VENTURA COUNTY HALL OF FAME : Mathews’ Record States His Case

They come to watch Philip Mathews as much as they come to cheer for his Ventura College men’s basketball team.

From every corner of the usually packed Ventura gym, fans follow his every move and strain to hear his every word.

Their eyes dart to the Pirate bench when Mathews springs to his feet, wearing his designer suits and sleek shoes, and shouts instructions from the sideline. They laugh if he says something funny and they sit somberly if he scolds one of the players.

The Pirates might be the biggest show in town but everyone knows who the leading man is.

Mathews, who Saturday will be inducted into the Ventura County Sports Hall of Fame, has become a virtual icon in Ventura since he took over the Pirates in 1985. He is perhaps the hottest sports personality in town.

Last season, Mathews guided the Pirates to the state championship, his second with the team. His 10-season record at Ventura is 298-56--a formidable 173-16 the past five seasons. He has won the Western State Conference North Division title every season and finished in a three-way tie for first with Santa Barbara City and Taft in 1985-86, the season before the conference was split into two divisions.

He was named California junior college coach of the year in 1992, 1993 and last season, when the Pirates were 37-1 and defeated West Valley of Saratoga, 80-61, in the State title game in March.

It has been quite a ride for Mathews, 44, since his first day with the Pirates. He arrived at Ventura after playing at UC Irvine and after four seasons as an assistant coach at Cal State Fullerton, and quickly rescued the floundering program.

“It was a situation where I knew Ventura was a sleepy giant of a basketball community,” said Mathews, also the school’s athletic director. “I was confident in my ability to attract players in a very short period of time. The name of the game is players.”

The Pirates were 44-131 the six seasons before Mathews became coach but started on the road to recovery with a 17-10 record in 1985-86, his first season. Ventura was 31-4 the next season and won the state title with the help of Cedric Ceballos, now with the Lakers, Leland Wiggington and Maurice Pullum, now an assistant to Mathews. It was the first of six seasons in which the Pirates have won 30 or more games.

But even Mathews didn’t think the Pirates would improve so fast.

“Not in my wildest dreams,” Mathews said. “I knew we could be successful but I didn’t know how quick. . . . I’ve had some good players and some good people surrounding me that have allowed me to be successful.”

For Mathews, however, the victories on the court are only part of his program’s overall focus. He stresses academics and is quick to mention that 67 of the 69 players he has coached at Ventura have graduated. Going into last season, 60 former Pirates played or were still playing at four-year schools.

In fact, those who ignore the books--and the warnings from coaches and teachers--are unceremoniously dispatched regardless of their importance to the team.

That happened recently to forward Kenny Washington and to Rafer Alston, a gifted point guard who was voted the most valuable player at the last State tournament.

Mathews said Alston, a former All-City player in New York, did not get a grade of C or better in one of his classes last semester and was told he would have to be a redshirt next season to concentrate on academics. Alston refused and was dropped from the program, and so was Washington for similar reasons.

Mathews said they will never again play for the Pirates.

“You don’t play here if you don’t go to class,” Mathews said.

And you don’t get a chance to win state championships or play for a Hall of Fame coach.