Bone retired in May 2016 after 21 years coaching at Snohomish, stating it was a 'good time to step away and kind of re-evaluate.'
Basketball has proved to be too irresistible for Len Bone. The longtime coach is returning to the game after a year absence.
Archbishop Murphy announced Thursday that Bone is its new boys basketball coach.
“Unity, relationships, and connectivity, these are the things I missed most about coaching and knew I had to get back in it,” said Bone in a released statement. “I am excited to be somebody’s coach.”
Bone, 63, was last the head coach at Snohomish. He retired in May 2016, supposedly capping a 40-year coaching career where his most notable player is former NBA center Jon Brockman. The latter is now a volunteer assistant coach at Snohomish.
Most Read Sports Stories
Yet, Bone intimated to reporters at the time of his retirement, that he was only “51 or 52 percent (sure) that this is what I want to do.” And it wasn’t.
Instead, Archbishop Murphy will be another stop in Bone’s storied career. He also coached at West Seattle, La Connor, University, Washington University, Whitworth College and The Masters College. Bone, a former standout guard at Shorecrest and Seattle Pacific University, has compiled a 417-250 high-school coaching record.
Bone also comes from a family of coaches. His father coached high-school basketball while brother Ken is a longtime college assistant coach. Len’s son Kegan is an assistant men’s basketball coach at SPU.
ATM was 16-7 overall last winter. It lost to Liberty, 63-52, in the district tournament quarterfinals. Archbishop Murphy hasn’t advanced to state since 2008 and has a 0-4 all-time record in the Hardwood Classic.
“Experience, stability and a history of coaching over 600 high school games; we feel confident in what (Bone) will bring to the program,” said ATM athletic director Jerry Jensen. “He will undoubtedly positively impact the lives of our student athletes!”