SoCal High School & Prep Report

Santa Clara's Coach Lou Cvijanovich:
A Profile--(December 21,1997)

We picked up this report last week, and have had the infromation sitting around unfinished for a week. Honestly we have no idea where we got this report from, and therefore cannot do our usual attribution to source as we always do. But the information is just too good not to present anyway. Our apologies to the original authors and publication source. And since we are now a bit bleary eyed after watching 48 hours of non-stop basketball at the 21st Annual Reebok Las Vegas Holiday Prep Classic, which takes a break today from competition, we thought we'd take some time to get back in the mood before putting up some more articles on that and on the stuff we missed in SoCal while we were in Vegas. So here's a brief interlude before the further articles on the Vegas tourney: A profile of Oxnard Santa Clara's Coach Lou Cvijanovich.

Lou Cvijanovich has in fact seen quite a bit in his 70 years of coaching. He can even remember back to the days when the lane was 6 feet wide, instead of the 12 feet that it is today. He's been coaching for 40 years, and he's still doing it, utilizing and selling 90's kids on his his 50's philosophy of hard work, teamwork and defense.

And those 90's kids are buying into it.

Cvijanovich is the coach at Oxnard's Santa Clara High, and in the time he's been coaching hes compiled a record of 784 wins and 244 losses, coaching 1,028 games. He told a reporter, "Basketball is my life. I wouldn't have wanted it any other way."

Coach C grew up in the mines of Arizona, learning life "by the way of the fist." He's a former Navy man, who not surprisingly ended up near the water in Oxnard, where he's been for the last 45 years. He still plans on at least two more years of coaching. "I've made a commitment to my juniors," he said. "Next year might be my last. I'll be going on 72 then. It might be about time for Martha (his wife of 48 years) and I to start seeing the country."

This isn't the first time that Coach C has hinted about retiring. But each time he's changed his mind, saying that he would continue to coach until his health didn't allow it. His health right now is better than it has been in years, and he is fully recovered from his knee replacement. His weight is also down from a high of 305 pounds to 250. And he can now see the calls the refs are making better since he started wearing glasses a month ago. And he's got a third year assistant coach, his son, Stefan, who is 44. He says his dad is still the same old coach he's always been. "Nothing's changed," Stefan said. "Except I'm older now (and) I can better understand what he was always telling me when I was younger. His intensity is the same. If anything, he's more intense."

Coach C has a standout player in junior guard-forward Nick Jones. Jones is quite a talent, quick of the dribble, a nice outside shot, and he can penetrate too. He's happy to be at Santa Clara, and he's especially happy to be with Coach C. "It's a privilege to be coached by him," said Jones, "to be under his guidance. I'm honored. This man has done so much for this school and for the game of basketball. He's tough, but he has a soft side too."

Coach C was not a man during the 50's, 60's or 70's, and perhaps even the 80's whom fans or players would describe as "soft". But age mellows everyone. "I have found out that if I get beat, life continues," he said. "When I was younger, I thought if I got beat, life ended. It's like the expression I use with the kids: 'Welcome to the real world!' "I am still having fun. Just coming to practice and being with the kids and seeing how much they enjoy (the game) is fun for me. I still get up for games, but not like I used to. Now, I approach games in a different way. A more mature way."

Like John Wooden, he thinks some of the changes in basketball are not for the better. While Wooden does not care for the dunk, Coach C does not like the the 3-point shot. On the other hand, he believes the 35-second shot clock will be good for the game. But he's still a bit nostalgic for a time when basketball in Ventura County was a bit slower paced. "It's too bad we can't go back to the small-town atmosphere, to a more peaceful pace." But he added, "Adjustments haven't been difficult. The maturation factor (for me) has set in. But it's still a great game."

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