For those of you who may not remember, the Portland Trail Blazers once had a young star on the rise, but his career was cut short due to nagging knee injuries. That star was none other than Brandon Roy, the Seattle native was once looked at as one of the best rising talents in the NBA. At the peak of his career, Roy put up averages of 22.6 points, 5.1 assists, and shot 48% from the floor.
Although he was never able to sustain that success due to injury, Roy has gone down as a true Trail Blazers’ fan favorite for his time in Portland. Now at age 32, Roy has moved on from his former life as an NBA player and has transitioned to coaching high school basketball in his hometown of Seattle.
Following from Ananth Pandian of The Oregonian.
Walking toward a white Land Rover with his kids in tow, the smile on Brandon Roy‘s face could not have been any bigger. Roy made history Friday, coaching Nathan Hale to their first Seattle Metro League boys basketball championship since 1992 while dominating his high school alma mater Garfield, 91-58.
Nathan Hale is a now a perfect 22-0 and a Top 10 nationally-ranked high school basketball program, a feat accomplished in Roy’s first season as the school’s head coach and a drastic turnaround from last year’s 3-18 record.
Brandon Roy has made an immediate impact on Nathan Hale high school and is already received some ‘elite coach’ praises. The praise isn’t just one sided, Roy is grateful for the early success he’s had and gives thanks to the Nathan Hale players for it.
“Going 22-0 in your first 22 games is a special feeling,” Roy said. “I wanted to win the city championship and I’m just extremely proud of our guys. The team’s been great to me. I’m a happy man.”
To see Roy’s playing career cut so short was saddening, but to see him reinvent himself into a great high school coach and developing the youth of his hometown makes for a positive ending to his legacy.
