Tom Asbury, who coached the Pepperdine University men’s basketball team during a successful stretch in the 1980s and ’90s, returns to the school to turn around a team that finished 11-21 last year.
By Seth Rubinroit / Sports Staff Writer
The Pepperdine University men’s basketball fans know that this is likely going to be a tough year for the young, rebuilding team. The Waves have had four different head coaches in the last four years, finished with a record of 11-21 last season, and were picked to finish in last place this season in the West Coast Conference Men’s Basketball Preseason Coaches’ Poll. However, Waves fans can be excited about the future of the team under the guidance of new head coach Tom Asbury.
Asbury, who has been the head coach at Kansas State and an assistant coach at Alabama in recent years, returns to the Waves after being an assistant at Pepperdine for nine seasons, and a head coach for six more from 1989 to 1994. During that time, Asbury led the Waves through one of the most successful stretches in their history. While he was the head coach, the Waves had a record of 125-59, made the NCAA Tournament three times, and won the West Coast Conference Tournament three times. Asbury was named West Coast Conference Coach of the Year two times, and helped develop All-American Doug Christie into a successful NBA player.
“One of the reasons we had so much success was we had continuity,” Asbury said. “I was here for 15 years, so we had a lot of carry-over and familiarity. The system basically stayed the same. [The Waves] have had seven coaches since I left, in 14 years, which does not lend itself to much continuity.”
To ensure that there is continuity for the Waves in the future, Asbury, 63, hired former Pepperdine player and assistant coach Marty Wilson to be the associate head coach, and eventually Asbury’s successor. Wilson was an assistant coach at Pepperdine for six seasons, and has spent the last four years as an assistant at Utah. In addition to Wilson, Asbury hired Damin Lopez and Will Kimble to be assistant coaches. All three played basketball for the Waves.
“I was a big fan of having the homegrown coaching staff with everybody coming from Pepperdine,” said senior guard Mike Hornbuckle. “Coach Asbury is one of the best coaches in Pepperdine’s history, and coach Wilson and coach Lopez are some of the best players in the program’s history. They know how to win, so they show us the ropes.”
From the moment the new coaching staff stepped foot on campus, they have preached the importance of playing defense to their players. Asbury, whose Kansas State team led the nation in defensive field goal percentage while he was the head coach, has spent at least one hour out of every practice on defense.
“[Coach Asbury] is definitely a defensive coach,” Hornbuckle said. “Last year, we scored a lot of points, and, in exchange, we gave up a lot of points. This year, we are getting back to the defensive fundamentals.”
Added Asbury, “A lot of coaches tend to sub for what guys are doing offensively, but I tend to sub for what guys are not doing defensively, or what they are doing defensively.”
Waves fans should also be pleased with the fact that Asbury has graduated nearly 90 percent of his players who completed their eligibility.
“That is one of the reasons they brought me back,” Asbury said about his emphasis on education. “They know that we emphasize education, and that we expect our guys to go to class and take care of business, and that they get punished when they do not.”
To prepare his team for the future, Asbury has put together a tough schedule. After playing only three non-conference home games last season, the Waves will play eight this season, including home games against quality teams such as Brigham Young and Georgia Tech. On the road, the Waves will face fifteenth-ranked Arizona State, and eighteenth-ranked USC. The Waves will also have to compete in a much-improved West Coast Conference, playing against teams like tenth-ranked Gonzaga, Saint Mary’s and San Diego, who all made the NCAA Tournament last season.
“My philosophy is to always schedule tough teams,” Asbury said. “We may have overscheduled ourselves a little bit this year, but I am glad we did. We are going to play people that are a lot bigger, physical, and more experienced than we are. We will take our lumps in the pre-season, there is no question, but we are building this program for the future, not building it for this year.”
The team relishes the opportunity to prove themselves against tough competition. “When we see good competition early, that means that we will be better prepared when we see better competition later in the season,” said freshman guard Keion Bell.
However, the players are most excited about playing in the Rainbow Classic in Honolulu, Hawaii at the end of December.
“It will be my first experience there,” senior guard Ryan Holmes said about the trip to Hawaii. “I have always wanted to go. I want to see the island and try the food.”
This season, with only five holdovers from last season, and nine new players, the Waves will be counting on younger players to provide leadership. “I am trying to be a leader,” said forward Mychel Thompson. “We only have three seniors, so I am considered old as a sophomore.”
The Waves have athletes, but many of them are young and have a lot to learn.”This team needs to improve everything. We need to get better in every area of the game,”
Asbury said. “If you were to ask me where I would hang my hat coaching-wise, I would say defense and rebounding.”
If everything goes right, and the Waves significantly improve this season, they can finish in the middle of their conference, and make some noise in the conference tournament.
“Why not top three [in the West Coast Conference]?” said former Laker Mychal Thompson, father of Waves’ forward Mychel Thompson, on a realistic goal for Pepperdine this season. “Gonzaga is the favorite, and Saint Mary’s is going to be tough, but I see this team as good as anybody else if they go out there and play tough defense, and rebound like demons. If they play with confidence, they can compete with anybody.”
More likely, the Waves will struggle this season, but make strides and be in a position to be successful next year and in the years to come.
“We have to note improvement on a day-to-day basis. We have to try to get better each and every outing, and not really worry too much about wins and losses,” Asbury said. “We have to worry about getting guys experience, and in a position where they see everything they are going to see, and then it is just a matter of getting bigger and stronger in the off-season, and filling in some spots with recruiting. It is a matter of planning for down the road.”