By Kiara Doyal, The Seattle Medium
Last week, the Franklin Quakers announced Tavar Proctor as the new Varsity Boys Basketball Head Coach for the upcoming 2024-2025 season. Proctor, a Franklin alum, takes over a program that has not had a winning season in seven years, when the team went 16-8 and advanced to the Sea-King district playoffs. Since that time, the Quakers have not finished higher than 10th in the Metro League.
“I feel great about the opportunity as the new Head Coach and getting back to the standard of the Quaker program,” says Proctor.
Franklin has a rich history when it comes to athletics, and its previous head coach, Craig Jackson, has been part of the athletic department for 24 years and produced some of Seattle’s best basketball talent. Proctor, who coached under Jackson last season, hopes to continue adding to the success of the Franklin athletic program and building relationships with the players that are part of his team.
“It was a really good experience working under Coach Jackson, where I was able to learn a lot from him,” says Proctor. “How to develop players, connect with the players, and build relationships with them. In particular, he [Jackson] showed me details on running events that I was able to apply while I was working with the girl’s program, that I plan on implementing back on the boy’s side.”
A former basketball player at Franklin himself, Proctor looks to heighten the game of basketball within the Boys’ Varsity program, by holding his coaching staff and players to the standard and Quaker pride that he was once a part of.
“I graduated from Franklin in 2003, so I was a part of the standard of playing with Quaker pride,” says Proctor. “So, I have this additional goal of mine where I would like to start our program off playing with that Quaker pride and energy, and then build on from there, and that starts on the defensive end, being aggressive, being feisty, and playing with fundamentals.”
Coming off an 8-14 overall, and a 6-9 in District record last season, Proctor is optimistic that his team will have the ability to surpass their previous record.
“To be honest, my goal for this upcoming season is to win more games than last year, be above a 500-winning percentage, and make strides to qualify for the state tournament,” says Proctor.
With most of their losses last season coming in relatively close games, the goal to surpass their previous record is very near in sight as the Quakers are looking to rebuild their new team, even with the departure of 7 seniors. Despite the recent departures, Proctor believes that a fresh start will provide the program with the foundation that it needs to rebuild and be successful.
“We lost more than half of our team last season, so we will have about 4 or 5 returners, with 2 or 3 who have moved up to Varsity from Junior Varsity,” says Proctor. “The key to rebuilding the team next season is the buy-in. We have to have not so much of an ego, but to just play for one another, play hard, be feisty, be aggressive, be hungry, and I think that will be the first crucial step in having a successful season.”
Getting his players in the gym regularly and working on the fundamentals of basketball offensively and defensively is a crucial component that Proctor and his coaching staff are going to stress during summer as they strive to improve from last year.
“Practice can’t just be two hours,” says Proctor. “With me, it has to be more hours put in outside of our original practice time. It is going to be on me to teach and show them how to develop outside of practice and play with that Quaker pride. Just as they have to put in the work, I have to put in the work as well.”
“We have to come together as a team. No man is bigger than the team, that includes me, and we are all working together to turn this thing around,” concluded Proctor.
