The 2019-20 season will mark Jeff Hironaka's third as the leader of the Colorado Christian men's basketball program.
He was named head coach of men’s basketball at Colorado Christian on May 17, 2017. His pedigree includes the first five years of what was the longest active playoff streak in DII basketball. "Coach Hiro" wants to build Colorado Christian into a destination for champions.
Coach Hiro is no stranger to bringing a winning tradition to programs like Colorado Christian that do not offer full scholarships. “Wherever I go, it is always my goal to build a program that attracts elite players who were nurtured before me by a long line of excellent coaches,” Hironaka notes. “But what draws me to Colorado Christian is my record with athletes who—like me—may be overlooked but who want to compete for championships.”
After seven years as the head coach at Seattle Pacific University from 2002-09, Jeff guided the team to multiple playoff berths. Thanks in part to coach Hiro, the Falcons, for a time, had the longest active playoff streak in DII basketball.
During his seven years at SPU, Hironaka coached the Falcons to five consecutive post-season appearances, including a Final Four. SPU averaged 19 wins, 81.2 PPG, and finished each season with a winning record under Hironaka. Player development was superb at SPU (.501 FG%, .738 FT%, and .387 3FG percentage), with 40 of Coach Hiro's athletes exceeding seven PPG. In honor of his head coach success, Hironaka was named GNAC coach of the year in 2006 and 2007. He was also named NCAA DII Western Region Coach of the Year.
Hironaka was ultimately headhunted away from SPU by a Pac-12 school where—as an assistant—he would play a key role in developing Klay Thompson for the NBA. “Jeff is a great person and a highly intuitive coach. Players trust Jeff because he understands them,” said Herb Livsey, lead scout for the Denver Nuggets. Klay Thompson of the Golden State Warriors agrees, “Jeff helped prepare me for the greatest basketball stage in the world.” Coach Hiro spent four seasons as an assistant at Washington State. In those four seasons, the team achieved two post-season tourney berths.
After Washington State, Hironaka spent the next four years as the lead assistant at Portland State University (PSU). Tyler Geving was in his fifth season as PSU head coach when he hired Jeff to lead offensive strategy. The Vikings made it to the CIT in his first year.
Ultimately, the academic accomplishments of his athletes is what inspires Hironaka to continue coaching. At Seattle Pacific, Hironaka coached 18 Academic All-Conference players and graduated 24 of 26 Falcons. For 5 of the 7 years as head coach, the Falcons received the award for GNAC Academic Team of the Year. His academic profile was no less notable as an assistant at Washington State, where he mentored five Academic All-Conference players. Despite the many athletic awards his teams have received over the years, Hironaka values the academic accomplishments by his rosters even more.
As a basketball veteran, Hironaka is well known by his coaching peers. Before coaching his first game this year at CCU—and for the second time in his coaching career—Hironaka was chosen as the conference representative to the NABC Division II Congress.
Hironaka holds a masters in sports administration from Idaho State University and a bachelors in education from Eastern Oregon University. He grew up on a family farm in Idaho.
