Orness keeps culture growing with Vikings on verge of another state tourney
There is something about basketball coaches who find success from the start and sustain it that makes them stand out.
A few that come to mind are Ken Wills (Bremerton), Les Eathorne (Bremerton), Rick Kapps (Sequim), Brian Roper (Lynden, also North Mason and Sequim), Ed Pepple (Mercer Island, the all-time wins leader in the state with 952) and Bill Bakamus of Mark Morris, who has 685 wins in 41 years and will retire at end of this week's 2A state tournament, where the Monarchs open against Bremerton at 3:45 p.m. Wednesday at Yakima’s SunDome.
North Kitsap (21-4) plays Wednesday’s Columbia River-Anacortes winner Thursday at 7:15 p.m. in state quarterfinals at the SunDome, led by another name that should be on the list above: Scott Orness
Orness fits as a basketball coach who was successful almost immediately and continued, for 11 seasons as coach at Bainbridge when the Spartans competed in the state’s toughest league – Seattle Metro – and for the last nine seasons at NK, competing in the Olympic League.
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In those 11 seasons in the Metro League, Orness’ Spartans, a 2A team opting to play up against 3A schools, compiled a 143-117 record, with a second place in state in 2007.
Moving to a more comfortable 2A Olympic League, his Viking teams have dominated, winning the league title all nine years while compiling a 101-10 record (189-46 overall).
The Vikings have won 63 straight home games and been to state every year (there was no state in 2021 because of COVID), winning it all in 2020 and placing in the top six four other times, including third in 2022.
Orness’ overall coaching record is 335-163. How does he do it? That is the million-dollar question.
The short answer is culture. That may seem an easy answer, but there is a difference in how the culture is established. A coach hits the magic mark when young kids in elementary school cannot wait to get to high school to play for a particular coach. Eathorne comes to mind. Kids couldn’t wait to play for him.
It takes a lot of work, passion and discipline to build a winning culture. When I caught up with Orness prior to the Mark Morris game, he was on his 7th Mark Morris game film. His team would be facing one of the all-time great coaches in state history in Bakamus and he needed to know what the Monarchs did in every situation, what sets they ran and when they ran them.
Orness and his assistants watch at least three game films on each opponent, working to see what man and zone sets they run, their offensive philosophy and different defenses.
Last Saturday he and assistant coach Josh Perkins scouted three games – Bremerton and R.A. Long at Tacoma Community College, then at Issaquah High School to watch WF West (Chehalis) against Sammamish, and then to Bellevue Community College to scout Renton against Anacortes.
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“I have high expectations and standards for myself, players and staff,” Orness says. “These are communicated regularly. I also let my players know this is their journey.”
Orness also has an annual team retreat, weekly team dinners at host family’s house and the team goes to the Gonzaga Team Camp. The team also played four games in San Diego his year from Dec. 26-31 and were able to play on the beach and hang out together. The Vikings went 2-2 on their California trip.
Beyond knowing opponent’s strengths and weaknesses, there is a culture true only to his teams that is key to success.
“We want our players to play with joy and without fear of making a mistake,” says Orness. “There is a balance. They also need to know they will be corrected.”
In the immediate aftermath of the win over Mark Morris, that winning culture exposed itself. Orness spoke post-game in the locker room and then, this happened:
“I opened it up to players and coaches,” Orness said. “There was a lot of good stuff from everybody. But then (guard) Harry Davies says something along these lines: When we are battling and things get hard, we come together. We did it tonight. Other teams point fingers. We always get tighter when we face adversity.”
Orness, 48, also says, “I believe we have a culture of joy, love and respect in our program. I also believe that the greatest leadership quality is serving others. Our seniors do this, serving the program and all players.
“My captain also makes sure the bus is absolutely clean after each road trip, honoring the driver and serving the team.”
Orness also takes a page from the late Frosty Westering, legendary football coach at Pacific Lutheran, whose motto was, “Make the big time where you are. So, whether you are a manager, starter, bench guy, whatever, make it your big time. Don’t just know your role … embrace your role.”
Jim Harney, who coached NK for 24 years and nine years at Seattle Prep, compiling 362 wins, helps Orness with the Vikings.
"He’s very well organized,” says Harney. “He works extremely hard to have his team ready for every game. His teams have high morale and get along very well. They play hard, and they practice hard. Their practice scrimmages before games are better than games they play. He demands they are competitive practices. They have great practices, especially defensively.”
The legendary Washington Huskies coach Don James was fanatic about small details being key to success. Orness also believes in small details.
"I want my players to see themselves hitting big shots in the state championship game, what the air smells like, what the state trophy feels like holding it up, how they feel inside preparing for the big moment. Being their best.”
One of the leaders on the current NK team is Scott's son, Cade Orness, who has set numerous school records, including career points (1,678). Cade at 6-foot 5 plays the point and teams with Davies as arguably the best backcourt in the state regardless of classification.
Cade, a senior, is being courted by several colleges – Northwest Nazarene, Portland, Portland State, Eastern Washington, Western Washington, Seattle Pacific. Gonzaga has offered a preferred walk-on with chance to earn a scholarship his last three years.
“He did a visit with (Gonzaga) a few weeks ago and they rolled out the red carpet for him," Orness says.
Another key to success for Orness is his ability to organize youths in a feeder program (Drive Basketball) for his high school program. In the old days, guys like Eathorne, Wills and Pepple held open gyms in the off-season, attracting young kids who one day would play for them at the high school.
Orness is executive director of Drive Basketball that prepares kids in skills of basketball. He is also owner/executive of Orness Basketball Camps.
“I love coaching,” Orness says. “I have a deep passion for it and I plan on continuing after Cade, but I will have to find a way to watch him play.”
There is more to Orness, of course. But basketball was always there. He played at Rogers of Puyallup and his dad Bruce was basketball coach at Franklin Pierce where Orness assisted for two years, making 3A state both years. He then took the Bainbridge job. His dad returned the favor by becoming his assistant for seven years. Bruce Orness died in 2017.
Orness is also invested in teaching and being out in nature. He has been teaching for 25 years, the last 22 at Woodward Middle School in the Bainbridge School District, where he teaches science with as much passion as he coaches.
He is also an avid fisherman (his fishing photos show up regularly on Facebook) and a hiker and backpacker, and, he says he forages for plants and mushrooms.
“I love being outside fishing and hunting,” Orness says. “It’s my escape from the real world. It’s challenging and takes my complete focus and effort. It’s also a great way to spend time with friends in my life and share experiences together.”
This article originally appeared on Kitsap Sun: Scott Orness keeps coaching, and keeps winning at North Kitsap
