HOLBROOK — Mike Budenholzer became a basketball success because basketball and success surrounded him in a sweet slice of small-town America.
His humble hometown of Holbrook is a northeastern Arizona spot on the Little Colorado Plateau, founded as a railroad depot, scarred as a Wild West town, developed as a Route 66 stop, bypassed by I-40 construction and defined, in part, by communal caring and green chile.
In its 136 years, Holbrook never had one of its own lay claim to as much fame as Budenholzer earned in the past two years. In his second season as head coach of the Atlanta Hawks, Budenholzer, 45, became the first native Arizonan to win NBA Coach of the Year.