|
best of sports
Reynolds
brings hope to LBSU men's hoops
By Phil Witte
On-line Forty-Niner
The Long Beach
State Athletic Department announced at a news conference April
1 at The Pyramid the hiring of a new men's head basketball
coach.
Larry Reynolds, 48, comes to The Beach from Cal State San
Bernardino, where his teams won the California Collegiate
Conference Championship the last three years and twice reached
the NCAA Division II Elite Eight.
Reynolds sports a proven coaching system, a track record of
winning and a lifelong link to Southern California.
No, it wasn't an April Fools' joke, and it could turn out
to be the hire that turns around the moribund LBSU basketball
program.
"In the last seven weeks, I've talked to people at all
levels of basketball and heard nothing but good things about
Larry Reynolds as a coach," LBSU Athletic Director Bill
Shumard said.
"I had an opportunity to watch his team play and I saw
a team that played tenacious defense and unselfish offense.
It was 10 guys playing unselfishly in the true sense of a
team."
Reynolds got what could be a good omen that he would made
the right decision when he was served by a waiter wearing
a Long Beach State cap -- not at Joe Jost's, but while attending
the Final Four in Atlanta.
Reynolds becomes LBSU's 15th head coach, replacing Wayne Morgan,
who resigned at season's end after compiling a mark of 91-84
over six seasons.
The only other candidate under serious consideration was Mike
Dunlap, head coach at Metro State in Denver. Shumard said
Dunlap removed himself from consideration when it became apparent
that Reynolds was his first choice for the job.
Reynolds signed a five-year contract, with a base salary of
$165,000 annually.
After a losing season in his first year at CSUSB, Reynolds
teams have posted a mark of 98-20 over the last four years.
Reestablishing a link to local high schools, something totally
lacking under Wayne Morgan, is a priority for Reynolds.
"There is a tremendous pool of talent within 30 miles
of this campus, and it behooves the coach to tap into that
talent," Reynolds said. "We have some holes to fill
and if we can't do it locally, I'm not opposed to going out
and getting talent."
Immediate needs include a post player -- with the graduation
of Travis Reed and Rudy Williams -- and a point guard -- with
the graduation of Ron Johnson and Michael Darrett.
Also to be decided is the fate of Cody Pearson, a walk-on
last year who Reynolds said might get one of the three scholarships
if the team's needs are met with the other two.
The press conference was continually interrupted by a ringing
cell phone, which Reynolds said was his, and that the caller
was likely the absent LBSU President Robert Maxson.
"I have never talked to the school president more times
than I've talked to Dr. Maxson this week," Reynolds said.
"It's been a tremendous show of warmth from him, but
he's got to stop calling my cell phone. It's costing me money."
Before becoming an assistant at UC Riverside, where he was
assistant head coach for 16 years, Reynolds played for the
Highlanders and remembers playing against Ed Ratleff and the
49ers.
"I think a return to those days is just around the corner,"
Reynolds said.
Reynolds does have some experience in Division I, spending
two years as an assistant at the University of San Francisco
between his years at UCR and CSUSB.
Beach fans will hope that Reynolds can emulate the success
of UC Irvine's Pat Douglass and UC Santa Barbara's Bob Williams,
both of whom made the jump from Division II to Division I.
"My goal has never been to be a Division I coach,"
Reynolds said. "My goal has been to be successful as
a coach."
This article originally appeared in the April 3 edition of
the On-line Forty-Niner
|
|
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Search our site
DEPARTMENT
OF
JOURNALISM
ONLINE 49ER
DEPARTMENTS
ADVERTISING
ADMINISTRATION
DAILY
49ER ALUMNI
SUBSCRIPTION
SERVICE
GIVE
FEEDBACK
|
