Coach Leaves Waves Behind
Pepperdine men’s basketball Coach Jan van Breda Kolff capped a weekend of torturous indecision by accepting the position at St. Bonaventure on Sunday night, ending his tenure with the Waves at two seasons.
Coaches play musical chairs at schools all over the country this time of year, seeking greater exposure and more money. Van Breda Kolff, 49, is changing jobs for a refreshing reason: family.
Betty van Breda Kolff, Jan’s wife of 27 years, has been in New Jersey at her mother’s home since Betty’s father died last month. Betty wants to be close to her mother, who does not wish to move to California.
The solution was not reached quickly or easily. For much of the weekend, Van Breda Kolff leaned toward remaining at Pepperdine. But the agonizing is over.
He made what amounts to a lateral move. St. Bonaventure is a small school in the rural upstate New York town of Olean.
“My wife and I are best friends and soul mates, whatever you want to say,” he said. “She’s still [in New Jersey] to be by her mom.
“Over the last two days, I don’t know what the phone bill is like. I tried to convince her mom to come out here. When that didn’t materialize, the decision was made.”
Olean is a five-hour drive from New Jersey, but Van Breda Kolff said his mother-in-law plans to spend a month at a time at their new home.
Van Breda Kolff told the Pepperdine players of his decision Sunday night, three days after he had returned from New Jersey for the team awards ceremony and felt pulled back to Malibu.
“I had decided to take the job, then when I saw the team and the parents at the banquet, emotionally it was hard,” he said. “Your family and your team are the two things you care about. My family tugged on one side, then the team was tugging on the other.”
Pepperdine was 47-18 under Van Breda Kolff, a former NBA and ABA player who installed an up-tempo style. In 1999-2000, the Waves were 25-9, won the West Coast Conference regular-season title and defeated Indiana in the NCAA tournament. Last season, Pepperdine was 22-9, finished second in the WCC to Gonzaga and defeated Wyoming in the National Invitation Tournament.
Three key Waves were seniors--guard Derrick Anderson and forwards Kelvin Gibbs and David Lalazarian--and the leading scorer, junior guard Brandon Armstrong, has made himself available for the NBA draft. Guards Craig Lewis and Elan Buller, forward Boomer Brazzle and center Cedric Suitt will return along with six current freshmen, two of whom redshirted.
“I feel like progress was made and the nucleus is strong,” Van Breda Kolff said. “There are good younger players. Plus, a mental toughness was developed. We had 26 wins on the road in two years. That says a lot about how far this team has come.”
Candidates to replace Van Breda Kolff include Pepperdine assistants Gib Arnold and Benjy Taylor, and Cal State Northridge Coach Bobby Braswell.
“Pepperdine has a great tradition, so it makes it interesting from my standpoint to take a look if they have an interest in me,” said Braswell, who led Northridge to its first NCAA tournament appearance.
Pepperdine administrators only hope their coaching search goes more smoothly than the one conducted by St. Bonaventure Athletic Director Gothard Lane, who interviewed nearly a dozen candidates at the Final Four and infuriated boosters by giving only nodding interest to Rob Lanier, a Texas assistant and popular former Bonnie player.
Van Breda Kolff’s waffling came dangerously close to giving Lane another headache.
St. Bonaventure’s last two seasons parallel Pepperdine’s. In 2000, the Bonnies made the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1978. Last season, they were 18-12. Jim Baron, their coach for nine seasons, left for Rhode Island.
Van Breda Kolff would not disclose terms of his contract. Baron made $180,000 last season, about $40,000 more than Van Breda Kolff made at Pepperdine.
He’ll start earning the new salary this week.
“I’m St. Bonaventure’s coach,” he said. “I can’t change my mind again.”
