The young basketball coaching career of Marlon Stewart so far has been about two things: culture and consistency.
The young basketball coaching career of Marlon Stewart so far has been about two things: culture and consistency.
For Stewart, nearly 32, consistent culture has meant consistent winning.
Hawaii coach Eran Ganot hopes that continues at Hawaii. This week he hired Stewart away from Montana to fill an assistant vacancy and restore his staff to full strength heading into the 2017-18 season.
“I always had an eye on the program, and just watching, obviously, what they did in Year 1,” said Stewart, who departed the islands Tuesday night for immediate recruiting duties. “I was able to go there to Spokane and see it firsthand. Talking to John (assistant coach Montgomery) and hearing how special the support is, living in Hawaii, and more so the people and the university and all that, really got me excited about the opportunity to come here. I’m thrilled to be here.”
Stewart replaces Chris Acker, who accepted a job at Boise State in early June.
Stewart’s duties are expected to include defensive schemes and recruiting, specifically in his native Pacific Northwest, as well as internationally.
The baby-faced Stewart has only one year as a full assistant under his belt, 2016-17 with the Grizzlies of the Big Sky, but has been on successful staffs at California and Virginia fulfilling roles like video coordinator and scouting assistant. He latched on with Montana as director of operations in 2014 and toiled two more years behind the scenes before being named full assistant under his mentor, Travis DeCuire.
“I’ve been very fortunate to be a part of the staffs that I’ve been on, and then work with the people I’ve worked with,” Stewart said. “They’ve all done it in a way — they built programs, not teams. I’ve been able to be a part of things that are consistent.”
Until Montana went 16-16 last year, Stewart had been on staffs of postseason teams for 10 straight seasons, including his time at Washington State as a student video coordinator.
Stewart had difficulty scoring as a kid, so he naturally gravitated toward defense. When he served as a student for Tony Bennett — and his pack line defense — at WSU, it was a “dream come true.”
“I was really able to lock in on how it was taught,” Stewart said.
At Cal (2008-12), he worked under Mike Montgomery, the father of UH assistant John, whom Stewart also worked with at Berkeley. He and Bennett would later reconnect at UVA (2012-14).
At Montana, he got his professional breakthrough. He was in a place with a known basketball culture and had a rapport with DeCuire, whom he knew as far back as elementary school. So why leave?
The opportunity to help recruit Europe at UH was alluring. But there was something else.
“The biggest thing for me to grow was to get in another good situation,” Stewart said. “What (DeCuire) really said (to me) was, ‘You never know when you’ll have an opportunity like this again. To go from one good situation to another where you can grow. You can find another opportunity, but it might not be what you want.’ “