Mesa Community College men’s basketball assistant Mike Grothaus will be the next coach at Basha.
Grothaus has been with the Firebirds since the 2008-09 season and was previously a graduate assistant at Grand Canyon University.
He won a state championship as a player at Gilbert in 2003 before playing collegiately at Jamestown (N.D.) College and Grand Canyon.
This will be his first head coaching gig, but athletic director Brent Rincon said Grothaus has worked under some of the state’s best coaches and deserves the shot.
“We’re very happy to have him,” Rincon said. “He brings great passion and enthusiasm for the game. He’s been mentored by probably some of the greatest basketball coaches this state has ever produced in Tom Bennett and Royce Youree. We feel very fortunate to get him and look forward to a long, long career with Mr. Grothaus at Basha.”
Grothaus will teach physical education at the school beginning in July. He plans to meet with the team on Friday afternoon.
He said the timing and opportunity felt right for his first foray into head coaching.
“Working with Sam (Ballard) the last five years, he really let me do more than an assistant should,” Grothaus said. “It was a phenomenal experience. This opportunity presented itself and I couldn’t say no.”
It has been a tumultuous calendar year for the Bears. Brad Pinter was forced to resign after 2011-12 when a team with state title aspirations underachieved. High-profile stars Torren Jones and Jaron Hopkins transferred following the hire of former Mesquite and Highland coach John Burns, and Basha went just 9-18 this season. Burns resigned at the end of the season and will coach at Columbia (Mo.) Battle next year.
The Bears have been a perennially strong program, and return four of their top five leading scorers, including Nathan Markovich (13.5 points, 4.0 rebounds, 1.7 steals). Basha must replace Virginia Tech-bound Maurice Kirby, who averaged 15.6 points, 11.5 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game.
“The pieces are in place,” Grothaus said. “I think coach Burns did a good job there. It’s going to be fun to get in there and work hard.”
Reach Kyle Odegard at (480) 898-6834 or kodegard@evtrib.com. Follow his blog at http://blogs.evtrib.com/varsityxtra, or find him on Twitter @Kyle_Odegard.
chandlerbb posted at 11:49 am on Tue, Mar 12, 2013.
I am not blaming James for hiring Platt who was in way over his head. I also think this is going to happen to Grothaus who has not coached in the high school level. There is much more to being a head coach than knowing the game. You have to be able to stand up to parents, players, and often even to administration. Basha the last 4 years was an embarrassment to watch on the basketball court. This year they supposedly have two D1 players, but had trouble scoring 40 points against decent teams. The two years before that with all the fine young student-athletes you mention, they played like a club team with no organization and discipline. I will give James credit for getting rid of Pinter who also should not have dads on his bench.
Let's not forget James hired Buskin and Burns who both had well documented histories of issues. Buskins are more known to the community because he coaches a high profile sport, but it could be argued Burns' history was just as jaded. Now James follows up these two hires with a young head coach with no experience as a head coach or coaching high school students. Maybe I should blame Rincon, but I know James is getting the final say.
Fan55 posted at 11:49 pm on Mon, Mar 11, 2013.
The young coach you talk about was Jeff Platt he was fired after one year of coaching. He came to Basha as an assistant coach from ASU. He was a good basketball mind, ran a structured system which players and parents didn't like and so the rest is history. Jeff came to Basha and was let go by a previous administration so can't blame Ken James. Then Brad Pinter came to Basha which again was before Ken James started at Basha. Brad had good teams and built Basha into a consistent contender. He had brought in lots of talent and assembled a team that as Juniors were state championship contenters. His team underachieved towards the end of the season last season and he was let go by Ken James. I would have liked to see Brad given one more season with the seniors to see what kind of results they could have had. The two best players that Brad had left Basha and in came John Burns. John had much less talent than Brad and his team struggled this year. John Burns resigns after one season after a difficult season at Basha. So the next chapter starts for Basha Basketball with a new coach. To say that the word is "out" at Basha is ridiculous there are plenty of good coaches at Basha. Chandler is not academically a better school than Basha look at the test scores, AP classes, and college bound students and you will see that comparing Basha and Chandler is like apples and oranges. Not to say that teachers are better at either school but demographics are totally different. As for Hamilton they offer a sports academy which allows students to focus on athletics during the school day. Makes it tough for Chandler, Basha and Perry to compete since they are at a disadvantage with regards to training time for student-athletes. If you think any coach can "just coach" at the high school level you are mistaken those days are long gone.....now you need to please parents, manage students, fundraise money, communicate with admin, oh yeah and I almost forgot get results!!
hardcorebasketball posted at 4:21 pm on Mon, Mar 11, 2013.
Same Story at Basha! The administration let the Basha Basket program go up in flames! Hidden agenda between immature parents, the athletic department "never " really wanted Coach Pinter and his assistants, who were African-American men to gave their time/ effort to the Basha program. You three students-athletes that ESPN Top 100 nationally ranked basketball players, who were good students as well. Hopefully, this young man who received the coaching job is the "right fit" for a program that does not want to successful.
The interesting factor is that the students-atrhletes who played on JV as juniors, were going to be a part of a possible state and nationally ranked high school team in 2012-13. the recent coach, John Burns, has a history of leaving programs. It has been also documented that he has said degrading things to minority student/ athletes.
The past is the past, but I wonder how Ken James Brent Rincon can l look any parent in the face and make them believe that they are unbiased about building a program. The word is "out" on Basha athletics is not a place to send student-athletes academically or with athletics. Hamilton and Chandler High are better academically and their athlectic administrations are about producing students-athletes to prepare for college sports. The record speaks for itself; look at the number of former Basha Football players that have transferred in the last three years. Good luck to the "new coach" and hopefully he will "just coach" and not have the adminstration ser him up for failure.
chandlerbb posted at 2:46 pm on Thu, Mar 7, 2013.
Basha hired an almost identical coach 6 years ago and he barely lasted through the season. A guy who had never been a head coach and was young and was supposed to go deal with high school kids and parents. I do not doubt that he is a good man, but what is Chandler doing hiring someone like this to go to deal with the crazy Basha parents. Ken James has not figured it out.