CS Fullerton Defeats Santa Barbara, 66-62; McQuarn Will Return
In the days after a 52-39 loss to UC Santa Barbara on Jan. 23, Cal State Fullerton Coach George McQuarn decided the frustrations of his profession were too much, and he announced his retirement from coaching, effective at season’s end.
Saturday night, after the Titans had won the rematch against the Gauchos, 66-62, before a crowd of 1,685 at Titan Gym and put themselves in a good position to qualify for the Pacific Coast Athletic Assn. tournament, McQuarn announced that he had changed his mind and will stay.
It didn’t come as too much of a surprise, though. McQuarn told the team last Monday he had changed his mind.
“I’m going to stay,” McQuarn said. “That doesn’t mean that the things I said about the frustrations weren’t exactly the way I was feeling then, and those problems still exist. The difference is that my attitude about them has changed.”
McQuarn, who said at the time that professional frustrations were causing problems in his personal life, said Saturday he was convinced to reconsider when a number of his colleagues and co-workers told him they thought he was making a mistake.
“I don’t want to put them in any kind of order, but I got an amazing amount of input--from my peers, the community, the academic community and from President (Dr. Jewel Plummer) Cobb and Ed (Carroll, the athletic director).
“(UC Irvine Coach Bill) Mulligan was the first to call me,” McQuarn said. “And I heard from (Nevada Las Vegas Coach) Jerry Tarkanian, (USC Coach) Stan Morrison, (Golden State Warriors consultant) Pete Newell, (Pepperdine Coach) Jim Harrick, (Fresno State Coach) Boyd Grant . . . to name a few. Every single Division I coach I talked to told me I was making a mistake, reacting to the frustrations of the moment.
“Hey, I’m human. I’m an emotional kind of guy. . . .I’m going to come back more dedicated, ready to work harder and with more intensity than ever before.”
Carroll reiterated what he’s been saying since McQuarn made his announcement to quit.
“President Cobb and I are both elated,” he said. “I think this is the best decision for George and for the university. I’ve said all along I believe his best coaching days are ahead of him and I’m glad he’ll be spending them here at Fullerton.”
The Titans (7-9 in the PCAA and 14-14 overall) are tied with Utah State for sixth place in the conference. Santa Barbara (6-9, 11-13) is tied with Pacific for eighth.
The Titans were certainly more into their game than the Gauchos, who committed 13 first-half turnovers.
“It seems like, as I watch the second round of play in the conference, the team that doesn’t play as badly is the one that wins,” McQuarn said. “But we played hard in the second half, got the ball inside pretty well, had some nice spurts, and our defense saved us again.”
For the fourth straight game, 6-6 1/2 center Herman Webster was the Titans’ leading scorer with 19 points.
Even more encouraging for Fullerton was the play of Kevin Henderson, who hit 4 of 5 three-point shots and a couple of key free throws down the stretch. Henderson, who is still hobbled by the broken foot he suffered Dec. 22, made a 22-foot three-pointer with five seconds left on the 45-second clock and 1:10 to play, giving Fullerton a 62-54 lead. He finished with 17 points.
Santa Barbara cut the margin to 63-60 with 26 seconds left when Conner Henry, who led the Gauchos with 22 points, followed his missed shot with a short jumper.
But Henderson made both ends of a one-and-one situation, and Webster made one of two free throws to seal the win.