
A two year starter for the Larkin (Class of 1964) basketball team, Stinson went on to play for ESHOFamer Dick Estergard at New Mexico Military Institute. After compiling a 94–77 record in seven seasons as a boys basketball coach, Jim began coaching girls basketball, first with Springdale High (14-12), then at Davenport High in Spokane, WA. From 1991 – 1995, his girls’ teams won 111 and lost 9 while winning consecutive state championships in Class B with records of 29-1 and 30-0 in 1992 and 1993, followed by second and third place finishes in the state tournament the next two years. During that time, Jim was named Bi-County Coach of the Year in basketball (1992-1995) and District 7 Coach of the Year in 1992, 1993, and 1995.
In two tenures at Davenport, Stinson had a record of 151 – 40. Jim is considered the authority on high school basketball in the state of Washington; in addition to coaching, he has written three books on the subject, including “Remembering the B,” for which he received the Ed Pepple Service Award from the Washington State High School Basketball Coaches Association in 2015. His career also includes coaching track and cross country over 30 years, with over 20 state champions in various events, and serving as an athletic director, for which he received special awards numerous times. Stinson was inducted into the Inland NW Sports Hall of Fame’s Scroll of Honor in Spokane, WA, in 2015.