Eastside Catholic Crusaders boys basketball head coach Bill Liley exhibited his customary gregarious smile while congratulating his players along the bench for a phenomenal season as the final seconds trickled off the clock in Eastside Catholic’s dominating 68-56 victory against the Seattle Prep Panthers in the Class 3A third/fifth place contest on March 7 at the Tacoma Dome.

The third place finish at the state tournament didn’t surprise me, but the news Liley unveiled to me following the game left me stunned.

“This is my last game at Eastside Catholic,” Liley said before making his way to the locker room. “Like a senior playing his last game here at the dome, we all decided we wanted to go out the right way. These kids have a lot of character and they showed it today. They bounced back after a really tough loss (61-33 loss to Rainier Beach in Class 3A semifinals) last night and came in here today and played with a little bit of spirit, anger, determination and frustration. That equaled into a win. I’m proud of these guys.”

Liley said his team knew the 2014-15 season would be his final one as the Crusaders coach but didn’t reveal the secret to the masses before the tournament took place. Liley was mum about his future plans and instead wanted to relish and reflect on the Crusaders third place finish at the state tourney.

“I want to give these kids their due and celebrate their season. It’s not about me, it’s about them. I want it to be about them right now. I will talk about what I have in store for next year later,” he said.

One thing is for sure, the Crusaders will miss Liley’s presence on the hardwood. He is a charismatic individual who got the most out of his players. Liley is gregarious, caring and down to earth while being simultaneously hard-nosed, disciplined and professional. It’s almost impossible to define what makes a person charismatic but Liley possesses those qualities in droves. Much like Russell Wilson, he just has a likable persona. I’m sure Liley dominates any job interview he partakes in. Like I was telling some of my buddies the other day, if I was a high school athlete I would run through a proverbial wall for that guy. I wouldn’t be surprised if many of his players felt the same way. What Liley accomplished in his four seasons at Eastside Catholic will never be forgotten.

Shaun Scott: 425-453-5045; sscott@bellevuereporter.com