In 1999 John Barhanovich walked away from his job as a successful high school girls basketball coach, citing a desire to spend more time with his family.
Guess what? He’s back.
Barhanovich, 50, is the new head coach of the Archbishop Murphy High School girls basketball team. Since resigning from Cascade about six years ago, he had more time to see his wife, Diana, and watch his three children grow up. And when Barhanovich recently saw a chance to reunite with a former co-worker, Archbishop Murphy athletic director Terry Ennis, he had to take it – after mulling it over with his family, of course.
Barhanovich, a 1972 graduate of Everett High, has 15 years of experience coaching girls basketball. He was Cascade’s head coach from 1991-1999 and worked as a volunteer varsity assistant there the past three years. He guided Cascade to its first state tournament appearance in 1999. The Bruins reached the semifinals, finishing sixth. Barhanovich’s teams were 42-12 in his final two years at Cascade.
Barhanovich replaces Bill Kelley, whose contract was not renewed after 14 seasons at the school (formerly Holy Cross). Kelley compiled a career record of 219-83 and was named Northwest League Coach of the Year three times.
Asked to outline his coaching strategy, Barhanovich said winning basketball begins with tough defense. “I’m a real firm believer,” the Mill Creek resident said, “that you have to stop people in order to be really good.”
On offense, Barhanovich plans to implement a fast-paced, balanced offense that will shoot a lot of 3-pointers. He also said academics rank high on his priority list.
Archbishop Murphy returns many talented players, including post Lisa Coate and guard Krista Eknes, from a team that went 19-4 during the 2004-05 season, its first in the Class 2A Cascade Conference. The Wildcats will face a major challenge from King’s, the 2A state champs.
“We have to make sure that we can be on the court and compete,” Barhanovich said of his outlook for his first season. “One of my goals is to make sure that the three (seniors-to-be) … we take advantage of that and make their senior years as memorable as possible.”
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