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NOTE: Jay Webber, center, with the State B Championship Trophy from the Dayton Bulldogs' 1995 68-46 win over Toutle Lake in the last tournament held in Boone Street Barn before its demolition. At left, Tony Callaro, and, right, Terry Nealey, assistant coaches.
SPOKANE–Former Dayton basketball coach Jay Webber, who completed his 26-year coaching career at Spokane's North Central High School after guiding the Dayton Bulldogs to a State B Basketball Championship in 1995, is being inducted into the Washington Interscholastic Basketball Coaches Association (WIBCA) Hall of Fame. The induction banquet will be held at the Karen Gaffney Room at Gonzaga University on July 16.
Webber's coaching career started at Waterville as an assistant coach to the legendary and WIBCA Hall of Famer Wayne Worthem in 1988. Webber helped Wayne earn a sixth-place trophy that year before leaving for Dayton High School in the fall of 1988 for his first head coaching position.
Webber coached at Dayton from 1988-1995. In 1994, the Bulldogs earned a fifth-place trophy at State and followed it up in 1995 with the school's first State B Championship.
"Over the course of my life, I have come to understand the importance of great leadership," commented one of Webber's key players, Will Hutchens. "The best teams, programs, companies–you name it–does not just happen by accident. They start with someone who has a vision and who cares enough to make that vision a reality.
"That person recruits good people to the leadership team and produces a plan to reach the top," Hutchens continued. "Jay did that at Dayton, and his record at North Central showed that his success was not just an accident. He deserves to take his place among other great coaches the State has produced."
In the fall of 1995, Webber accepted the head coaching job at North Central High School in Spokane. During his 18-year tenure, North Central earned trips to the State 3A tournament four times. In 2006, the Indians garnered the fifth-place trophy in the first State appearance at the Tacoma Dome in 55 years. The following year, North Central rebounded from an extremely poor regular season to capture the third-place trophy at State in the Hec Edmundson Arena at the University of Washington. It was truly a magical run at the end of the year.
North Central qualified for the State tournament two more times in 2010 and 2011 with the later team placing sixth in the State at the Tacoma Dome.
Over the 25-year period that Coach Webber served as a Head Coach, six of his teams made the State Tournament. His teams recorded a 16-7 record in State Tournament play.
Webber was Blue Mountain Coach of the Year in 1995 and GSL Coach of the Year in 2004. He coached more than 20 All-League players as well as three League MVPs.
Webber thanked all the coaches that influenced him and the players and their families. "The sacrifices that you made were the difference that enabled be to be successful," said Webber. "A coach is only as great as his players, and I was fortunate enough to have a lot of great players."
Members of the 1995 Championship team were Tom Howard, Bud Lyonnais, Clay Hutchens, Ryan Rundell, John Skidmore, Justin Steinhoff, Jeff Skeeter, Will Hutchens, Mike Gembala, Matt Talbott, Robert Carlton and Jeremy Hubbard.
Other inductees include Ron Cox (Lakeside Nine Mile Falls), Ron Livingston (East Valley-Yakima) as an assistant coach. For his many years of service in the Yakima Valley State Basketball Tournaments, Rich Austin (Yakima Valley Sports Commission) will receive the Ed & Shirley Pepple Service Award. The Pat Fitterer Positive Coaching Award will be given to Garrick Phillips (University High School).
