Jimmy Ellis Seeks Pro Job, Would Take Loyola’s Fast Break With Him
The Paul Westhead fast-break system has touched fellow coaches as well as players and fans, and now Jimmy Ellis is hoping to take the break to the Midwest.
Ellis, who was a volunteer coach at Loyola Marymount for four seasons under Westhead, is interviewing next month for the head coaching position with the Oklahoma City Cavalry of the Continental Basketball Assn. Ellis, who spent this season as an assistant with the San Jose Slammers of the CBA, is hoping some of Loyola’s recent tournament magic will rub off.
“I’m sweating it out. There are some other options, but Oklahoma City is definitely the first option,” he said. “A head coaching position would really put me on the way. I need just one break.”
In this case, he hopes, a fast break.
Like other coaches who have seen the Westhead regimen from the inside, Ellis says he will run The System. “Absolutely. I like that style. It’s exciting to watch, the players love it, you force the action. I think we could break the all-time (pro) scoring record,” Ellis said. “You’d have to modify it for the CBA because you get a point for winning each quarter, but I think we could get that all-time record.”
Ellis is also trying to use his Loyola contacts to enhance his chances with the Cavalry. Westhead has written a letter for him, and he has gotten recommendations from the likes of UCLA Coach Jim Harrick and Philadelphia 76ers Coach Jim Lynam. He has even gotten the Lakers’ Magic Johnson to talk to one of the Cavalry owners--Wayman Tisdale of the Sacramento Kings. It’s a virtual Cavalry stampede.
“I get a kick out of talking to these people, and they’ve (helped) put me right there to be considered,” Ellis said.
Ellis, a native of Memphis, played at Arkansas State and headed West when he graduated in 1977. “I had California fever,” he recalled. He ended up getting his teaching degree at Cal State Los Angeles and landing a job in the Inglewood school system. He began coaching elementary-level leagues, then assisting at Inglewood High, and was hooked. “That got me back around the game, and being there in Inglewood where you had two solid teams (Inglewood and Morningside high schools) and the Forum nearby spurred my interest,” he said.
Ellis went to San Jose last fall, and returned to Los Angeles the weekend Hank Gathers died. He was planning to attend the conference tournament the next day when he learned of Gathers’ death. He watched the Lions practice for the NCAA Tournament the next week and had dinner with them the night before they whipped New Mexico State.
“I was really wondering how everybody was, if they were still quiet about (Gathers’ death). They were up; they didn’t hide anything. They were full of excitement,” Ellis said. “We spoke of (Gathers) with the affection we all felt for him, remembering him laughing, upbeat. It was interesting to see how they came out against a very good New Mexico State team. To sit back and watch Loyola with so much on the line, to see them mentally and physically break teams down, was unbelievable.”
Ellis said that even without Gathers, The System prevailed. “I always believe they can beat anybody,” he said. “That particular system, if they’re shooting well, they can beat anybody in the country. This year they had the senior leadership they needed in the key positions.”
Ellis hopes to get the chance to try that style in Oklahoma City. Another goal, down the road, is to return to Arkansas State as head coach.
“I feel in the next month or so I’ll wind up someplace,” he said. “Everything is predicated on what happens in Oklahoma City. I just need that first break.”
On the first basketball signing day this week, Loyola Marymount got commitments from two standout high school guards, Rahim Harris of Skyline High in Oakland and Kareem Washington of Lansing, Mich.
When those two officially sign, the Lions will have five new players for next season--four of them guards, the other a 6-foot-6 swing man. In a nutshell, the Lions’ future appears to be small but fast.
Harris, 6-3, averaged 23 points, seven rebounds and four assists for Skyline. He’s the son of Art Harris, who played in the National Basketball Assn. after starring at Stanford in the 1960s.
Washington, 6-2, averaged 28 points in earning all-state honors in Lansing, the hometown of Lakers star Magic Johnson.
