I once ran into coach at the doctor’s office at Virginia Mason in downtown Seattle. Must have been about 10 years ago (check that, it was about 15 years ago). I asked for his autograph—as you might imagine, he graciously obliged. He was a class act and a true ambassador for basketball and the city of Seattle. As a kid, one of the books that drew me into my elementary school library was a picture yearbook reliving the ‘78-’79 Sonics championship season. I came back to it at least once every year to see my heroes “The Wizard” Gus Williams, “DJ” Dennis Johnson, “Downtown” Freddy Brown and the rest. But it was Lenny Wilkins and his consistent, staid presence that conveyed a calm, cool and collected leadership style that also rang true for me. He never, ever seemed phased and didn't seems to ever let emotions get the best of him. In my time as a youth basketball coach, I always tried to emulate that sort of sideline presence. RIP coach….