10 toughest Washington high school boys basketball coaches to face, according to their peers

The summer high school basketball season is done and summer AAU circuits are already underway. As some coaches turn on out-of-office alerts, we're unloading the notebook, so to say.

There are hundreds of whip-smart boys basketball coaches in Washington. The coaching fraternity can be tight and SBLive polled many of them during the season and in the offseason on the toughest coaches to face in a game — from how they scout, to the game plan they've drawn up and the adjustments they make within the game.

(High school basketball: Meet the top 10 toughest active Washington girls coaches to face off within a game)

Here are 10 names who came up most frequently, as well as the many more mentioned. Have another name to throw out? Want to weigh in? Drop a reply in the comments or on social media (@SBLiveWA). Names are in alphabetical order: 

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BILL BAKAMUS, Mark Morris High School (Longview)

Skinny: The state's winningest active coach must know a thing or two about winning, right? Inducted into WIBCA's Hall of Fame in 2010, Bakamus has been at Mark Morris 28 years after stints at Coulee-Hartline and Toledo and has racked up 25 league titles, 11 district titles and 12 state trophies. His teams are known to defend well and he has high demands of players when they step on the floor — in practice and games.

What an opposing coach says: "His players play with tremendous fight, energy, and spirit for one another. He is great at recognizing an opponent's individual defensive weakness and will find multiple ways to exploit that."

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MIKE BETHEA, Rainier Beach High School (Seattle, Wash.)

Skinny: No coach has collected as many state titles (eight) as Bethea. While he's consistently had his teams at or near the top of the Seattle Metro League (widely regarded as the top high school league in the Pacific Northwest), reached the title game 15 times and won four in a five-year stretch, don't let any perceptions that the talent that walks through the doors of the Jamal Crawford Gymnasium is the sole reason for Beach's decades-long run as a state (and at times national) power.  Bethea has coached likes of Kevin Porter Jr. (Houston Rockets) and MarJon Beauchamp (Milwaukee Bucks). He's also coming off of one of his most impressive coaching seasons in year 28. The 2021-22 Vikings did not have an active Division I basketball prospect and Bethea missed more than a month battling a serious case of COVID-19. However, the team still made a run to the Class 3A state title game, finishing state runners-up to preseason favorite Auburn. Bethea's famously no-nonsense coaching style utilizes his team's athleticism in the form of frenetic, disruptive on-ball defense that starts at the point of attack.

What an opposing coach says: "Whether they have a lot of talent or not, he's found multiple ways to improve chemistry and team play ... it's a testament to how he is as a team-builder."

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CRAIG BRANTNER, Pullman High School (Pullman)

Skinny: Brantner's Greyhounds' playing style is consistent and sound. Their man-to-man defense is suffocating. They consistently have several players who can lead a team — especially in 2022 when the team finished state runner-up— and Brantner puts them in the right places. He spent five seasons at Garfield-Palouse, where he won the Class B state title in 1990 as a player and led the team to a third-place state finish in 2003. He took over a Pullman when the team was coming off of an 18-4 season and carried the torch, compiling a 288-129 record over 16 seasons and back-to-back Class 2A state championships in 2013 and 2014. 

What an opposing coach said: “Craig gets his kids to play with great effort combined with discipline and solid fundamentals. They never beat themselves. That does not happen by accident.

"Every time I've played against him, I've gone back and looked at the film and I've stolen plays he runs because he's so good at putting his best players in positions to get touches."

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BLAKE CONLEY, Union High School (Vancouver)

Skinny: When Conley, a Spokane native, took the Union boys job in 2013 after taking Kingston to the state semifinals twice, he was stepping into undeniably big shoes. The school opened in 2007 and won a Class 3A title in its third season in existence, and Conley carried the torch. Since moving to Vancouver in 2013, he’s amassed a 177-27 record and led the Titans to five state tournament trophies — second, third (twice) and fourth (twice) — in seven appearances. Most of those teams have played blisteringly fast and shot the lights out from deep. In 2021-22, the roster makeup didn’t play to either of those program traditions, so Conley re-shuffled the deck in perhaps his most impressive coaching season to date, implementing the 2-3 zone for the first time in his career and running his offense through his bigs.

What an opposing coach says: “Offensive savant. He is the best puncher and counter-puncher on the offensive side of the ball that we have ever coached against.”

Added another: “Haven’t beaten him yet.”

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JASON KERR, O’Dea High School (Seattle)

Skinny: To understand Kerr’s impact on the high school game, look no further than his forthcoming WIBCA Hall of Fame induction in July, for which scores of former players wrote letters on his behalf. No lead is safe against a Kerr-coached team — whether a top draft pick is on the floor or not. A protege of the late Phil Lumpkin, coaches laud Kerr’s teams for their sound defense and discipline. That’s resulted in a lot of wins over the years. He coached Franklin to seven league titles, 10 state appearances and state titles in 2003, 2006 and 2009. He took over at O’Dea, his alma mater, in 2015 after a break from coaching. Since then, the Fighting Irish are 132-46 with Kerr’s fourth state title in 2018-19 when recent No. 1 NBA Draft pick Paolo Banchero was a sophomore.

