of the town folks have never ventured too far from home. Most are set in their ways because it's the only life they've ever known.
 
School can be challenging for all of the wrong reasons and the consequences for making bad decisions can easily set a young person down a path to nowhere.
 
It's a way of life that is all too familiar to Kruize Pinkins.
 
Pinkins was born and raised in Marianna mostly by his grandmother, Vera White. He has two younger sisters who he loves and protects like a father. Admittedly, growing up wasn't always easy, but Pinkins managed to dismiss the persistent, negative voices and turn away from the temptations that derailed many lives of those who were close to him.
 
After graduating from Marianna High School, Pinkins enrolled at nearby Chipola College, where he played two seasons and helped the Indians reach the top of the National Junior College Athletic Association Top-25 poll as a sophomore. He earned first team All-Panhandle League honors after averaging 11.4 points and 6.9 rebounds, garnering the attention of more than a handful of Division I schools in the area who were eager for his services.
 
Enter Brent Crews, USF's assistant coach who was born and raised an exit or two down I-10 in nearby Chipley. Crews also played two seasons at Chipola before heading to Florida Atlantic, where he flourished under Rex Walters.
 
"I first met Kruize when he was a sophomore in high school," remembers Crews. "I knew from the first day I met him he was a great kid. He looks a little rough around the edges with the scowl and tattoos – and he did grow up in a very tough area – but he has always had a huge heart and wanted to provide a better life for his family."
 
The two shared similar childhood experiences and faced many of the same challenges and temptations during their formative years. A bond was quickly established built on trust. As Crews progressed in his coaching career, he never forgot the soft-spoken, humble Pinkins, if only because he saw a mirror-image of himself - a young man who only needed an opportunity to unlock a world of promise.
 
USF has not spent much time recruiting in the panhandle over the years, but Crews convinced Walters to take a trip to Marianna and watch Pinkins play in person.
 
"I remember the first time I saw him play at Chiploa he was wearing a head band, and I'm not a big fan of head bands," said Walters. "He comes off the bench and immediately blocks a shot, saves it from going out of bounds and finishes the play with a dunk on the other end. On the next possession, he drains a three. I didn't have any issues with him wearing the head band from that point on.
 
"We thought immediately he was going to be an impact guy for us. The power in what we do is guys have to give up part of their games for the whole of the team. Kruize has done that and his talent continues to shine through. He's a potential all-conference guy for us."
 
Pinkins felt the role he was targeted to play within the Dons' system was perfect for his style of play. Done deal - Kruize was heading west. Now all he had to do was to tell his family the USF he would be attending was in San Francisco and not Tampa.
 
Saying goodbye to his grandmother and sisters wasn't easy. "We were all crying," remembers Pinkins, "but they knew it was something I had to do if I was going to provide a better life for myself and them."
 
Pinkins, who has quickly become a crowd favorite for his blue-collar style of play, is the Dons' second leading scorer and rebounder, averaging 12.2 points and 6.7 boards a game. He has scored in double-figures in 10 of the team's 20 games, including a career-high 22-point night in USF's win at Montana in November. He is also averaging 3.4 offensive rebounds a game – tops in the West Coast Conference. After coming off the bench for the first 14 games, Pinkins has been a fixture in the starting lineup since the third conference game of the season.
 
"He was a starter in my mind even when he was coming off the bench," says Walters. "All he wants to do is help the team."
 
While Pinkins has successfully met the challenges that come with transitioning from playing junior college basketball in the Panhandle League to starting on the Division I level, he has worked equally as hard off the court with academic advisors as he progresses to earning his degree in advertising.
 
"Kruize will never be outworked," says Walters. "He never has poor effort practices and he's one of our better guys in taking advantage of all of the resources that are available to him. Most importantly, he's embraced the opportunity to get a great education."
 
Pinkins is also taking to his adopted hometown of San Francisco like a wide-eyed tourist. He enjoys the serenity and beauty of nearby Golden Gate Park, walking amidst the hustle and bustle of downtown, strolling along The Embarcadero and taking in the sights and smells Fisherman's Wharf.
 
"It's exciting to watch him experience everything for the first time," says Crews. "He's like a child at Christmas. The new foods, the city, the people, the road trips -- everything is a 'wow' to him."
 
"There are times that I look out to the city and I just can't believe I'm here," says Pinkins. "I've never seen anything like it in my life."
 
Pinkins is fully aware his two years on the Hilltop could be the most formative time in his life.
 
"Being here at USF is going to make me a better person and I very grateful for this opportunity," said Pinkins. "It's very important to earn my degree and be able to provide for my family back home. I told them I came out here for y'all, but I'll always be there for you."
 
As George Augustus Moore once wrote, "A man travels the world over in search of what he needs and returns home to find it." 
 
When Kruize eventually returns to Marianna, he will be a changed man. His sisters and grandmother will be there to welcome him home with tears in their eyes, anxious to hear about life in the big city.
 
Perhaps the next goodbye won't be so hard, because no matter where his journey takes him, Kruize Pinkins will always know where home is.
 
Jim Young, Assoc. Athletic Director / Communications & Marketing