Westphal Out at Pepperdine

Paul Westphal resigned as men’s basketball coach at Pepperdine on Wednesday after being told the school intended to make a coaching change.

“I value Paul, who is a quality coach and one of the nicest, most ethical men that I know,” Pepperdine Athletic Director John Watson said afterward. “But I also felt the program needed a change. I met with Paul this morning and shared that view.”

Westphal, 55, was an All-American player at USC and a five-time NBA All-Star. He had a winning record -- 76-72 in five seasons -- as coach of the Waves but was 7-20 this season. He had one season left on his contract.

Watson said he did not have anyone firmly in mind as Pepperdine’s next coach. Westphal did not return phone calls seeking comment.

Westphal’s best season in Malibu was his first, when the Waves went 22-9 and shared the regular season West Coast Conference championship with Gonzaga. The Waves lost the conference tournament title game to Gonzaga but received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament.

But Pepperdine didn’t soar that high again. The Waves were 15-13 in 2002-03, 15-16 in 2003-04, and 17-14 in 2004-05. And they bottomed out this season.

Westphal had expected Pepperdine to struggle. “I know the team will be good one year,” he said before the season. “I just don’t know if it’s this year.”

The Waves crashed almost from the beginning. They were overwhelmed by a tough nonconference schedule that included Connecticut, Wisconsin, Oklahoma State, Dayton and Colorado State, entering conference play with a 4-9 record.

Pepperdine was hit by injuries, none worse than the stress fracture in the left foot of freshman point guard Michael Gerrity. The team’s second-leading scorer at 14.1 points, Gerrity missed six of the final eight games -- all losses.

As a player, Westphal first attracted attention at Redondo Beach Aviation High, where he averaged 32.5 points as a senior in 1968.

He chose USC over UCLA, which was in the midst of winning seven consecutive national championships.

During his USC career, Westphal was a three-time All-Pac-8 selection as well as a two-time All-American.

He was drafted in the first round by the Boston Celtics in 1972 and went on to play 12 seasons in the NBA with Boston, Phoenix, the New York Knicks and Seattle. The Suns retired his jersey in 1989.

Westphal began his coaching career in 1985 with Southwestern Bible Baptist College in Phoenix.

A year later, he became the coach of Grand Canyon College, also in Phoenix.

He also coached in the NBA with Phoenix and Seattle.

*

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)

Westphal’s record

Paul Westphal’s five seasons as coach at Pepperdine:

*--* OVERALL WCC Season W L Pct W L Pct. 2001-02 22 9 710 13 1 929 2002-03 15 13 536 7 7 500 2003-04 15 16 484 9 5 643 2004-05 17 14 548 6 8 429 2005-06 7 20 259 3 11 214 Totals 76 72 514 38 32 543

*--*