Brief stay for BYUH’s Wagner turned into 21 years, 400 wins

» Ken Wagner
» Brigham Young-Hawaii
» Coach, men’s basketball

The thought was to stay two, maybe three, years.

It’s turned into 21.

The thought was to take it one game at a time, winning some along the way.

It’s turned into 400 victories.

"Winning happens when you have good support and the players who want to work hard," said Brigham Young-Hawaii men’s basketball coach Ken Wagner, who earned his 400th win last Wednesday when the Seasiders defeated Dominican 75-64 at Cannon Activities Center. "I don’t put a number on success. What I’m proud of is the consistency of the program.

"The challenge of winning will always be there, but the passion might not be. So far, I haven’t lost the passion."

And he’s lost less than a third of his contests at BYUH.

Wagner has a .685 winning percentage (400-184) with just one losing season since taking the job in 1990. He has put together nine 20-win seasons, including the past four straight, with appearances in the NCAA Division II tournament nine of the past 11 seasons and an NAIA final-four berth his second season with the Seasiders.

Adapting to Hawaii was not difficult. Wagner was born and raised in Mexico, and "there are similarities culturally and with the weather," he said. "I’ve always felt comfortable here.

"What I’ve enjoyed the most is the associations you make with players. We always have former players come by when we’re on the road. There’s been a lot of great players, a lot of good kids, who have come through our program. They become part of the family."

A self-proclaimed gym rat, Wagner played freshman basketball and club soccer at Brigham Young-Provo. After serving a church mission, he played basketball and football at Eastern Arizona.

Going into coaching seemed natural "because I love the game so much," he said. "It’s been difficult at times, of course, but what is satisfying is seeing players graduate, grow as players and as people."

NOTES

Weekly honors for HPU’s Awa-Williams

Hawaii Pacific senior forward Jazzmin Awa-Williams was named the women’s basketball player of the week after helping the Sea Warriors open conference play 4-0 last week.

The Konawaena High product averaged 15 points, 2.3 assists and 2.5 steals per game. She shot 63.6 percent from the field (21-for-33) and hit 94.7 percent from the line (18 of 19).

BYUH’s junior guard Dastrup cited

BYU-Hawaii junior guard Jake Dastrup earned the men’s basketball weekly honor for leading the Seasiders to a 2-0 week.

He averaged 16.5 points and 3.0 assists while hitting seven of 11 3-point attempts.

PacWest magazine online

The winter edition of PacWest Magazine is available online at thepacwest.com.

The 16-page issue recaps the fall season and previews the upcoming spring season. Free copies are also available on a limited basis at conference basketball games.