Brian Strickland speaks to his team during a timeout. The 2023-2024 team finished with a 18-10 record. Photo by Tate Gasch.
What is your first memory of RHS basketball?
My first memory was coming to summer workouts before my freshman year in the summer of ‘96.
What is your favorite memory of RHS basketball?
It’s kind of torn between the years where I’ve played and the years where I’ve coached. Winning multiple conference championships as a player obviously ranks up there, winning them as an assistant coach and as a head coach is different than a player. I would probably say making it to the final four in 2010.
What have you accomplished as the RHS basketball coach?
We can look at wins and losses, we can look at championships, but ultimately, what I take away from this is the gratitude of these relationships that I;ve built over the last 20 years. It is something that has meant more to me than anything else.
What are you most proud of?
The culture that we’ve been able to establish, the community, the family-like atmosphere. It’s not just [student’s] four years here at Riverside. It’s practices, games, we’ve got alumni constantly coming back and following the program. I think that sense of lifelong family is something that was really established early on.
Why did you decide to retire?
I’m ready for a new chapter in my life. It is tough coaching basketball, it’s a year round job, and you’re bound to that commitment. I have enjoyed the 20 years that I had the opportunity to be a part of it, but ultimately I think it’s time for me to start a new chapter in my life. I will continue to help out as assistant athletic director year round, [but be] able to focus more on Pirates Athletic Media.
What will you miss the most?
The opportunity to be around the guys. Again, I go back to relationships, because that’s number one for me. We build a big sense of community and family with that. Not just our players, but our managers too. I’ll miss practices a lot, I’ll definitely miss the wins, I probably won’t miss the losses.
What do you think your retirement means for Riverside?
I’m going to look at it as hopefully something positive. We’re hoping to get someone in here. I don’t want to look at it as replacing, I want to look at it as continuing to build, continuing to improve, and to take what I’ve been able to create and make it their own and hopefully make it better.
What’s next for you?
Now that I’m not coaching basketball, now that I’m mentally more freed up, I can help out coach Duncan as an assistant athletic director a lot more. I think that hopefully there will be a little more travel opportunities, some more time to spend with my family, just a little more flexibility in my schedule.
What’s next for RHS basketball?
This is a good time for me to step away because from top to bottom, JV to Varsity, the culture is very strong. The commitment level that we’ve had is amazing, we’re coming off one of our better seasons. Almost everybody was there every single workout from April all the way until the first day of tryouts on October 30, which is pretty amazing. You get 15-20 guys there for six months out of the year. I think that we’ve got some young talent [and] I’m excited to see them move up to varsity. I think the future is extremely bright. I know that I’m leaving it better than I got it, and I already had found it in a really good place.
Is there anything else I should know that I haven’t asked you about?
I’m appreciative of the support and help that I’ve gotten from Coach Duncan, but also my former high school coach, Coach Ross, here at Riverside. It’s who I coached under and who I took over from, and I wouldn’t have had the opportunity without him, I wouldn’t have wanted to coach without him.
