Tuesday, June 19, 2002

Coach puts on full-court press for academics

By J.J. Jensen Seattle Times staff reporter

When Evergreen High School's Class of 2002 graduates tonight, three of the school's basketball coaches will undoubtedly remember the ragtag bunch of freshmen that stepped foot on the court four years ago.

They weren't exactly the Bad News Bears, but when Ian Audette, Tommy Habte, Dan Trujillo, Kevin Tran, Mike Gonzales, Mike Bonoan and Tola An showed up for the first day of freshmen basketball-team practice, the new coaches wondered what they'd gotten themselves into.

 

"I saw the program before I took it, and there was a lot of helter-skelter," said head varsity coach John Burnley. "I saw a lot of talking back to coaches and players running the program."

 

Even worse to him was the team's academic history. The year before the new coaches arrived, only one player had a grade average above a C.

 

But Burnley and his two assistants were determined to turn things around at the ethnically and economically diverse White Center school. Not just on the court, but off it as well. It was more important, Burnley felt, to guide a young man down the right path in life and help him become a good citizen.

 

And while their graduation from high school might cap a great success story, it's by no means an end. All seven — the "Majestic Seven," as their coaches call them — will attend college this fall.

 

Players readily admit their coaches' philosophies had an effect on them throughout their high-school years and helped them achieve in all aspects of life, even though not all of them played basketball for the school all four years.

 

"We came so far in four years. It's amazing how much we've changed," said Audette, who graduates with perfect attendance and a 3.85 grade-point average, and will attend Western Washington University this fall.

 

"When I wasn't playing basketball, I had like 20 referrals (for discipline) and was suspended five times in middle school. I came into high school, and basketball helped me out. It taught me discipline, and I carried my attitude from the court over to the classroom."

 

The seven students hope they can be an example to future Wolverines.

 

"Academics come first," said Habte, who through the Running Start program is also graduating with an associate's degree from South Seattle Community College and is on his way to Washington State University. "You can't play if you don't pass your classes. It's academics that determine if you go to the next level. No matter how good a player you are, you have to have decent grades."

 

A test of dedication

 

The transformation actually began months before the first day of practice.

 

Burt Pride, the school's athletic director, knew Burnley, his old college roommate and basketball teammate at St. Martins College, might be able to turn things around at the school. Burnley, 59, was a former collegiate All-American whose coaching résumé included stints at local colleges and, most recently, Seattle's Nathan Hale High, where 11 of his players went on to play at Division I schools, such as the University of Washington and Washington State University.

 

To help him, he brought in freshmen coach Danny Shedwin, a former basketball star at West Bremerton High who had played professionally in France, and junior-varsity coach Troy Morrell, a former University of Washington Husky.

 

Burnley, a grandfatherly figure with salt-and pepper hair and sleepy eyes, recounted the pride the coaches and players experienced as they transformed the program.

 

"I heard so many things about the kids not having the grades, and I always had a different philosophy on that," Burnley said. "I hate it when I have a kid and they don't pass a class or graduate. It makes me feel that somewhere along the line, I didn't do all I could. I don't want to be represented by a kid who was in the program for four years and isn't on schedule to graduate."

 

Tough love a shock

 

For the first freshmen in Burnley's program, the new tough-love coaching style came as a shock.

 

First, coaches tested the players' commitment. For the first two weeks of freshman practice, no one even touched a ball. It was nothing but running. Coaches wanted to find out who they could count on, who wasn't going to quit.

 

Trujillo recalled that out of the approximately 20 players who turned out, many quit after just a few practices. Those who remained said the first few weeks served as an indication of the amount of heart and toughness it would take to survive in the program.

 

"You have to give 100 percent now, because you never know what's going to happen in the future," Trujillo said of what he learned.

 

Next, coaches taught players to rely on their teammates, not only in basketball, but in all situations. A strict grade-checking system was installed. The rule was simple: If you didn't maintain at least a C average, you didn't play and, thus, were deemed unaccountable to your team.

 

"I didn't want to disappoint anyone," Gonzales said. "Everyone depended on me as a teammate, so improving my grades was a big motivator for me."

 

Finally came one of the most important aspects of playing high-school basketball to Burnley: having pride in yourself and promoting your school in a positive way.

 

Burnley said he eliminated the team's back-talking reputation by drilling the importance of manners and showing respect to others.

 

Players said a good example of the team handling itself differently was during a big game against neighboring John F. Kennedy High in Burien. In front of a large crowd, an opposing player hit Habte, but he didn't retaliate; he wanted to help his team and stay calm in front of classmates.

 

"It's important to be a role model," said Audette. "There's 1,100 people in this school, so there has to be at least one person who looks up to you in one way or another. It's your responsibility to make sure you have a positive impact on people, otherwise your time is worthless."

 

J.J. Jensen can be reached at 206-464-2386 or jjensen@seattletimes.com.