The University of Pacific Head Coach, Bob Thomason,
announced his intent to retire after the closure of the 2012-2013 basketball
season on Monday. His main reason is
completely logical and yet, illogical at the same time. While it makes sense that he is selfless enough to want someone new to lead Pacific into a new conference and a new era, if it were up to me, I would not stop coaching until my health deterred me. Then again, this is the reason why I'm a blogger and not a coach...
The Tigers have racked up 414 wins under him
and while he was a player from 1968-1971, they can add another 56 wins to bring
the total to 470. Here’s a quote from Thomason’s announcement:
"I have had an unbelievable experience coaching at
Pacific for the past 24 years," said Thomason. "The players,
assistant coaches, administrators, faculty, support staff, boosters, and fans
from Stockton have given me great support, and I really appreciate their
support. To be able to coach the Tigers for 25 years will be a true pleasure.
After next season, it will be the perfect time for me to retire from Pacific.
We will have a team that can compete for the Big West Championship, and the
team will be even better the following season. It was important for me to leave
a good team for the next coaching staff. Also, it's a great time for a new
coach to lead the Tigers into the West Coast Conference in 2013-14. I will
always be a great fan of Pacific Basketball and of all Pacific sports, and look
forward to spending more quality time with my family. Thank you Pacific and the
Stockton community."
While we can speculate who will be the Tigers next coach
(though by that time, they’ll be in the West Coast Conference), let’s take a
look back at the player and coach who immersed himself in Pacific basketball.
As a player for the Tigers, Thomason averaged 17.2 ppg, which
is remarkable seeing as the three-point line wasn’t introduced to the NCAA
until 1980 when the Southern Conference became the first conference to use the
line. After a fantastic college career,
he went straight into coaching, going from an assistant coach at Stagg, HS, to
head coaching at Escalon HS and then Turlock HS. In 1981, Thomason became the head coach at
Columbia College, located in Sonora, California. Four years later he was introduced as the
head coach at Cal State Stanislaus. His
success there gained the attention of Pacific and in July of 1988, he became
the head coach of the Tigers.
As the coach for the Tigers, up to the present day, he has
led Pacific to 8 NCAA tourney appearances, making the second round twice (in
two consecutive years), 9 20-win seasons, and a 75% winning percentage at Spanos
Center. His focus on academics off the
court has led to a 96% graduation rate from his players. Under his guidance, Pacific has had 4
All-Americans, one overall No. 1 NBA Draft Pick and 59 Big West Conference
awards.
Losing Thomason will be a huge blow to the Tigers, however,
if they let him pick his successor, I firmly believe that Pacific will continue
their competitive spirit for at least the next 25 years.
