New Curtis boys basketball coach David Adams knows winning formula of Tim Kelly as well as anybody

Adams played for Kelly at Lincoln of Tacoma, then joined his staff a few years after ex-coach changed addresses in 2007

Former Lincoln of Tacoma standout David Adams has been hired as the new Curtis High School boys basketball coach, replacing retired Tim Kelly. / Photo courtesy of Curtis athletics

Nobody wants to follow a legend.

But the Curtis Vikings think they have somebody credible and level-headed enough to be very successful from the get-go.

David Adams played for Tim Kelly at Lincoln of Tacoma. He sat on his bench when Kelly was hired to take over Curtis basketball in 2007. And now, Adams, 44, was hired Friday to be the head-coaching successor to Kelly, who stepped down in late March.

"I think he's going to be really good," Kelly said. "He's probably one of he most competitive players I ever had. And he's such a hard worker.

"He pays attention. He is knowledgable. And he will have a great rapport with kids."

Although Adams hasn't been involved with high school basketball for the better part of a decade - instead he has been coaching with the Isaiah Thomas-founded Slow Grind Elite AAU program - he does know the winning principles Kelly laid down as a foundation for two WIAA championship-winning programs at Lincoln and Curtis.

As a player, he was a two-time 4A Narrows League most valuable player (1998, 1999), and was the WIBCA state player of the year as a senior before heading off to play at Washington State University, then at Wyoming.

Adams returned for a couple of seasons as a Vikings' assistant (2009-11) under Kelly.

"Look at Tim's coaching tree, anybody who has played for him that has gotten into coaching has done very well," said Aubrey Shelton, the men's coach at the University of Puget Sound, and a former teammate of Adams at Lincoln.

"(Adams) is a slam-dunk hire."

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