It'll be made official soon that Seattle Pacific coach Jeff Hironaka is leaving to become an assistant at Washington State, where he will again work with his former boss, Ken Bone.
Hironaka has been the head coach at SPU since 2002 when Bone left to become an assistant at UW. He is 134-67 at SPU.
Hironaka's hiring fills out the staff at WSU, the others being former UW player Curtis Allen and holdover Ben Johnson, giving the Cougars a strong contingent of coaches with Seattle-area ties.
This could also impact the Huskies as it's possible that assistants Paul Fortier and Jim Shaw could be approached about taking over for Hironaka.
(Bob Condotta, Seattle Times)
almost 3 years ago
johnnycougar
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Boy, we really are serious about recruiting Western Washington
I’m not sure I’m sold on that as a solid strategy for long-term success. We’ll see.
Well we also have Australia (Johnson)
and I’m sure they can recruit other places too if they need it. The important thing is to keep winning because if we do, more recruits will be interested.
I don't want to spoil the post I'm working on
But think for a minute about how much legitimate Division I talent comes out of Western Washington each year, and then ask yourself if that really calls for the disproportionate investment in coaches with Seattle-area ties.
by Jeff Nusser on Apr 22, 2009 12:04 PM PDT up reply actions
Its not all recruiting, all the time...
I’d venture to guess that all these new hires can teach the game pretty well, too. Everything I’ve read about Hironaka is that he was Bone’s right-hand man at SPU when it came to the x’s and o’s and overall in-game strategy. Plus, I’d say that if you can recruit, you can recruit. Doesn’t matter where, doesn’t matter with who. A coach that can recruit one place can recruit anyplace.
Not every hire is based solely on the recruiting ability of the coach.
by '03CouveCoug on Apr 22, 2009 1:02 PM PDT up reply actions
I can see where you're getting at
but I’m still not worried. I may be lulled into a false sense of security, but I’m confident in Bone. Yesterday, a friend overheard Klay say that he likes him and thinks that the team may be better off with him over Bennett
Of course it does
I agree with that, I’m merely saying that just because a coach coached in Seattle doesn’t mean he’s going to recruit Seattle exclusively. Like I said, if you can recruit one place, you can recruit anyplace. Being a good strategist helps too…and by all accounts, Hironaka fits that bill.
by '03CouveCoug on Apr 22, 2009 2:55 PM PDT up reply actions
what do all these places have in comon?
Italy
Oregon
Utah
Brazil
Alaska
hint, current SPU roster
(I don’t know what it will mean to WSU or who recruited those players to SPU. Just food for thought)
by woolybugger on Apr 22, 2009 1:49 PM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
What Coach Bone and the staff do with the current roster....
will have way more impact on the success of the program then where they all hail from. Success on the court next season will define the direction of the program.
Nuss, you are totally excited about Bone keeping three of the four recruits onboard. Watch what he does with them and the rest of the squad. I have a really good feeling you will like what you see out of this staff. I trust Bone knows what he’s doing.
The vibes I’m getting from the kids in the program gives me even more confidence in Coach Bone. Maybe I’m just looking at this through Crimson colored glasses, but there has been absolutely no negative fallout from his hiring. He’s been very successful every stop and he’s just making sure right now he’s surrounding himself with assistants that will help him kick it up another notch. He’s finally running a program where that’s possible, no ceiling on the amount of success he could realize. I say give him the benefit of the doubt and he’ll make us all happy we did.
Go Cougs!!!
Also a very good point
With the talent in place now, the recruiting piece is probably a bit less important right now than it would be for most other first-year coaches in a new program.
good hire
My brother is an assistant coach at the high school level, and he has heard Hironaka speak at camps before and says he is very knowledgeable about the x’s and o’s of basketball. I can see him doing more of the game planning and the Allen & Johnson doing the recruiting.
Agree, I like the hire as well
I have heard nothing but good stuff with Hironaka especially around x’s and o’s.
Another thing with Johnson is that he has worked the Chicago area pretty hard this last year according to recruiting people in that area.
I attended SPU for my MA in teaching
I worked as a Grad Assistant at SPU while getting my masters in the Center for Learning, an academic support area of the school. I worked directly with one of the BBall players on his writing. I also worked during the summer with a couple of members of the basketball team at a restaurant in Seattle.
From that experience, I got a bit of a feel for the SPU program. The players were all good guys, put school first, were in good shape and disciplined. The games I attended they had a clear game plan and knew what they were doing on the court.
Granted, it’s lower level college ball and some of that discipline/putting school first comes from that aspect. But everything I ever saw while at SPU impressed me about the program, and Hironaka was at the helm of it all. He was definately respected around campus, which is also a good sign.
I think it’s a great hire, I’ve never really heard anything bad about the guy and surrounding yourself with guys you trust is good for a coach. It feels like we’re in good hands, and I hope that we are.
I don't think I've ever anticipated a season....
as much as I am next basketball’s. We have three kids returning that started as freshmen, three highly regarded recruits, and any number of young kids that could see plenty of PT next season. I’m not so sure Kop won’t be back to his old self too, hopefully (fingers crossed).
We have a staff that I would term ‘very cerebral’ for lack of a better description. I love the brand of basketball Marv Harshman always played and I think Bone is just more of the same. I hear a lot of good things about Johnson, Allen and Hironaka and if I had a kid ready for college ball, what better place to have them learn the ABC’s of basketball? I love watching good players that get good solid coaching. WSU fans are used to this style, now we just get to see it with a new group of kids and a brand new coaching staff. What’s not to like about that?
He coached the Sonics...
Well actually it was at the Sonics’ open practice they held at SPU, and was only about 20 minutes long, but still… :-)
So now he can tell recruits he coached the likes of Kevin Durant, Jeff Green, Luke Rid, Wally Z, Delonte West, etc. lol.
The drill he ‘coached’ was an up-tempo run and gun offense, and if that is remotely close to the offense we end up with, we will be fun to watch. That open practice was the best basketball I saw the Supes play that entire season….. (I know that’s not saying much)!
by LeaveItToWeaver on Apr 23, 2009 4:50 AM PDT reply actions
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