By Larry Stone The Seattle Times
Sept. 20, 2019
Seattle—When Jim Marsh passed away in 2019, the Seattle basketball world lost a big part of their heart, their soul, their conscience, and their funny bone.
No individual garnered more affection. No one was more respected. No one was more fun to be around. Diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 2004, his body weakened over time but his mind and spirit remained strong.
Marsh’s quips are legendary. An undersized 6’7” center for USC, he joked that he held Lew Alcinder (now Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) to 56 points in his first college game for UCLA. When he fizzled out of the NBA after one season in Portland, he told people that Bill Walton replaced him. That led eventually to a 12-year career as a Sonics television announcer.
“He was so witty and smart and funny,” said Chuck Williams, who coached with Marsh in the fledging days of the seminal Friends of Hoop AAU program that helped put Seattle basketball in the forefront. “I remember him telling stories to our different teams, from the beginning of time, it seemed like. He had a story for every occasion.”
It was an equal opportunity love affair. It didn’t matter if you were an NBA star such as Isaiah Thomas or Jamal Crawford, or a kid who just loved hoops with no chance of being anything more than a bench warmer. He had time for them all. Marsh gave his heart over to young people, both as a longtime coach with Friends of Hoop and as president of Mentoring Works Washington.
At the Jammin’ Hoops camp he ran all over the country for more than a decade, with help of friends like Abdul-Jabbar, Walton, Marques Johnson, Gary Payton and scores of other NBA stars. Marsh instructed the coaches to say each player’s name with a compliment and a smile. Why? “Because many of these kids have never had anyone say a good word.”
“Jim worked without bias.” Cleveland High School coach Jerry Petty said. “He created a lot of opportunity for inner city youth that may not have otherwise been awarded to them.”
“There are many in our profession who say, “I’m in it for the kids,” but they have their own agenda,” said former Washington coach Lorenzo Romar, now at Pepperdine. “Not Jim. He was one that was truly, truly in it for the kids.” “You knew that, and the kids sensed that. It was so genuine. They trusted him so much.”
If Marsh heard about a player who couldn’t afford a snack on a road trip, he’d quietly provided one. If a youngster didn’t have a ride, Jim would take him. He’d make sure everyone had a good pair of shoes.
“His American Express card was pretty beat up,” Williams said with a rueful laugh, “He’d pull that out to pay for a meal or help a guy get a ticket or fly to a kid’s graduation.”
And he’d do it without fanfare, a thousand acts of kindness that, when looked at in their totality, were the measure of a selfless man. Williams has never forgotten how whenever someone asked if Marsh was the head coach at FOH, he’d unfailingly respond, “No, I’m the co-coach. Chuck is my co-coach. We’re doing this together.” That empowered Williams’ successful coaching career, he said.
“You hear all these things, especially in today’s game, about what’s wrong with basketball,” Rainier Beach coach Mike Bethea said. “You do not hear enough about what’s right with basketball. Jim was a representative of what’s right with basketball.”
“He taught them about life, how to tip, to leave something for the maid, open doors for people,” Williams said.
The legion of players who came out of Seattle and achieved fame at the college and pro level, they were all fiercely loyal to Marsh. It’s an amazing list of players, Isaiah Thomas, Jamal Crawford, Spencer Hawes, Jon Brockman, Mitch Johnson, Martell Webster, Zach Lavine, Nate Robinson, Joe Harris, Dejounte Murray and so many more. “Those guys would do anything for him,” Romar said.
Seattle Basketball Community will never forget the legend, Jim Marsh.
