Worth the risk
Stockton a two-sport winner at Whitworth
Steve Stockton didn’t carry high expectations when he walked into Jim Hayford’s office four years ago. It’s a good thing, too, because the Whitworth men’s basketball coach didn’t have high expectations, either.
A freshman on the university’s football team, Stockton was bidding to become a two-sport athlete. For reasons to be explained, Hayford was hesitant to provide that opportunity but ultimately relented and offered a tryout.
Little did he know, Hayford was about to acquire a player who would finish his career tied with teammate Calvin Jurich as the athlete with the most wins in the program’s 80-year history.
“I wasn’t interested in having a football player,” Hayford said. “Steve’s the only guy in my eight years who’s done both sports. Before football players come to play, basketball is already six weeks in (to the season). We have a pretty complicated system, and most guys come in here and need a year of adjusting.”
“You’re behind the curve mentally,” Stockton said. “Players playing for six weeks is a whole lot different than playing your first week. You just have to be there, and (the curve) carries on all season long.”
Stockton, a Ferris HS graduate and nephew of soon-to-be basketball Hall of Famer John Stockton, recalled his grueling first week of practice. Bloodline or no bloodline, Stockton wasn’t going to make this team running the offense.
“They said, ‘Defend him. Now defend (another player),’ ” Stockton said. “I went and did whatever they wanted. It was the only way to make the team. … Defense prevailed, I guess.”
Stockton’s defensive exploits may surpass those on the offensive end of the floor, but they’ve given him a ticket to see the far reaches of this country.
He’s watched the ball drop at Times Square on New Year’s Eve in New York City. He’s walked the National Mall in Washington, D.C. He’s viewed the Gateway Arch in St. Louis. He’s witnessed the rural landscape of Wisconsin as part of the football team, and he’s made almost a dozen trips to California.
“I never thought I’d be in New York for New Year’s Eve,” Stockton said. “I’d been to New York before and loved it, but there’s nothing like New Year’s Eve with the buzz surrounding it and the number of people. Going to Washington, D.C., you realize who walked around there and the history of everything. It’s impressive.
“… It makes me feel grateful for what I have. I’m grateful to get to see great parts of the country.”
Stockton, who has compiled 84 victories on the basketball court and another 30 on the football field, has parlayed his college education into a director of marketing position at King Beverage, an Anheiser-Busch distributor in Spokane. Stockton earned his marketing degree in 3½ years and already has started work at King, where his father, Steve Sr., is the general manager.
Hayford praised Stockton for his leadership skills that extend beyond the hardwood.
“Steve leaves everyone better than when he found them,” Hayford said. “He’s the greatest encourager. He’s always there to pick up the guy who’s having the lowest of lows, and he’s celebrating with the guy having his greatest moment. … No one gets more excited than his teammates when Steve scores a basket.”
While neither man could have known it four years ago, Stockton has been a perfect fit for the familial atmosphere Hayford has fostered at Whitworth.
“I’ve always felt that before we even play a game, these are my friends,” Stockton said. “I guess in my own term, they’re my boys and I’m going to look after them. I respect them so much, and I want to make sure they’re treated right so we can accomplish our goal.
“But most of all, I want to succeed because I want to win.”
That’s a sentiment any basketball coach wants to hear.
Even when it’s from a football player.