Former Fullerton Coach Andreas Dies

Andy Andreas, a former Indiana assistant who spent several of his 38 years as a basketball coach in Orange County, died of lung cancer Sunday in Destin, Fla. He was 76.

Andreas, who last coached at Fullerton High School in 1990-91, married former Cal State Fullerton Associate Athletic Director Leanne Grotke in July, 1991, and the two retired to Destin that year. He was diagnosed with cancer last August.

“It was one of those things that happened by script,” Grotke said. “He was terminally ill, and the pain was beginning to set in. This was a blessing, because we didn’t want him to suffer any more.”

After playing at Kent State, Andreas coached on the high school level for 23 years in Michigan and Ohio, twice leading Kent Roosevelt High to the Ohio state championship game. He was an assistant under Bobby Knight at Indiana in 1975-76, when the Hoosiers won the national championship.

Andreas left Indiana in 1977 and became something of a vagabond coach, spending time at Edison Community College in Florida, Chapman College, Cal State Dominguez Hills, Riverside City College, UC Irvine and Rancho Santiago.

A family memorial service for Andreas was held Monday in Destin. Besides Grotke, Andreas is survived by two daughters, Nancy Hoinski of Dallas and Lori Murray of Columbus, Ohio, and three grandchildren.