The new recruits join three preseason signers--6-4 guard Craig Holt from West Valley Community College, 6-2 guard Greg Evans from Ocean View High and 6-6 swing man Ross Richardson from Central High in Flint, Mich.
The five newcomers join a squad that figures to be led by the T ‘n’ T guard combo, Terrell Lowery and Tony Walker, and swing man Tom Peabody.
At the Loyola Marymount basketball team banquet last week, school officials announced that Hank Gathers would be awarded a posthumous bachelor of arts degree.
Lions Coach Paul Westhead brought a tear to many eyes with a closing remembrance of his late star. “My last comment about Hank Gathers is from my family,” Westhead began. “When he was at our home, he’d put a bear hug on our youngest daughter, Julie. He’d say, ‘Julie, who’s your favorite player?’ ‘You are, Hank.’ When he’d see my wife, Cassie, around campus, he’d go to Cass and say, ‘Cass, who’s your favorite player?’ ‘You are Hank, you are.’
“He never asked me. But if he were to now--you are, Hank.”
One of the most popular awards at the Loyola banquet was bestowed by emcee Bob Courtney, who made up a special three-point trophy for the team’s top long-distance shooter. After weighing the three-point accomplishments of Bo Kimble and Jeff Fryer, Courtney awarded the trophy to senior center Marcellus Lee, who came off the bench to hit three-pointers against Michigan and Nevada Las Vegas in the NCAA playoffs. Courtney explained that Lee “didn’t miss a three-pointer in the NCAA Tournament.”
No respect: At the Loyola banquet, Bo Kimble introduced teammate Per Stumer as “the Roger Dangerfield of the team.”
When Kimble introduced redshirt forward Brian McCloskey, who is expected to step in as the shooting forward next season, he called him “pretty much the next Bo Kimble. He can shoot it from anywhere on the floor.”
Said Westhead: “Bo, there are some differences. Brian, I hope you play defense.”
Hot hitters: Cal State Dominguez Hills first baseman Darrell Conner and catcher Mike Gabbani batted their way into the Toro record book last week. Conner hit safely in his 17th straight game to break the season record, though it took him an extended period to do so. Conner’s streak was stalled at 14 as he sat out two weeks with a wrist injury. He returned last weekend to get hits in all three games against UC Riverside. He kept the streak alive Saturday by doubling in his last at-bat in the eighth inning. Conner now is aiming at the overall school record of 22 straight set by Fred Hanker over two seasons--the last 16 games in 1985 and the first six in 1986.
Gabbani, a senior catcher, needed only one game to enter the record book. Against U.S. International last week, Gabbani homered in three consecutive at-bats, an unmatched power display in Toro history. He also tied another record by knocking in eight runs in the game.
Stat of the Week: All eight position players for the Loyola Marymount baseball team are hitting above .300. Outfielder Rick Mediavilla leads the West Coast conference with a .401 average. The lowest average among the regulars is catcher Miah Bradbury’s .314, but Bradbury ranks among conference leaders in most power categories.
College Notes
Loyola Marymount catcher Miah Bradbury was named West Coast Conference baseball player of the week. Bradbury batted .500 in a three-game WCC sweep of St. Mary’s last weekend, with a grand slam and seven runs batted in in one game. . . . Loyola first baseman Joe Ciccarella remains out of the lineup with a pulled hamstring. The sophomore was hitting .344 when he was injured on March 31. . . . Paul Westhead Jr. will not be back as an assistant basketball coach for his father next season at Loyola. He’s starting a job in the banking/investment field. . . . Dominguez Hills softball standout Jennifer Boen had a school-record 12-game hitting streak snapped over the weekend. In the streak she was 19 for 42 (.452) with five doubles to raise her season average to .403. She also leads the pitching staff with a 13-6 record. . . . Lady Toros outfielder Maria Romero broke the school career record for triples with her 17th over the weekend. . . . The Lady Toros (22-19-1) resume California Collegiate Athletic Assn. play with a double-header at Cal State Bakersfield today and a double-header at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo at noon Saturday. They are 1-9 in the CCAA.