Holding a brand-new Douglas Tiger baseball cap and a file full of paperwork, Rob Streeter was ready to get to work.
Streeter was named the coach of the Douglas High boys basketball team Monday, filling the spot left vacant by Keith Lewis, who resigned in April in order to spend more time with his family.
"This is something I've wanted to do for a long time," said Streeter, who led Dayton High to the 3A State Tournament finals twice in the last three years. "When the Douglas job came open, it was kind of a no-brainer that I was going to throw my hat in the ring and see what happened.
"Once we started getting the ball rolling and meeting with the coaches and the administrators here, it just seemed like the right fit at the right time."
So begins the whirlwind tour for Streeter. He spent the majority of the day Monday getting shown around the school and the town, and will spend the rest of the week getting to know his new team.
"I'm looking forward to getting together with the kids," he said. "I know a little bit about them and I'm looking forward to getting to know them at a much different level."
Streeter represents the top local name to come up for the job. In five years at Dayton, he brought the Dust Devils from an average program to one of the true Northern 3A powers. He won two league championships there and led Dayton into the state final this year while compiling a 22-10 record. Dayton was also a state finalist in 2003.
"We were excited to be able to get Rob," said Jeff Evans, who will be Douglas' athletic director next year, said. "We put the ad out basically nationwide and we had someone as qualified as Rob sitting in our backyard.
"He already knows the kids, he knows Nevada, he knows the league and he knows the opponents. He was a steal."
Streeter came highly-recommended to Douglas. Former Carson High athletic director and head basketball coach Tom Andreasen, current Carson boys basketball coach Bruce Barnes, former Douglas basketball coach Aubrey McCreary and current Reno boys basketball coach Eric Swain all weighed in with phone calls to the Douglas administration.
Streeter got his start coaching the Carson freshman squad in his first year out of college about 10 years ago. He coached the Senators' junior varsity squad over the next four seasons and was a finalist to take over the varsity program in 2000 after Andreasen resigned.
While Barnes won that vacancy, Streeter had another opportunity pop up in Dayton.
"I felt I was ready to run my own program and that job was available," he said. "In hindsight, it was probably the best move for me. I learned a lot about how I was going to coach.
"It was an interesting year. I learned a lot about basketball, how to deal with the kids and what styles of play would work at the varsity level."
Streeter guided the Dust Devils to a 12-16 record in 2000-01, the only losing season of his career. He had four sophomores, one freshman and only one returning varsity player on that squad.
"After this last year, I was going through my program goals that I had established when I got the job," he said. "We were able to fulfill a lot of those in five years.
"I'm very thankful for the opportunity at Dayton. I had great support from the community, the parents and the administration. It was a very positive experience."
Streeter said it was tough to leave Dayton behind.
"When I left Carson to go to Dayton, I always knew I wanted to come back to 4A ball and Douglas and Carson were at the top of the list.
"Leaving Dayton was a very tough choice. They have a legitimate shot at another state title run. Next year's squad is set up very well. It would have been exciting to be a part of that, but there is an opportunity for a new challenge here at the 4A level with an awesome group of kids."
Streeter takes over a program loaded with youth and no returning senior starters. The Tigers will feature five players who started at least one game as sophomores last year.
Leading the team again will be 6-foot-10 center and junior-to-be Keith Olson, an All-Northern 4A and All-Sierra League honoree. Nate Whalin, 6-3, who started the majority of the Tigers' games at power forward as a sophomore is also expected to make a big impact for Douglas next season.
Mike Gransbery, a fluid player who often made the transition between shooting guard and small forward throughout the year, and Reese Kizer and Jared Trowbridge, who both proved to be capable at running the point for Douglas, are other players expected to highlight next year's junior class.
Joe Nady, a 6-7 sophomore forward for the Tigers last year, and Danny Ortiz, who would be Douglas' only returning senior, make up the remainder of the returning core.
"I like to win, so I am very flexible with what I like to do," Streeter said. "We'll get up and down the floor. I like to utilize the bench.
"That is one of the advantages of coming to 4A it the depth of the talent that we'll have.
"We'll be a little bit more liberal with some sprint outs and some offensive schemes. We'll run a lot of pressure defense ... It'll be an exciting style of game. I like high-energy basketball. We'll get after it. I chart loose balls and long rebounds, just overall hustle."
Streeter, who will also teach physical education and possibly health at Douglas, will get his first chance to coach the team this weekend at a spring tournament. From there he is already planning out through next season.
"We'll have stuff for them to do through June, maybe early July and then we'll encourage some individual camps.
"We'll probably go through some growing pains and that is O.K. We're worried about where we're going to be in February, not necessarily where we'll be in November. This summer will be huge for us, just getting together and getting to know each other and the style that I like to play."
n Joey Crandall can be reached at jcrandall@recordcourier.com or at 782-5121, ext. 212.
