Anything But Beginner’s Luck Coach Bob Bafus Closes In On 600 Wins In Final Year At Colfax High

Whether the opponent was dreaded Pomeroy or someone he already had beaten by 20, Bob Bafus always insisted on a scouting report.

Scouting reports only go so far, however, so for an extra edge Bafus has used some decidedly non-scientific approaches when nurturing basketball winning streaks.

Some of his less-inventive ideas have involved wearing the same tie, dirty socks or ragged underwear when Colfax is on a roll. Other coaches have employed similar, foul-smelling tactics.

But Bafus has experimented with more novel superstitions.

At times, he asked Colfax fans to return to the parking lot and move their cars to the spot they used during a previous Bulldogs win.

He saved the seat behind him for whomever seemed to bring Colfax the best luck.

Before each game, he had to shake hands with John Huber, radio voice of the Bulldogs from 1957-89.

On state-tournament trips, he frequented the same restaurant and requested the same waiter as the year before.

One of his former players was even - GASP! - forced to kiss an attractive cheerleader before each game.

Not that Tim Bruya, Colfax Class of 1979, found the notion unappealing. He typically kissed girlfriend (now wife) Carmen before each game, but one time changed the routine because he was ill.

Colfax lost that game, a sure sign to Bafus.

“He made sure I kissed her after that,” Bruya said.

Colfax has kissed off many opponents during Bafus’ quarter-century tenure at the Whitman County school. Three more wins, in fact, and Bafus becomes the third high school coach in state history (Mercer Island’s Ed Pepple and Naselle’s Lyle Patterson are the others) with 600 career wins.

No wins have materialized this year, Bafus’ final at the helm. But for a man accustomed to success - 15 State A appearances and two titles - he appears to be taking his swan song in stride.

Jerry Jones of the Whitman County Gazette has covered Bafus and his teams for many years. Jones recently called the Colfax Bulldogs hotline for Bafus’ assessment of a three-overtime loss to Pullman. On a whim, Jones called the number later and heard a different recorded message.

“He had called back the number and said, ‘I just want people to know I’m not frustrated,”’ Jones said.

Bafus hasn’t changed much since taking over the program in the late 1960s. A large man with a booming voice, Bafus has always preached team play, right down to matching blue blazers and short haircuts.

“I kind of like (the blazers) when I look back now because we had so much unity,” said Guy Therrien, Class of ‘78. “At state, teams with shaggy hair seemed to play that way (shaggy).”

Colfax practices are, and have always been, a serious matter. Anyone late to practice is instructed to jump up and kiss the Bulldog mascot painted on the gym wall. The players occasionally determine if the buss is good enough for the offender to return to the fold.

And woe unto those who act up at games or attempt to dunk. Bruya found himself benched after swearing during a game. He never did that again.

Bruya also recalls when good friend Therrien had a breakaway against Dayton, with the game securely in hand. Therrien went up, seemed to change his mind about the dunk, then tried it anyway. Boing! went the ball off the rim. Kick! went Bafus’ foot against the bleachers.

“I remember once, in practice, I stole the ball and thought, ‘This is my chance (to dunk),”’ said ‘78 grad Jeff Geier. “I tried to dunk it, but it went off the rim and bounced way out. (Bafus) started yelling at me, not for the fact I missed the basket but because I didn’t try the easy layin.”

Bafus has no more stomach for hot dogs than a Parisian chef. But that doesn’t mean he’s a bland autocrat, stamping out any indication of fun.

The last Colfax team to make state (‘94) was powered by Jon Kincaid, now a junior tight end for Washington State University’s football team.

Kincaid, who also had Bafus as a psychology teacher, remembers his ex-coach as a big kid at heart. Once Kincaid and a friend locked Bafus into the restroom between classes. Instead of threatening the hoodlums, Bafus started yowling like a trapped animal, sending Kincaid into hysterics.

Kincaid’s also the guy who gathered hundreds of election signs and pumpkins on Halloween and stuck them in Bafus’ yard.

“He had to pay 50-75 dollars to haul them away,” Kincaid said, “but he’d always get you back.”

