Flashback: Ballard's Stewart played in first All-American game

Athlete: Kim Stewart, Ballard, Class of 1974

Sport: Basketball

High-school rewind: A 6-foot-7 forward, Stewart was All-Metro and all-state his junior and senior seasons. He averaged 24 points as a junior and 27 as a senior. Selected to play in the first McDonald's All-American game in 1974, then called the Capitol Classic and played in Washington, D.C. Also in that game were Moses Malone, Rick Robey and Butch Lee.

After high school: Played at Washington under coach Marv Harshman on teams that included James Edwards, Chester Dorsey, Lars Hansen, Steve Matzen, Mike Neill and Clarence Ramsey. His team climbed as high as sixth in the country his sophomore year in 1975-76. The Huskies finished 23-5 that year, losing to Missouri in the NCAA first round, 69-67. They were 17-10 and 14-13 his final two seasons.

After athletics: With nine games left in his senior season, he tore the ACL in his knee. He was drafted in the sixth round by the Lakers, didn't make the team and played in Europe for a year. He has gone on to coach and teach at Ballard, Ingraham and Mountlake Terrace high schools for 25 years. He has been athletic director and activities coordinator at Mountlake Terrace for the past 12 years.

Personal: Lives in Brier with his wife of 24 years, Vicki. Daughter, Kiley, 22, attends UW.

Fast forward: Stewart had tryouts with several NBA teams but took Harshman's invitation to be a UW graduate assistant and finish his degree.

"I'm so glad I did," Stewart said. "I probably never would have gotten into coaching."

He says being the activities coordinator "is like being a cruise-ship director. It's the greatest job in the world. The whole day you spend dealing with ASB activities, then sports, two things I love."

He still has his hands in coaching. He runs a Mountlake Terrace fastpitch team, works with the inside players on the boys basketball team and last year stepped in as an emergency replacement for the girls basketball team that was predicted to finish second to last in the WesCo South Division. The Hawks reached the state playoffs.

"That was an absolutely fabulous experience," he said.

Bob Sherwin