Dual roles for Wahine hoops coach Langston

Come January, the teacher will again become a student.

As the newest member of the Rainbow Wahine basketball team’s coaching staff, Brad Langston has applied his on-court experience in skill development in Hawaii’s first week of full practices.

In the spring, he’ll join the Wahine players in the classroom to continue his pursuit of a degree — a condition agreed upon when head coach Laura Beeman offered Langston his first collegiate coaching position.

“You never know what life is going to hand you … but that doesn’t mean you can’t follow through or complete a task you want to complete. It just means your pathway might not look like everybody else’s pathway,” Langston said after a practice at the Stan Sheriff Center.

Langston appeared to be on the path to a Division I playing career after earning a two-year degree from Sierra College. He was listed as a junior guard at San Jose State for the 2007-08 season when his priorities flipped with the birth of a daughter, Amira.

He left school to focus on providing for his young family and worked at a fitness center and a cell phone company to bring in income and health coverage. He continued to keep in shape at the gym when a chance conversation altered his trajectory again.

“A mom wanted me to train her kid,” Langston said. “I didn’t know how to train anybody, so I let him work out with me. The mom came back and said he really enjoyed it.”

The private lessons continued and it turned out the youngster’s father ran a basketball club in the area and invited Langston to help train their players.

“The satisfaction I got from that parent calling me and saying, ‘Hey, I’ve seen my child have success’ … the bell went off,” Langston said. “It was, ‘I can make an impact on kids’ lives.’ ”

Langston joined his own father, John, who coaches the girls basketball team at West Campus High School in Sacramento, Calif. By 26, he established his own training program, Evolution Skills Academy, and coached a successful club team while establishing a reputation for skill development in Northern California.

“I knew of him because he has two or three of the top players in the country on his travel ballteam,” Beeman said. “He’s put kids from high school into Division I schools and Division I athletes into the pros. He has a very good résumé.”

When a position on the UH coaching staff opened up this summer, Beeman received several recommendations on Langston’s behalf from contacts in the coaching community — including newly hired associate coach Calamity McEntire — and their first phone conversation confirmed that their motivations aligned.

But it was feedback from the Wahine players that solidified Beeman’s decision to take a chance on the 29-year-old.

“I promised these young ladies when we had so much change I would bring them good people, I would bring them the right coaches,” Beeman said.

“They were like, ‘He’s the one.’ … The way these kids have gravitated to him is really special.”

Knowing the line missing from his résumé would be a hurdle, Beeman consulted with UH human resource specialist Paula Nishimoto to see if Langston’s work experience could make up for the lack of a four-year degree. She then took her case to athletic director David Matlin.

“My biggest concern was I never want to put David in a bad spot where someone else comes up and says, ‘Well, you did it for Laura, you have to do it for me,’ ” Beeman said. “And David looked at me and said, ‘I don’t do anything that way. … I hire people because they’re good and I trust your judgment.’ ”

Beeman offered Langston the job in late August with the understanding that he would work toward his degree in communications in addition to his coaching duties.

“My commitment to him and his commitment to me is he’s going to get his degree. I’d be failing him if I don’t do that,” Beeman said. “He’s got a daughter, she means the world to him and that’s going to better his future.”

Langston estimates he’s three semesters away from graduation and plans to enroll in classes in the spring, with part of his paycheck from UH’s lower campus going toward his studies on the upper campus.

The dual opportunities meant moving away from his family and now 7-year-old Amira. Plans are in place are for a Thanksgiving visit to the islands and Langston will spend Christmas in California during a break in UH’s schedule. He’ll also have a chance to visit on recruiting and Big West road trips.

“It’s tough. … My family’s very supportive, so we’re making it work,” he said.

Langston said his mother had long hoped he would complete his degree, and a talk with his father resonated when he arrived in Hawaii.

“He just said, ‘You have to make sure you’re respectful and honor (Beeman) and the opportunity she gave you,’ ” Langston said, “and that’s what I want to do while I’m here.”