An Impassioned Tustin Team Learned From a Real Authority : Division II boys: Tiller Coach Tom McCluskey admits he gets ‘carried away on the court,’ but says enthusiasm is picked up by his players.

Walking across the Tustin High School campus with basketball Coach Tom McCluskey takes time, lots of time.

Every two or three steps, someone--a student, teacher or administrator--stops his progress.

“Congratulations coach! Great game last night.”

“Hi coach, when do we play Saturday.”

“Coach, wait up, you didn’t talk to me.”

These days McCluskey, all 6-foot-7 of him, is just about the most popular guy on, or off, campus. The telephone in his office rarely rests. He fields calls from old friends, well-wishers and ticket-seekers.

All of them want a moment with the guy who made the Tillers a basketball power.

In four years, McCluskey has created himself an identity at Tustin, which was reputed to be a football school. His charged, nonstop personality, drives the program and is mirrored by his players.

“Coaching is not something you can learn by going to a clinic where someone shows you the Xs and Os,” McCluskey said. “You might get ideas that way, but to learn to coach you have to be out there every day doing it. Every day on the floor, I’m in class.”

He has learned well.

In seven years as a head coach--the first three at Fontana--McCluskey has taken teams to the quarterfinals of the Southern Section playoffs four times. Twice under him, Tustin has reached the championship game and it won the Division II-AA title last Saturday.

Tonight, Tustin will play Artesia in the Southern California Regional Division II final at the Los Angeles Sports Arena. The winner plays for the state championship next Saturday.

And there’s not a soul on campus who is unaware of where this success has come from.

“We do what Coach McCluskey tells us and we win,” forward Thomas Clayton said.

Simple, but effective.

The Tillers are 28-4 and have beaten opponents by an average of 30 points their past three games. Under McCluskey, they are 85-32 with three 20-win seasons.

On the court, McCluskey is raw intensity. He hollers at players with a voice that’s always hoarse.

They tend to listen. Of course, there’s no way not to listen.

Against Muir in the semifinals, McCluskey leaped off the bench with such ferocity that his entire shirt came untucked and his jacket slid halfway down his back. Call it undressed for success.

“There are times when Tom looks ready to take off his suit and get into the game himself,” Corona del Mar Coach Paul Orris said. “But his teams play with that same intensity and desire. That’s tough to go against.”

Tustin does play a rough-and-tumble, playground style of basketball. Yet, it’s always well-orchestrated.

The Tillers go full-bore each game, pressing the length of the floor and exploiting weaknesses on offense. They rarely slow the tempo.

It’s a style that comes straight from their coach.

“I really am an emotional guy and sometimes I do get carried away on the court,” McCluskey said. “But the players pick up on it and play with more emotion.”

There are also times when McCluskey chooses to laugh instead of yell.

Against Muir, guard David Beilstein went one-on-two late in the game. He missed a twisting, turning layup. He looked nervously to the bench, only to see McCluskey laughing.

“That was stupid, but I’ll say this, David showed a lot of . . . to take that shot,” McCluskey said to his assistant coach.

Beilstein just shrugged.

Although it appears McCluskey is at times a maniac on the court, he does have his players’ best interests at heart.

When Cheavly Ly, a former player, was shot while playing basketball in a park, McCluskey visited him every day in the hospital. After Ly was released, McCluskey gave him a job as an assistant coach.

The two remain in touch even though Ly has since moved to the East Coast.

“It’s been an incredible four-year journey,” said McCluskey, who played at Saddleback College and Penn State. “The players tested me, the students tested me and even the faculty tested me.”

He has passed with flying colors.

McCluskey, 29, came to Tustin after three fairly successful, highly frustrating, years at Fontana. Known for their football program, Steeler fans had little interest in minor sports, such as basketball.

Fontana did flourish with McCluskey as coach. In 1987-88, the Steelers were 24-4, won the Citrus Belt League and reached the quarterfinals of the 4-A playoffs.

Yet, no one seemed to care. Basketball there was something to kill time between football and spring football.

“The administration just didn’t support the program,” McCluskey said. “Fontana had been a football school for so long, nobody wanted a successful basketball team.”

So McCluskey went looking for another job, and what does he choose? Tustin, home of Marijon Ancich, one of the winningest football coaches in Southern Section history.

“I think that eliminated a lot of competition,” McCluskey said. “But there has never been a problem between Marion and me. He’s been very supportive of the basketball team.”

McCluskey’s first season was a whirlwind. He was hired three days after school began and had no assistant coaches.

Worse still, McCluskey had to teach health and safety. It was the first time he had ever taught in a classroom.

“I had never done this before,” said McCluskey, who had taught physical education at Fontana. “I was going home at night and reading the textbook just so I could stay ahead of my students.”

Basketball wasn’t much better. Of the 96 players in the program, McCluskey knew only two when he started.

“It took me a month to find out who could play and who couldn’t,” McCluskey said.

Still, the season went beyond his expectations. The Tillers finished second in the Sea View League and reached the 3-A final, where they lost in overtime to Kennedy.

Most of that team graduated that year, leaving McCluskey with a rebuilding job. The Tillers were 13-13 in 1988-89 and 20-8 last season.

“I was the new guy and I sort of got the cold shoulder from everybody, even the teachers. It wasn’t like they were treating bad, they just didn’t know me. I had to earn their respect. I think I finally have.”