Sarasota Herald Tribune

'Butch' Hughes Led Tigers to Two Final Fours
Palmetto Basketball Coach Won Plenty of Games but Also Taught Life Lessons

By Doug Fernandes

SARASOTA -- Abruptly and with force, the Palmetto High football player experienced the no-nonsense side of William "Butch" Hughes. Saying something the Tiger boys basketball coach deemed objectionable, the player was scooped up and body-slammed to the ground. "I'll tell you what, he slammed many a people in the locker room," said Kenny Ansboro, Palmetto High athletic director, former player for Hughes and his successor as basketball coach. "His style would probably not go over well today, the way parents coddle their kids and not let them grow up and be young men."

In 28 years as basketball coach at Palmetto High, Butch Hughes never coddled his players. He wasn't afraid to reinforce his point with the business end of a paddle, and while Ansboro never felt that sting, he did from the swing of Hughes' cupped hand. "He could yell and scream at you and it was OK," Ansboro said, "because you knew he was going to give you money to eat, he was going to wash your clothes for you and make sure you had practice clothes."

Hughes, who retired in 2009 after 41 years in education in the Manatee County school system, died Wednesday at age 68 of an unspecified illness. He coached in more than 700 games for the Tigers, made two trips to the State Final Four, and, in 1999, had the Palmetto High gym named after him.

"You can't draw them up better than Butch Hughes, buddy," said former Tiger athlete Ronnie Deans, who felt it ironic that the more Hughes yelled at his players, the more they loved him. "He would throw chairs and hit lockers and scream and scare you to death," he said, "and you'd go out there in the second half and you would play your heart out, for respect and fear of him."