Bentley tabbed as new girls? hoops coach

If you are looking for high-tempo, high-intensity basketball, the Washington High School gym might be the place for you next winter.

Jordan Bentley has been named the new Washington girls? basketball head coach, and he is hoping to bring some high-flying action to Washington when he arrives.

?I?m very much a fast-paced individual when it comes to basketball,? Bentley said. ?I like the full-court press and use half-court traps. I like to create turnovers that turn into points for us. At the same time we have to be able to slow it down, but the more we can keep the pace up, and force teams into making quick decisions is something I like to go with.?

Bentley has six years of previous coaching experience in girls? basketball, starting his career off with three years as the head coach at Turkey Valley, before spending his latest three years under West Marshall Hall of Fame coach Fred Zeller.

In his final year at Turkey Valley, he led his team to a 15-10 record and a spot in the regional finals, before falling to No. 2 ranked North Butler.

While working under Zeller, who has 607 career wins, Bentley learned a lot and he hopes to carry that over to his own program at Washington.

?I think a lot of what I?ve learned is having the chance to sink the game in a little bit more,? Bentley said. ?(Fred and I) talk about basketball all the time. I want the kids to understand basketball, and not so much in structure or the plays we are going to run, but the flow of the game.?

Bentley will be taking over a Washington team that posted a 6-16 record last season and loses five seniors going into the 2015-16 season.

The main focus for Bentley will be to help develop the individual skills of the team.

?More individual time,? Bentley said. ?Shooting, passing and dribbling and those individual skills. The greatest thing I was told was that sometimes at practice you have to kind of let things go and let the kids figure some things out. I think there?s a lot of things that I learned that I can use.?

Although he hasn?t had much time to scout out the athletes he?ll be working with, he said he feels they will fit with the product he wants to put out on the court.

?From what I know, they don?t have great size, but great quickness,? Bentley said. ?It really plays into my strategy in getting up and down the floor. I like to play 10 to 12 kids, and I think you can get a lot out of the kids in short little spurts. That helps build the numbers up in the program, too.?

Bentley will be busy up until he comes to Washington full time, as he is the boys? golf head coach and softball head coach at West Marshall, and he plans to see those full seasons through.

He also spent time as an assistant coach for the West Marshall cross-country team, which sent both its boys? and girls? teams to the state meet this past season.