Kevin Olson - 1974

When we first started working on this project I wasn’t sure what direction we would go or what our final product would look like. What I did know was that the best part of the project would be working with The Coach. Meeting with him and getting his commentary on each year; the players, the stories and the traditions has been priceless. Coach Eathorne lives and breathes basketball; East High Knight Basketball! From the first years with Lyle Bakken to the last year in 78, Coach remembers every player that ever put on the Black and White uniform.

Gathering all this information and putting it together has made me realize that the history of East Basketball is not just about the young men that played but it is about Coach Eathorne. Les Eathorne is East High Knight Basketball. The “E” in the middle of the basketball court never stood for East but was always meant to stand for Eathorne!

- Les coached for 41 years: 22 of those years at East and 10 more at Bremerton after the schools merged in 78.
- His 502 wins ranks 8th all time in Washington State HS Basketball history
- Les took 8 teams to the state tournament in his 22 years as coach at East. He had a 3 year run from 1972-1974 in which East finished 2nd and then 2 consecutive state championships. The 73 and 74 teams finished a combined 51-2.
- In 1993 Les was inducted into the Washington State HS Basketball Coaches Hall of Fame.
-In 2005 he was inducted into the KC BAR Sports Hall of Fame as a coach and as a player. Rick Walker and the 73 and 74 teams were also inducted.

More than the statistics, though, is the influence Coach Eathorne had on all the players he coached. Growing up on the East side, if you played basketball, you wanted to play for East and Coach Eathorne. The gym was always open: Tuesday night, Thursday night, Sunday afternoon. You didn’t have to come to open gym, but then you didn’t have to play for East either. On game night, you had to get to the gym early to get a seat. I remember the parents had their “reserved” seats. My father sat in the top row, end seat above the middle locker room, every game. Everyone wanted to watch East High play basketball; full court pressure from the opening tip. We never played a team in better shape; running those damn lines after practice did pay dividends. I am positive that East High had more lines on the basketball court than any other in the state. The Wednesday night intrasquad “College” games were usually more physical than the opponent we were going to play that week.

We learned how to be winners from the Coach. Hard work, discipline, respecting your opponent, team work and a never give up attitude does pay off He taught us what it took to be successful. He made us great players and great young men.

I feel fortunate to have played basketball for Coach Les Eathorne and East High School and I want to thank the Coach, for giving me, and all the other young men before and after, the opportunity to be part of the East High Knights Basketball tradition!
Thanks Coach!

Kevin Olson, Class of 1974
Physical Therapy Clinical Specialist
Harborview Medical Center