Kapolei coach a big teddy bear

He grew up in black and gold and wound up wearing black and teal.

But at heart, Jesse Baugh overflowed with the aloha spirit, from his teaching on the Kapolei High School campus to the voicemail greeting on his phone. The longtime Hurricanes girls basketball coach and former Nanakuli all-star athlete died on Friday after a battle with pancreatic cancer. Baugh, 55, is survived by wife Renee and several children.

Among his colleagues and competitors was Mike Morton, who coached Baugh’s step-daughters, Momilani and Mililani Monis, at Pearl City in the late 1990s. At the time, Baugh was an assistant football coach. Morton choked back tears as he reminisced about his old friend.

"He used to come over to the house after games. We had a lot of stories and a lot of good laughs. He was so fun. Those were the best times," Morton said.

"When his daughters were playing, he said, ‘I’ll never coach girls.’ But he was patient as a coach, strict but very fair. His teams played tough and physical just like him."

Baugh, an educational assistant, coached at Kapolei from the beginning in 2000. He was on the football field, then became the girls basketball coach and the program began a successful run.

In 2005, center Jerrell Taituave powered Kapolei to an 11-1 regular-season record and the school’s first OIA West title. Baugh was named coach of the year.

Two seasons ago, the Hurricanes reached the quarterfinal round of the state tourney, losing to eventual finalist Lahainaluna 58-55.

That squad, led by Krystal Jacobs, Toe Motu, Kaity Wills, Paige Kaea and Kawehi Hagi, finished that season with a 17-4 record, the best in the program’s history.

Last year, the ‘Canes were edged by Kahuku 47-44 on a buzzer-beater shot in the OIA Red playoffs.

"It’s hard. We lost a good man," Kapolei athletic director Darren Camello said. "He was good fun to be with. The only positive is that he didn’t suffer too long."

A year ago, Baugh had lost a lot of weight in an effort to control his diabetes.

"He was working out every morning. He would get here at 4:30 a.m.," Camello said. "He changed his diet. He changed his life."

A few months ago, Baugh suffered back pain severe enough to keep him from sleeping, Camello noted. That led to the diagnosis of cancer. Baugh stopped coming to work about two months ago.

"It was a fast decline. He was getting weaker and not eating as much," Camello said.

James Aronica, a physical education teacher, has been the coach in Baugh’s absence. The team is currently on Maui playing in Seabury Hall’s tournament.

Former Sacred Hearts girls basketball coach Alan Matsui first met Baugh while playing football for Pac-Five against Nanakuli, where Baugh ran track and was an all-star in football and basketball.

"He was a big guy with a big afro and he was a great athlete," Matsui said. "But he was an even better person and coach."

Matsui was astonished all those years ago when Baugh first became a girls basketball coach, but the surprise didn’t last long.

"He went from being someone who was intimidating," Matsui said, "to being a big teddy bear."