If you asked Ken Bone to boil life down to three things, hed respond by saying education, basketball and his faith.

WSU Mens Basketball Head Coach Ken Bone grew up in a family with three sisters, a brother and a dad who was a high school coach, teacher and counselor. His dad received his counseling credentials as a WSU Coug.

Daily Evergreen FileKen Bone is entering his fourth season coaching Cougar Basketball.

While Bone pursued a masters degree in athletic administration, his older brother took on coaching and teaching like their dad. The relationship he and his brother have influenced Bone to pursue coaching, following an apparent family tradition.

Of all the aspects of coaching basketball, Bone said he enjoys practice the most because it allows him and his staff to teach and develop the players abilities on and off the court.

This is a lot of times the last time theyre under the direction of a basketball coach, Bone said. I hope to look at myself as a basketball coach and teacher.

College serves as a platform for preparing student-athletes for life outside of basketball and school, Bone said.

I try to tailor our lessons on the court around off-the-court issues or potential experiences that they might have, Bone said. For instance, we talk a lot about how youve got to be disciplined on the court, so hopefully that carries over and youre disciplined off the court.

Adversity ranging from not starting to not playing well, to dealing with unruly fans in a game also plays a substantial role in how Bone directs the players on his team. He added that criticism from a teammate or coach can also influence the psyche of a player.

Theres no doubt youre going to face adversity almost every single practice and game, Bone said. How do you deal with it?

Read more here:
Ken Bone: Molding young minds on and off the court