Brandon Roy is back on the sideline as coach at Garfield High School. Seattle Public Schools district athletic director Pat McCarthy confirmed Thursday that the former NBA All-Star will head the school’s boys basketball team for the 2022-23 season.
This is Roy’s third stint coaching his alma mater. He was originally hired by Garfield for the 2017-18 season but stepped away for undisclosed reasons after leading the program to the 2018 Class 3A state championship.
Roy, 38, returned to the post for the 2019-2020 season, again leading the Bulldogs to the boys state title. He remained for part of the 2021 season, which was held during the spring because of the COVID pandemic, but didn’t coach the 2021-22 school year.
Each time Roy left his post, assistant JayVon Nickens, a 1998 Garfield graduate, was named the interim coach. Roy, who played for the Bulldogs from 1999-2002 and starred at the University of Washington, has an 82-6 record as a high-school coach and has won three state titles.
Roy entered the profession amid some controversy for Nathan Hale’s 2016-2017 season. Michael Porter Jr., a current Denver Nuggets forward, headlined a roster of top-tier talent that descended on the school. Porter’s family moved to Seattle from Missouri as Michael Porter Sr. worked as an assistant men’s basketball coach at Washington.
Nathan Hale went undefeated en route to winning the 2017 Class 3A state championship and a national title. Roy was named the Naismith National Coach of the Year.
Nickens, who led Garfield to a 15-8 record and missed the 2019 state tournament during Roy’s first absence, didn’t respond to requests regarding Roy rejoining the staff or whether the assistant coaches will remain. Jamaal Williams, the former UW standout who was part of the Nathan Hale and Garfield championship teams with Roy, was recently named an assistant coach for the UNLV men’s basketball team.
Garfield athletic director Carole Lynch and Roy were unavailable for comment.