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Utah Valley University guard Bradley Kitchen (20) reacts after one of his fellow teammates “broke the ankles” of a California Baptist University player on a play during a game between the Utah Valley Wolverines and the California Baptist Lancers held at the UCCU Center on Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2020, in Orem. Isaac Hale, Daily Herald

Isaac Hale Daily Herald

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New Timpview boys basketball coach Bradley Kitchen.

Courtesy Kitchen family

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Springville coach Chris Kitchen talks things over with his team during a time out in the first round of the 4A state tournament March 3, 2014 at the University of Utah. BEKY BEATON/Daily Herald

BEKY BEATON, Daily Herald

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Springville's Bradley Kitchen drives down court during the game between Springville and Roy in the first round of the 4A boys basketball tournament at the Dee Events Center in Ogden on Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2013. Roy won 59-46. 

Daily Herald file photo

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When a new coach takes over a high school basketball program, the cupboard can often be bare.

That’s not the case for Bradley Kitchen, who accepted the Timpview High School boys job in May with a roster loaded with talent.

Kitchen is not one to look for the easy way to success, though. He’s taking nothing for granted. His path from growing up in Springville to heading up one of the top boys basketball programs in the state is proof that Kitchen knows the value of hard work and building relationships.

“Sometimes coaches let their egos get in the way and they forget that it’s all about the players,” Kitchen said. “All the success and good things go back to the fact that I love my players. I hope that’s very apparent as I go through the seasons. I care about the players and their growth and development. Winning and championships happen as a byproduct.”

Kitchen’s story starts in Springville, where he was a Red Devil and played for his father, Chris.

“The more I get into the world of coaching and basketball, he has been the biggest influence and impact in my life,” Bradley Kitchen said. “My dad took over the varsity when I was in fourth grade and they had only won seven total games the five prior years. My dad loves basketball and loved building a program to be proud of in a town that’s all about football and baseball.”

Chris Kitchen ended up coached 11 years at Springville. Two years after he was let go, Justin Snell coached the Red Devils to a state championship in 2017 with many of the players he had mentored.

“As I go through life, the coach and person I am and want to be is directly impacted by my father,” Bradley Kitchen said. “He’s going to coach at Timpview with me so it’s a cool full circle experience with him.”

Bradley Kitchen averaged 15.8 points per game as a senior in 2012-13 and took a long and winding road to a career in basketball. He served a mission to Mozambique then was a team manager at Utah Valley, eventually making the roster as a walk-on and playing for Mark Madsen in 2019-20. Bradley Kitchen was also a grad assistant at UVU and then BYU, coached at Salem Hills High School and has spent the past three seasons as an assistant for Andrew May at Snow College. Last season, the Badgers went 32-2 and advanced to the second round of the NJCAA Tournament.

“I didn’t really have my sights set on coaching high school,” Bradley Kitchen admitted. “I was kind of thrown into the college basketball world and loved it. But the way college basketball was going with the transfer portal and NIL, I was really disenchanted trying to make my way back to Division I. I loved junior college because it was guys that were underrecruited and still hungry and humble.”

Bradley Kitchen actually interviewed for the Lone Peak job and was a finalist, with the position ultimately going to then-Timpview coach Israel Ingle. Nonetheless, he became excited for the possibility of replicating some the things at the high school level he did at Snow with May.

He got the Timpview job and moved to Utah Valley with his family, going from one orange and blue team to another.

“As a Springville guy, I kind of hated Timpview growing up,” Bradley Kitchen said with a laugh. “I never in a million years through I would coach at Timpview.”

His coaching style?

“I’m a big-time believer in team basketball with all five positions able to pass, dribble and shoot,” Bradley Kitchen said. “We want a high-paced, relentless attack on offense. And the unique thing about this team is they are already elite defensively. We have so much length. Izzy (Ingle) did a great job with these guys. They really guard.”

Timpview’s roster boasts the state’s top recruit in 6-foot-8 Dean Rueckert, along with 6-9 Will Openshaw and 6-6 guard Callen Tollestrup, among others. It’s a group that’s been together since grade school and last year produced a 20-6 record and a 5A state semifinal appearance.

Last month the T-Birds played at Section 7, a major national tournament played in Arizona. Timpview went 2-2 in the highest division, losing to eventual champion Salesian (Calif.) and Mater Dei (Calif.) while beating Roosevelt (Calif.) and Basha (Ariz.).

Coaching changes are all about, well, change. In today’s transactional sports world, there’s always a possibility that some players could leave the Timpview program.

“At the end of day, each of these kids, it’s their opportunity, their high school experience,” Bradley Kitchen said. “If tomorrow five of my guys called and said, ‘Thanks, I’m all done, I’m going another way,’ I’d respect that. Ultimately, I’d want the best for those guys. But this is a special team. They have been through so much together. They’ve been playing varsity the past two years as a unit. The guys that I have are my guys. The people I inherit, I’m going to coach them as  my guys.”

Bradley Kitchen’s unique background and experiences will be his anchor in building his program.

“We’re not going to run from tough truths,” he said. “We’ll find ways to overcome obstacles and shortcomings. We’re one of six programs in the state with six state championships but it’s been 16 years since the last one (2010). Our goal is to compete for a state championship but we won’t lose sight of individual growth as basketball players and as young men outside of the game.

“They’ll be coached and coached hard. Throughout this first month, this has been a really special group of kids, all the way down to the freshmen and everyone in between. They’re extremely coachable, skilled and ultimately just want to win.”