Fullerton Coach McQuarn Says It’s His Final Basketball Season

When Cal State Fullerton staggered to a 4-23 record in 1980-81, George McQuarn’s first season as a college basketball coach, McQuarn vowed that he would never put himself through that kind of experience again.

This season, McQuarn’s sixth, has not been an easy one. Senior point guard Kevin Henderson, the Titans’ top scorer, broke his foot Dec. 22 and has yet to return. Then guard Richard Morton, the No. 2 scorer, sprained his ankle and has been sidelined since Jan. 11.

Wednesday, McQuarn announced his retirement, effective at the end of the season. He had told Athletic Director Ed Carroll Friday and the team Tuesday night.

McQuarn said that he was tired and could no longer keep his professional frustrations from interfering with his personal life.

“I just want to feel good about myself again,” he said from his hotel room in Las Cruces, N.M., where the Titans are preparing to play New Mexico State tonight. “I’ve been irritable, short with people.

“The carryover has been worse lately, but it’s not one thing, it’s just the whole business.”

McQuarn said he was frustrated about playing for second place--10th-ranked Nevada Las Vegas has been the Pacific Coast Athletic Assn.’s dominant team since joining the conference in 1982--and unhappy with Proposal 16, the NCAA’s new rule that tightens eligibility requirements.

“What satisfaction can you get out of being No. 2, year in and year out?” he asked. “That’s just not in my makeup. That’s always bothered me. And I don’t like Proposal 16 and the effect it’s going to have on this program. I’ve built this program on marginal athletes and marginal students. . . . I don’t think I’ve had one kid here who could pass those new rules.”

McQuarn said that he had no plans, just that he won’t return to coaching.

McQuarn, 44, has had his share of coaching success. He created a prep dynasty in four seasons at Verbum Dei High School. From 1969 to 1973, the Eagles won four Southern Section championships--one 2-A, one 3-A and two 4-A--and compiled a record of 123-8.

He quit after becoming “a bit disinterested,” but after three years away from the game, took an assistant’s job at UNLV, where he earned a reputation as one of the nation’s top recruiters.

On March 7, 1980, when he was named to replace Bobby Dye at Fullerton, McQuarn became the first black head coach in a major sport in either Los Angeles or Orange County.

After McQuarn’s dismal rookie season, the Titans bounced back and became the most improved team in the nation when they recorded an 18-14 mark in 1981-82. The next season, Fullerton broke into the Top 20, then beat No. 1-ranked UNLV, and participated in the National Invitation Tournament for the first time.

Twice, the Titans have made it to the final of the PCAA tournament. Fullerton is 87-81 under McQuarn going into tonight’s game.

Assistants Ed Goorjian, former head coach at Loyola Marymount, and John Sneed, in his sixth year at Fullerton, both probably will be candidates to succeed McQuarn, but Fullerton said it would conduct a nationwide search.

McQuarn said he announced his decision now because he wanted to give the university time to hire a new coach in time for recruiting.

“I spent six years here and I have had a very, very good experience at Fullerton,” he said. “I feel like I’m leaving the program in a better state than when I received it. I have nothing but good memories and I don’t want to leave this great game feeling bitter.

“I’ve been thinking about this for a long, long time. I’ve never been able to enjoy the wins the way I agonize over the losses, and the scale has tipped. Everybody has ups and downs . . . good days and bad days, but the bad days were really starting to outnumber the good days for me lately. Call it burnout or whatever.”

Many of his peers marveled at the Titans’ level of performance after the injuries this season. Fullerton was 7-3 before losing Henderson and has been 3-7 since, but the Titans upset San Jose State and UC Irvine, and twice lost in overtime without their best players.