Michael Bontemps has left Roosevelt and returned as the girls basketball coach at Grant.
Bontemps, who coached Jefferson’s girls to the Class 5A title in 2008, was Grant’s coach for three seasons (2012-15). He went 39-34 during that span, leading the Generals to a 16-0 record in the Class 6A Portland Interscholastic League in his final season.
He took over as Roosevelt’s coach last season and helped the team improve from 7-16 the previous year to 16-9, third place in the PIL behind co-champions Benson and Grant.
Bontemps said his “life situation changed” in the past year, though, requiring him to be home more to care for his elderly mother. The commute to north Portland from his home in Clackamas County became too much
“In June I decided I couldn’t do Roosevelt anymore,” Bontemps said. “The drive was killing me. I decided I was going to step away.”
At the end of June he became aware of the opening at Grant, where the administration opted to go in a different direction after Kendra Gardner coached the team to three league titles in three seasons. Encouraged by a Grant parent, Bontemps applied for the position and was hired last month.
“We are excited to welcome back coach Bontemps,” Grant athletic director Ray Byzewski said. “He’s great at building community and supporting the growth and development of our student athletes.”
Bontemps' commute will be shorter considering Grant is using the former Marshall High School campus in southeast Portland while its building is being renovated.
“It’s 15 minutes from my house,” Bontemps said. “For this first year, it gives me a better opportunity to be where I needed to be.
“I know what it looks like. People might think, ‘Well, you’re just running out on Roosevelt to go get a better job.’ Nah, that’s really not the case. I really liked the kids at Roosevelt. The community was supportive. It was a really hard decision to have to go and coach against my kids. But I still wanted to coach.”
Grant finished 19-6 last season and lost in the first round of the Class 6A playoffs, one year after making it to the state semifinals.
Bontemps inherits a talented team that features three fourth-year varsity players in forward Monka Hickok and guards Marin Leonard and Amaya Aldridge. The Generals also have a force inside with 6-foot-2 sophomore post Schuyler Berry, who started as a freshman.
“The pieces are there. The cupboard is fully loaded,” Bontemps said. “We have a chance to prepare ourselves to try to make a run at being one of the top five teams in the state. I’m going to go over there and hopefully not coach too much and mess them up.”
Grant also could get a lift from promising freshmen this season.
“They have a bunch of really good freshmen coming in,” Bontemps said. “They are exceptionally motivated to play basketball. I’m really excited about that group coming in. I think there are three or four of them that are really talented.”
Roosevelt has yet to name Bontemps' replacement. Janita Badon, who played on Jefferson’s 2008 state title team and was an assistant coach at Roosevelt last season, will join Bontemps’ staff at Grant.
Is Bontemps committed to Grant beyond this season, considering his commute will be longer when the remodel is complete at the school’s northeast Portland campus?
“If I do everything right, I’m going to delegate like crazy, and I don’t have to be hands-on as much as I’ve always been,” he said. “I’m not looking at a one-year shot. I love being in the gym.”