What an opposing coach says: “His teams play hard. That’s too often an undervalued attribute of a team. They often play fearlessly, too. The combination of the two makes it very difficult to overcome. No lead is safe as he will push whatever buttons are needed to get his team to respond and rise to another level during a game.”

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TIM KELLY, Curtis High School (University Place)

Skinny: There's a short list of coaches who have won big-school state titles at more than one school in the same town. Tim Kelly's name is etched in stone. At the turn of the century, Kelly led Lincoln (Tacoma) to back-to-back Class 4A titles (2001, 2002) and has been the brains behind state titles at Curtis in 2013 and, most recently, last March. Kelly demands a lot from his players defensively, whether it's the team's best player or the guy at the end of the bench. And that demand and structure produce lineups that are tough to score on — even if they don't include traditional bigs. One coach remarked the frustration of facing Curtis is every player on the floor is a capable, if not skilled charge-taker. 

What an opposing coach says: “His teams play such great defense with their size. He also has created his own offense. It's unique and hard to prepare for.”

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JASON GRIFFITH, Mount Si (Snoqualmie)

Skinny: Mount Si is present-day state power, and Griffith is the mastermind behind its rise. Coaches describe is offensive sets as intricate, as well as the actions within them. The Wildcats have played in the last three 4A state title games, are 82-11 over the last four seasons and won it all in 2020. An all-KingCo guard at Sammamish in the early 90s, Griffith spent six seasons at Issaquah before coming to Mount Si in 2016. The Wildcats 

What an opposing coach says: “Great action, great motion … everything is under control ... there was no wildness to anything. I appreciate Jason's willingness to adapt and change over the course of a few years."

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MATTY MCINTYRE, Gonzaga Preparatory School (Spokane)

Skinny: An adopter of Dick and Tony Bennett’s Pack Line defense, McIntyre carries high demands for his players on the defensive end shows. And his old-school tendencies — embrace of multi-sport athletes, high demands of his most talented players — stand out in an ever-evolving basketball landscape. Why? He spends as much time making sure his players are model citizens off the court as he does teaching the game. “Those things come through on the basketball court,” he says. Since he stepped in to replace his former coach Mike Haugen in 2009, McIntyre’s Bullpups have won three Class 4A state championships, reached the semifinals five times and reached state eight times.

What an opposing coach says: “(McIntyre’s teams) consistently do nothing to beat themselves. He will get his players to attack a weakness of yours over and over again in multiple ways. Defensively they are as good as any team we’ve ever faced. They simply won’t let you do what you want to do.”

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BRIAN ROPER, Lynden High School (Lynden)

Skinny: Even in the highest-stakes moments, Roper carries a noticeably calm demeanor on the sidelines. His teams? They fight, scrap and execute and win with the best of them. A true program measuring stick for any Class 2A program? Running into a Roper-coached team in the playoffs. He’s made 16 trips to the Yakima SunDome since he was hired at Lynden in 2005 after stints at North Mason and Sequim and won five state championships, most recently adding his fifth in March.

What opposing coaches say: 

• “The discipline his teams play with is so frustrating to coach against. Actions or plays that work against other teams won't work because his teams are so disciplined. You aren't going to trick them or get easy ones against them. He is going to know all your actions and his kids will know exactly what to do based on the defensive coverage you give.”

• "Fascinated by how consistent program that is, how many multi-sport athletes they have."

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EARL STREUFERT, Richland High School (Richland)

Skinny: Streufert is old-school. He demands discipline, runs a tight system — yet employs a system that allows players to play freely in ways that maximize their skillset. A key reason he’s amassed a 392-175 record over 23 seasons, seven Mid-Columbia Conference titles and four state appearances? Consistency. The Bombers’ best years have come in recent memory — including two fifth-place state finishes. 

What an opposing coach says: “He’s demanding. You see the way he coaches kids, runs his program. He’s tough as nails. It’s going to be done his way. That being said, he gives his guys freedom to play to their strengths. He’s a no-nonsense guy, and I always appreciated his dedication to his system.”

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Coaches also mentioned: John Barbee, Franklin Pierce; Mike Bethea, Rainier Beach; Nick Brown, Arlington; Jesse Buck, Woodland; Miah Davis, Bremerton; Matt Gruhler, Skyview; Ryan Hansen, Auburn; Brian Hunter, Glacier Peak; Dave Jamison, Kentridge; Steve Johnson, Jackson; Eli Juarez, Davis; Justin Jones, Clarkston; Joe Kinch, Kelso; John Kiley, Olympia; Mike Laws, Central Valley; Brian Meneely, Kamiakin; Mario Mengarelli, Zillah; Scott Orness, North Kitsap; Omar Parker, Liberty (Issaquah); Nalin Sood, Mountlake Terrace; Brett Sendf, Anacortes; Blake Solomon, Kentwood; Shane Stacy, Meridian; Ryan Staudacher, Lake Washington; Kasey Ulin, Port Angeles; Ray Valle, Royal; Dean Wagenaar, Sunnyside Christian; David Wagenblast, Mt. Spokane.