Brandon Roy Named Naismith National High School Coach of the Year

Former Portland Trail Blazer and current head coach of Nathan Hale high school, Brandon Roy, has been named the 2017 Naismith National High School Coach of the Year, according to a naismithtrophy.com report. Roy, 32, guided the Raiders to an undefeated 29-0 season in his first year as head coach. Nathan Hale forward Michael Porter Jr., the top high school recruit of 2017, was also acknowledged with National High School Player of the Year honors.

“Michael was the leader of a talented team which worked hard and never lost sight of their end goal – a perfect season and winning a state title,” said Eric Oberman, executive director of the Atlanta Tipoff Club. “Coach Roy was the steady guidance who motivated this team to improve every single game and ultimately they both were rewarded by winning Naismith awards.”

The Raiders defeated Roy’s alma mater, the Garfield high Bulldogs, to win the Washington State 3A basketball title earlier this month, emphatically placing the cherry on top of their historic season. One year prior, before the addition of Roy and Porter, Nathan Hale had yielded a disappointing 3-18 record. Such a turnaround is unprecedented for the basketball program.