Waving Goodbye : Unwanted After 40-Plus Seasons of Tennis at UCLA, Bassett Lands on His Sneakers at Pepperdine

The rejuvenation of Glenn Bassett is plainly evident as he strides across a tennis court at Pepperdine.

Arms raised, he looks up at the cloudless sky and marvels at another serene day on campus.

“It’s just beautiful,” he said. “. . . It’s a real jewel up here.”

While Bassett, 68, will always have a special place in his heart for UCLA, where he was a player and coach for more than 40 years, he says he couldn’t imagine a better scenario than the one he enjoys today--coaching the Pepperdine men’s tennis team.

After serving as a volunteer assistant for the Waves in 1994 and 1995, Bassett was promoted to head coach after Allen Fox retired following last season to pursue interests in the restaurant business. Fox coached the Waves for 17 seasons.

“I’m lucky, real lucky,” Bassett said. “I’ve been able to work at two great schools that are great in different ways. It’s peaceful and quiet here. UCLA is go, go, go; so many people.”

Regardless of what school Bassett has called home, his goal has remained the same: to be the best.

He is the only man to win NCAA tennis titles as a player, assistant coach and coach, all of which he accomplished at UCLA. In 27 seasons as the Bruins’ coach from 1967-93, he guided his teams to a 592-92-2 record, seven national titles and coached close to 50 All-Americans, including Jimmy Connors in 1971.

“He’s a guru,” said Pepperdine player Tony Budgen, a junior from Australia. “The guy has a wealth of knowledge when it comes to tennis and coaching. . . . I mean, you can’t just turn your eye [from] that.

“The guys get along well with him. Speaking for everyone, I’d say everyone has a lot of respect for him.”

Pepperdine (4-0), ranked seventh in the nation in the Intercollegiate Tennis Assn. poll, defeated Pacific, 7-0, Saturday at Malibu. It was the 596th victory of Bassett’s career.

UCLA Coach Billy Martin says he has no doubt Bassett will do a “great job” with the Waves. Martin, 39, was the last of three NCAA singles champions coached by Bassett, winning the title in 1975, and served as Bassett’s assistant at UCLA for 10 seasons.

“Glenn has the energy of a 20-year-old kid when it comes to coaching collegiate tennis,” Martin said. “Retirement just didn’t settle well with him. Even though he was helping Allen [Fox] the last two years, he didn’t have his own team. He wasn’t the captain of his own ship.”

Bassett was nudged out of the UCLA coaching job in 1993 when Athletic Director Peter Dalis became dissatisfied with the tennis team’s performance--the Bruins’ last national title was in 1984. An agreement was reached that Bassett would retire after the 1993 season in order to take advantage of a school-wide offer that would add five years of service to his retirement program.

“I don’t feel like I’m ready to get out, I really don’t,” Bassett said at the time. “But they gave us five years, so it’s pretty tough to turn that down.”

Part of Dalis’ desire for Bassett to retire was his fear that Martin would leave for another school if Martin was not offered the head coaching job.

In that regard, Bassett says, he has no regrets about the way he left UCLA.

“[Dalis] was probably right because Billy is a young guy and outstanding,” Bassett said. “I’m happy for Billy because he was one of my guys. It worked out real well for both of us because he’s the head coach there and I’m the coach here.”

After it was announced he would be leaving UCLA, Bassett was contacted by Fox, who asked whether he wanted to help out at Pepperdine.

“It was a good thing for me because I didn’t have to quit coaching cold turkey,” Bassett said.

Returning to head coaching has required some adjustment, he said.

“Gosh, it’s strange getting back,” he said. “I got into the routine of being an assistant coach--I could come and go whenever I wanted.

“I’m used to being a head coach, but I kind of got out of the feeling for that. But it’s coming back. I’m very happy about it.”

Pepperdine player Chris Hill says the team hasn’t missed a beat in the transition from Fox to Bassett.

“I enjoy Glenn just as much as I enjoyed Allen,” said Hill, a junior from Maryland. “Glenn is a real stickler for the rules and a real hard worker. He believes whatever team works the hardest is going to win, and we’ve been sticking to that. . . . He gets the whole team enthusiastic.

“I really enjoy it. He’s a presence out there on the court. It’s felt the whole time you’re on the court with him, and it’s great.”

Hill said Bassett’s age never shows on the court. Still in good shape, the coach works individually with his players in the morning and conducts practice in the afternoon.

Connors, one of the greatest players of all-time, told The Times in 1993 that he was never in better condition than when he played for Bassett.

“If someone put a paper bag over Glenn’s head, you would never know he was that old,” Hill said. “He works just as hard as the kids do to make sure we get everything we need.”

Budgen was surprised when informed of his coach’s age.

“I didn’t know he was 68,” Budgen said. “He’s certainly young at heart.”

Bassett says this year’s team should do well if all the components come together. He is still experimenting with different lineups on a team with no seniors. The Waves have good depth with 10 players.

“We’d like to do better than No. 7,” he said. “I think we could be an awfully good team by the end of the year. We might lose a couple of matches along the line, but as long as we get better I really think we could be a factor by the NCAA championships.

Martin, coach of second-ranked UCLA, agrees.

“They’re better than No. 7, I know that for sure,” Martin said. “They’re right up there with [No. 3] Georgia and [No. 1] Stanford, all the top teams. And next year, if they keep all their players, they’re going to be ridiculous.”

Pepperdine and UCLA play twice in dual matches--Feb. 6 at UCLA and March 30 at Pepperdine--and should meet a third time in the National Indoor tournament late in February if they both get past opening-round opponents.

How will Bassett feel about taking his own team to face the Bruins?

“I can’t imagine now because we have all these other matches to play, but it probably will be special,” he said.

Said Martin: “There’s never going to be any animosity between me and Glenn. I just know it’s going to be one hell of a battle. I look forward to it.”

Bassett put UCLA tennis on the map as a player by helping the Bruins win the 1950 NCAA title, their first in any sport.

He began his coaching career at his alma mater, Santa Monica High, guiding the Vikings to five consecutive Southern Section titles and compiling an overall record of 143-2. He also served as a UCLA assistant to the late J.D. Morgan before becoming coach in 1967, when Morgan became athletic director.

Bassett has lived in the same house in Westwood for 17 years with his wife, Jean. His drive to work is longer than it used to be, but he has no complaints. After all, there are worse commutes than Pacific Coast Highway along the beach.

“UCLA is great, but in a lot of ways it’s better here,” he said. “I feel really good about the school and the team. The guys are so happy, they seem to love Pepperdine too.”