Tom Asbury as Pepperdine basketball’s El Cid?

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Tommy Hawkins had the funniest (meanest?) introduction at today’s Wooden Tip-Off annual college basketball coaches luncheon at the Los Angeles Athletic Club. He welcomed new/old Pepperdine Coach Tom Asbury and said, ‘How many of you have seen the movie El Cid with Charlton Heston,’ Hawkins asked. Not many hands went up.

‘Well,’ Dawkins said, ‘El Cid was leading the Spanish people over the Moors. Unfortunately El Cid was killed in the fight but the Spanish felt they needed El Cid so much that they put El Cid’s body up on his horse, strapped him up so that the Moors think El Cid was still alive to lead them to victory. I have the pleasure of introducing you to the El Cid of college coaching. Tom Asbury.’

Asbury did laugh when he said, ‘That was an interesting introduction.’

-- Diane Pucin