Archdeacon: Grandchildren help turn coach’s scowls into smiles

Miami Basketball Coach Charlie Coles' grandchildren Jazz Bennett and Taya Coles watch the first half of their game against Evansville, Tuesday, Dec. 20, 2011.

Staff photo by Greg Lynch Miami Basketball Coach Charlie Coles' grandchildren Jazz Bennett and Taya Coles watch the first half of their game against Evansville, Tuesday, Dec. 20, 2011.

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Staff photo by Chris Stewart Tom Archdeacon, Dayton Daily News.

ENLARGE PHOTO

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By Tom Archdeacon, Staff Writer Updated 12:33 PM Sunday, December 25, 2011

OXFORD — It didn’t take long for Charlie Coles to snap out of it.

He and his Miami basketball team had just suffered what he’d later call “as terrible a loss as I can remember suffering” — the RedHawks let an 11-point lead slip away and fell to Evansville, 77-75 — and as he slowly led the way through the perfunctory postgame handshake line, he seemed fully absorbed in the defeat.

In the first row of the Millett Hall seats — behind the visitors’ bench, just a few feet from where Coles would finish up his congrats-to-the-winners walk — a young girl looked anxiously for the come-on-down motion for which she’d waited all game.

Jazz Bennett, Coles’ 10-year-old granddaughter with the long dark hair and infectious smile, regularly joins her beloved, 69-year-old granddad on the court after games and walks with him — often hand in hand — to the dressing room.

She follows him into the locker room, listens to his postgame talk and then the players gather around her as she leads a repetitive chant: “1-2-3 RedHawks!” Afterward, she accompanies her grandpa to the press conference and always sits next to him.

But on this night — after Miami’s fifth loss in six games — Coles uncharacteristically didn’t look in her direction, instead turning and trudging to the dressing room alone.

“I sometimes feel bad for my grandpa when he loses,” Jazz had said earlier. “But he usually gets over it real fast when he sees me.”

Although a little taken aback by the slight, she soon was joined by her three cousins — 11-year-old Tyson Coles, his 8-year-old sister Taya and 6-year-old brother C.J. — who had just arrived from Michigan for the family Christmas in Oxford.

Soon everybody was having fun, though Jazz continued to keep one eye on the court. She knew her granddad would return for his coaching comments with the radio broadcast crew. And when Coles did come back — once he finished with his analysis — it didn’t take him long to motion for the kids to join him.

Within seconds Jazz was at his side, followed by the others, everybody talking and C.J. quickly turning his grandpa into his own private jungle gym.

“On a night like this, this is about the only thing that saves you,” Coles said. “Having grand kids has helped me not feel bitter about losses. I still feel bad. But not bitter. I used to get like that, but when you’ve got young people looking up to you, you don’t want to be the type person who holds onto bad things.”

Eventually he brought the kids into the media room. They sat next to him and quietly listened — except for C.J. who got a “Be quiet boy” from his granddad — as he went through the painful autopsy of the night.

When there were no more questions, Coles looked at the aging press crew and said, “If you’ve all got an extra minute, my man C.J. is a performer.”

Taya rolled her eyes and Jazz giggled, but C.J. was undeterred.

“First of all, he’s a big rasslin’ fan, show ’em that move boy,” Coles deadpanned.

C.J. went through his contortions — complete with grunts — and then Coles asked for one more demonstration: “This cat’s not afraid of the public ... so C.J., what you gonna do for us — karate or dance?”

As the boy contemplated his options, Coles prodded him: “You got to decide fast. These gentlemen are old and they need to go home and go to bed.”

As the little boy quickly channeled Bruce Lee, the old coach — who has directed 643 games as a head coach in college and won more Mid-American Conference games than any coach in history — sat back and smiled:

“Tonight, when we leave here will be pleasant, I guarantee you that. I haven’t seen this crew together for quite a while. We ain’t gonna let one discouraging loss affect Grandpa.”

But after a bit of silent contemplation, he added in a half-whisper. “ ... At least not while they’re awake ... but oh, when they go to sleep.”

Through thick, thin

In his earliest years, Coles lived with his parents and grandparents in the same house in Springfield and became especially close with his grandfather, Sandy Pettiford.

“My grandfather was a special person in my life and in his eyes I could do no wrong,” Coles said.

That was never more evident than when Charlie was about 8 and broke a window at a cousin’s house.

“I was so afraid and I lied about it,” Coles admitted. “Everyone knew I did it, but my grandfather — right up to the day he died — would say, ‘That boy did NOT break that window.’

“I never forgot that — how he always believed in me. That unconditional love, that bond we had ... I think every kid needs a granddad or an uncle that stands with them through thick and thin.”

Coles and his wife, Delores, have two children: Mary, Jazz’s mother, is a fundraiser at Wright State and her husband, Craig, is an assistant athletics director at Miami. Chris Coles, who’s married to Robin, is an assistant coach at Saginaw Valley State.

“Dad has always been very open about his priorities,” Mary said. “He obviously loves basketball and is very serious about it, but he’s not shy about showcasing his life with people ... And that includes his family.

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