Former Seattle Sonics player Steve Hawes has been rehired as the head basketball coach at The Bush School in Madison Valley.
After 10 years as a player in the NBA, Hawes, also a former University of Washington Husky, coached at the collegiate level at Seattle University, Seattle Pacific and the UW.
COMFORTABLE AND MANAGABLE
A few years after his son enrolled in Bush as a second-grader, Hawes agreed to coach the 1-A high school basketball team when the school asked him in 1994.
He coached at Bush until 2002, before leaving to coach at the 3-A level at Anacortes.
"I wanted to see what the next level was like," Hawes said. "It was a good experience, and I got to work with great kids."
Then Hawes smiled and added, "Commuting was a nightmare, though."
Now, two years removed from coaching, Hawes is back to coach at Bush, with a little added perspective.
"Coming back to Bush had a lot to do with knowing the people and knowing the situation," he said. "I think it was a comfortable situation for me, where the scale of work is manageable now after a couple years off."
A STIMULATING EXPERIENCE
When reflecting on his experience both as a player and a coach, Hawes said that coaching is "far more demanding."
"Obviously, it's not physically demanding to be a coach," he said. "But as a coach, I am responsible for so much more than just practicing and playing. I'm constantly talking about the team concept with my players, trying to get them better prepared, and really just trying to have fun with it."
Hawes said that he is excited about working with younger players again because of their willingness to learn and the simple nature of high school basketball.
"I feel like the game, at this level, is basketball in its purest form," he said. "The kids are open, and they accept our coaching. It's really fun to see them progress and become a team that functions well together.
"Working with young people stimulates me; it gives me energy," he added.
Stan Emert, one of Hawes' assistant coaches, can see the influence that Hawes and his players have on each other.
"They have a real positive relationship," Emert said. "The players trust him already; they like him already. And to see Steve, who's in his 50s now, playing on the court like a little kid with them is really fun."
NO-PRESSURE ENVIRONMENT
While there is speculation that Hawes' experience in the NBA adds pressure on the team to perform better, both Hawes and Emert believe that such pressure is nonexistent.
"I think it's more of a benefit than a detriment," Hawes said. "It's not like we're recruiting or worrying about unrealistic expectations. They don't have to worry about all the other stuff that comes with the pro and college game."
"We both have basketball in a good perspective," Emert said. "It's not an end game. Steve understands that it's about working together and working hard."
At 6 feet, 9 inches, Hawes, a former center forward, is - both literally and figuratively - big on fundamentals. He believes in playing the game the right way, which involves more passing, cutting to the basket, setting screens and getting rebounds.
Basketball now vs. when he played in the NBA, he said, has changed drastically from a technical team sport to a flashy one-man show.
"I'm an old-school guy," he said. "The NBA is becoming increasingly less interesting to me. I mean, the players have terrific athleticism, but the team concept is starting to become less evident.
"Young people these days will turn on "Sportscenter" and see the flashing and dunking, which is entertaining," he explained. "But really, you only see the good, team basketball come playoff time."
This team concept and his own lessons learned through athletics are the things that Hawes hopes to impart on his team at Bush.
"In our first meeting together I told them that I'm a competitive guy, and that I like to win more than I lose. But what I really want is for them to progress upwards as a team," he said.
"If they play the game the right way and make an honest effort, they will improve," he explained. "From improvement, they can get fulfillment, which, in turn, makes it fun to know that you accomplished something together."[[In-content Ad]]
