Brandon Roy on another leave of absence as Garfield's coach. ‘The door is open’ for his return

SEATTLE — Brandon Roy has decided to take another step back from the program he once led as a player, then as a coach.

The former University of Washington standout and three-time NBA All-Star has taken another leave of absence as Garfield’s head boys basketball coach, the school and Seattle Public Schools district athletic director Pat McCarthy confirmed. 

JayVon Nickens, an assistant on Roy’s staff, is serving as the interim coach, which he also did when Roy stepped away for the 2018-19 season.

Roy did not give a reason for stepping away in 2018. It’s not immediately known why he stepped back this time, and there is no timetable for a potential return to coaching. But Nickens said he has an open door when Roy is ready.

“If he wants to come back, we’ll embrace him with open arms,” Nickens said. “He’s our coach, we love him. He’s more than a coach to a lot of people in the community, right? A lot of people want him around. But it is what it is for now.”

Roy has an 82-6 record as a high school coach and his teams have won WIAA 3A state championships in each of the three seasons he’s been a head coach. 

He was named Naismith National Coach of the Year in 2017 after leading Nathan Hale to an undefeated 3A state title run behind an influx of talent that included now-Denver Nuggets standout Michael Porter Jr.

He returned to Garfield, his alma mater, in 2018 as head coach and won 3A state championships in 2018 and 2020 and was Garfield’s on-and-off head coach for about half of the COVID-shortened spring 2021 season.

In September, Roy called Nickens to say he planned to take another leave. 

“I could hear it in his voice,” Nickens said. “ ‘Physically, I can’t do it.’ Say less, man. You don’t gotta give me the whole long, drawn-out speech. First question I asked him was ‘how healthy are you? Are you OK?’ 

“It’s just one of those mutual things (where I’m like) ‘I got you, don’t worry about it, bro. If you want to come back this year, guys are willing to accept you, then I’m willing to slide right back over as an assistant, I’ll make sure we keep everything the right way. That’s what it’s about.”

Since state playoffs were not held last season, Garfield (2-0) is still the defending 3A boys state champion. They’re expected to contend for the 3A title again — a goal of the team’s that’s been elevated by the sudden return of all-state guard and Washington commit Koren Johnson, who had transferred to nationally-competitive Wasatch Academy in Utah.

Garfield went 15-8 and missed the 3A state tournament in 2018 with Nickens as the interim coach. Four current seniors — Tremaine Guidry, Raphiel Justice, Jazel Brown and Johnson — all saw varsity minutes that year as freshmen. Now, they are key parts of the teams’ core.

Nickens, a 1998 Garfield graduate, retains an assistant coaching staff that remains largely unchanged, featuring Tre Simmons, Roy’s teammate at Garfield and UW, Lardel Sims, Glenn Brooks, Leo White and Ja’Lyn Combs.

He feels ready for the challenge in his second stint as interim coach.

“The Garfield seat is a hell of a seat to sit on,” Nickens said. “It comes with a whole lot of pulling you this way, that way — a lot of people want you to do it a certain way. I just learned do it your way. Obviously, I’m not the coaches in the past. I’m not Brandon. So I try to take a little bit from everybody, play with my own little twist and have it as my own organic deal. It’s been pretty fun.”

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(Lead photo by Vince Miller, March 2020)