New coach Luke Jordan helps Mead boys basketball ‘move forward’ following retirement of Glenn Williams

Luke Jordan knew he was stepping into some big shoes to fill. He wasn’t intimidated – but he is respectful.

You don’t merely replace a coach like Glenn Williams, who retired in June at the conclusion of 22 years as head coach of Mead’s boys basketball. Jordan, the junior varsity head coach in Williams’ program for six seasons, was hired earlier this year for the varsity job.

Among Williams’ many other accolades, he guided the 2002-03 Panthers to an undefeated regular season with league, district and regional championships. That season culminated with a trip to the State 4A title game, where his team – led by future Gonzaga star and NBA first-round pick Adam Morrison – fell to Franklin and fellow future NBA player Aaron Brooks.

“I respect everything that Glenn stood for,” Jordan said Tuesday after the Panthers (4-5) came back to beat Chiawana in a nonleague game. “To me, it’s not replacing Glenn or making sure to fill those giant shoes. It’s about Mead basketball. Glen is an integral part and will be a staple of Mead basketball for all of time. So it’s just continuing to move Mead basketball forward.”

Jordan appreciates that his mentor is available to talk with and exchange ideas, but realizes he’ll have to start putting his stamp on things.

“We’re starting to do our own thing,” he said. “It’s been an exciting adjustment. It’s exciting for me to kind of learn the ins and outs of the game and all the nuances and logistics that come with head coaching.

“I am grateful to be the coach to take over after coach Williams. Just because I know my predecessor, I know who came before me and the level of respect he had and the love he had for this community and these kids. So, I’m thankful for the opportunity to build off of that for sure.”

This year’s edition of the team has had plenty of good building moments already – such as Tuesday’s comeback. Mead trailed after the first quarter, chipped away in the second, then changed tactics and blew things open in the third, outscoring the visitors 24-5 .

“We switched it up and threw a little bit of pressure on them,” Jordan said. “It kind of unsettled them just enough that it got them out of their comfort zone and let some of our guys fly around a little bit – which they love to do.”

But he was still preaching patience even though the Panthers were attacking the basket.

“We look to get the ball inside,” Jordan said. “We look to take high-percentage shots and we stayed disciplined enough in the third quarter that, you know, those high percentage shots kept falling. It was a big momentum shift for us, which I’m very thankful for.”

Jordan also has to be patient. Mead started the season 0-3 but has gone 4-2 since, heading into league play at the start of the new year.

“It continues to be a step in the right direction,” Jordan said. “We’ve been preaching since Day 1. We have to be disciplined on both sides of the ball. And every game we play, we’re getting a little bit more disciplined on both sides. And so (Tuesday) was the day when we put both sides together pretty well. I’m proud of the way the guys played.”

It was just another teachable moment in a season that’s going to have plenty of them for the Panthers – and for Jordan.

“It is a learning experience for all of us,” he said. “I’m learning day by day how to just continue to move us one step forward, making sure that we don’t take one step back at the same time.

“We just show up every single day and we decide that, you know, practice is where we get better, practice is where we make our adjustments, and games are where we show those. The team that we are now I think is a far cry from the team that we were Week 1, Day 1, when we first came out and played Ferris and played Mt. Spokane. I’m proud of our growth and our development so far. Absolutely.”

On Tuesday, Mead’s leading scorers – Ryan Mount and Zach Reighard – had 12 points apiece, and five others has six or more points. There’s not one guy to lean on, which can be good and bad. But Jordan wants his players to concentrate on the things they can control.

“It is a ‘next man up’ and our guys know that if this isn’t their game offensively, it doesn’t mean it’s not their game period,” Jordan said. “So, we are making it absolutely mandatory that defense is the one thing we can control day in and day out.

“If a guy gets hot, we’ll ride him. And if not, that’s not what we’re gonna default to anyway. We’re not looking right now to have a guy who averages 20-plus a game. We’re looking to have four or five guys that get six to 15 points in a given night and everyone else step in and they know their role, and they know what we’re trying to do defensively and cause some chaos and fly around.

“Until we get a handful of 6-foot-7 transfers that come out of nowhere, it’s gonna be what we continue to do day after day.”