Kincaid said Bafus would use his psychology background for pregame pranks, telling strangers, for example, that the kids in the blue blazers were members of some odd fringe group.

Even important friends aren’t immune to Bafus’ hijinks. For his 40-year reunion at Endicott High, Bafus coerced Gov. Mike Lowry (the second-most famous person from Endicott) to ride in a fishing boat during the parade.

As they passed Jerry Jones, camera in hand, Bafus yelled, “Hey Jones, get a picture of the governor,”

“I said, ‘Which one’s the governor?”’ Jones said. “Lowry about fell out of the boat.”

Bafus has never had trouble convincing people. According to former Bulldogs scout Bob Stueckle, Bafus can whip a silent crowd into a frenzy at pep rallies or inject life into humdrum auctions.

Bafus keeps his eyes open for other motivators. Before the fourth quarter of a 1974 game, the spirit seized Stueckle to take to the court for a 20-second dance as the band played “Bleacher Boogie.” Colfax rallied to win the game, and a four-year tradition was born.

“Those things were important to Bafus,” Stueckle said. “If we could create our own atmosphere in another person’s gym, that gave us an edge.”

The road trips are built around legends. Therrien said longtime bus driver Ken Berry would blink his lights 10-15 minutes after leaving Colfax, which was a signal to keep quiet and think about the game.

If a loss occurred, Bafus would often lecture the team as Berry drove the bus in circles. A win would bring out the tape player and the favorite song of the year: Queen’s “We Are the Champions” for the 1978-79 state kingpins and Kool and the Gang’s “Celebrate” for the ‘84 team that placed sixth.

Bafus ‘retired’ after ‘84, claiming he’d accomplished all he wanted.

“If he’d stuck around my senior year (‘85), he’d already have 600 wins,” said Jim Allenbach.

A member of the ‘84 team, Jay Rubin, attended a home game after graduation and saw how Bafus took the retirement.

“He’d stand over by the locker rooms, and you could hear him coaching from the sidelines,” Rubin said.

“I saw him on the golf course during that time and he said, ‘It’s just killing me,”’ Bruya said.

Bafus’ retirement lasted four years, a stretch in which the Bulldogs never placed at state. By ‘89, the Bulldogs were back to collecting hardware.

Collecting more memories, too.

Which Bafus stories will be most repeated after the real retirement comes this year?

Maybe one of athletic director Tony Carter’s favorites. Once Bafus’ partial plate flew onto the court at Kettle Falls while he shouted directions. Another time, Bafus split his pants during a game and just untucked his shirt rather than leave the bench for a replacement.

Or perhaps Bruya and Steve Teade’s memory from the ‘79 title game will stick. After Colfax won the crown, a sponsor rewarded the team with sparkling cider, which flew around the room and bubbled over players while Bafus conducted interviews. When Bafus arrived, he thought some fool had distributed champagne to kids and started yelling, “Quick, get that stuff outta here before the WIAA sees it.”

Or, as Geier tells, the time Bafus installed a new rule requiring players to take off their warmups in the locker room. This came moments after a reserve, summoned into the game, dropped his warmups and shorts at the same time.

Several players remember the speech Bafus gave in ‘78 before a game with Pomeroy. Both teams were unbeaten, and Pomeroy had eliminated Colfax from state the preceding year in four overtimes.

“I don’t even remember what it was about,” Bruya said, “but the hair stuck up on the back of my neck.”

Through it all, Bafus has expected as much out of himself as he expected from his players.

“What I remember most,” said ‘80 grad Terry Eng, “is that he always carried Tums or Rolaids - some sort of antacid.

“He never kept it in. He’d yell and scream at you, but you always thought he was your best buddy.”

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: 3 Photos (2 Color)

MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: TROPHY CASE The trophies Bob Bafus’ Colfax teams have won at the State A boys basketball tournament (he ‘retired’ from 1985-88):

‘93 6th (19-9) ‘92 5th (23-4) ‘90 4th (23-3) ‘89 5th (22-6) ‘84 6th (23-4) ‘80 4th (26-1) ‘79 1st (25-1) ‘78 1st (26-0) ‘75 2nd (16-9) ‘74 4th (21-5)