Putting his imprint on CCS

The Bigfoot coach has gone small. But don’t think that means he’s gone soft.

Community Colleges of Spokane men’s basketball coach Eric Hughes, who spent 13 seasons as an assistant coach at the Division I level – including a successful stint coaching the University of Washington big men – has made it known what he expects of his players.

They get the message – loud and clear.

“His practices are intense all the time, from shoot-arounds, everything,” said Humberto Perez, the Sasquatch’s second-leading scorer at 14.8 points per game. “He doesn’t let us relax.”

Relaxing isn’t something Hughes does well – at least on the court.

“I think when I’m on the court, the intensity level hasn’t lessened (from Division I),” Hughes said. “You have to coach the way you always coached. In some of the other things (off the court) you don’t feel the same pressures, but once I’m on the court, I demand the same things from the kids here as I did when I was an assistant. … I don’t use a lot of foul language, but I try to get my point across: Some things are unacceptable and there’s a certain level we except out of them everyday.”

With so many years at the top collegiate level, Hughes has imparted plenty of wisdom on his players.

“You can tell coach has coached at an upper-division school, at a higher level,” said Joel Ryman, a Northwest Christian product who has scored in double digits in four of his last six games. “His understanding of the game is awesome. In terms of having a coach who’s known the game as well, I’ve never had one.”

Added Erik Bell, the team’s leading scorer (18.5 ppg) and rebounder (five per game): “You can tell by his demeanor and intensity, his attitude. You know he’s not just a community college coach. He could be somewhere bigger.”

In fact, Hughes was somewhere bigger. He began coaching Division I at Illinois State from 1989-91. He coached at California from 1991-93, and then was on Bob Bender’s staff at Washington from 1993-2002. Bender and his staff were fired after the 2002 season, despite making back-to-back NCAA appearances in 1998 and 1999 and reaching the Sweet 16 in 1998.

Unsure of whether he had the heart to keep on coaching, Hughes was convinced to take the Sasquatch job by a pair of Division I coaches with strong area ties.

“(Former Eastern Washington coach) Ray Giacoletti and (current Gonzaga coach) Mark Few talked me into taking this job,” said Hughes, in his fourth year at CCS. “I didn’t know if wanted to coach anymore. When you get fired, it’s a very humbling experience. … I lost the job at Washington, and I had done Pac-10 and Division I for 13 years, so I didn’t know what I wanted to do.”

It turns out he made the right choice, for both he and the school. CCS had some early struggles, winning just 10 games in Hughes’ first season. But the Sasquatch have improved, winning 16 games in his second season and a school-record 24 in 2004-05, also winning the NWAACC’s Eastern Division and finishing fourth in the NWAACC tournament.

This year, CCS is 17-5 with six games left in the regular season, including a matchup with Wenatchee Valley today at 4 p.m. at Spokane Falls. The Sasquatch sit atop the East with a 6-2 league record.

Hughes loves his decision to come to Spokane.

“It’s been a pleasant surprise,” said Hughes, who also teaches physical education and stress management at the school. “I didn’t know what to expect, but I really enjoy it. You never say never (about returning to the Division I ranks), but I really enjoy what I’m doing.”

He also said he enjoys the style of basketball the team plays, a run-and-gun approach that isn’t uncommon in the guard-dominated NWAACC. What is uncommon is the team’s balance. The Sasquatch have four players who average in double figures, and both Bell and Perez shoot better than 40 percent from 3-point range.

“We really bonded on and off the court,” said point guard Jeremy Mangum, who broke the school’s career assist record Jan. 21 in a win over Blue Mountain and has 443 in his career. “We know where each other are on the court, and the chemistry is good. … We have a bunch of shooters, so they can’t just key on me when I penetrate, and then I can kick out.”

For Hughes, the up-tempo approach was a bit different from what he did in Seattle.

At Washington, Hughes, who isn’t all-together unfamiliar with an up-and-down style having coached Jason Kidd at Cal, coached the Husky big men and played an integral role in developing 1999 honorable mention All-American Todd MacCulloch into a low-post force.

MacCulloch went on to play four years in the NBA with the Philadelphia 76ers and New Jersey Nets before retiring with foot problems.

“Ray Giacoletti developed him,” Hughes said, “and then he left and I had Todd his junior and senior year. Big men was what I enjoyed coaching the most.”

But in the NWAACC, the Sasquatch coach has turned to the little man.

No one who has seen playing time for Spokane this season is taller than 6-foot-5.

“When you’re recruiting a big guy, if he has good academics, the chances of you getting him are hard, because good big guys are hard to come by,” Hughes said.

“Here the big kids are 6-foot-5, not really true back-to-basket players. The majority of the big guys 6-8 and above are being recruited by the Division II and Division III and NAIA schools.”