Longtime basketball coach to be honored Friday in Fresno

Ed Boyle coached 742 basketball games at Mendocino College, some memorable wins and some forgettable losses.

But for Boyle, who on Friday will be inducted into the California Community College Men's Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame, one game sticks out.

"We were playing Yuba in 1975," recalled Boyle, 59, who retired from coaching in 2002 but still teaches in the fitness lab at Mendocino. "We had seven healthy players, but we kept fouling guys out."

With three minutes to play, the Eagles were down to four players; two minutes later, they had three on the floor.

"I told them we do not want to go to OT, but we did," said Boyle, adding "we dropped back into our 1-2 zone."

Somehow the Eagles won. Maybe, joked Boyle, "Yuba never practiced against three guys."

Boyle, with degrees from Chabot, Chico State and San Francisco State, started coaching at Mendocino in 1973.

A "basketball guy," he also coached softball and baseball.

He will be presented at the Hall of Fame ceremony by current Mendocino coach Kevin Koch.

"Working with Ed was great," said Koch, a Ukiah High star who went on to play at Santa Rosa JC, then Western State in Colorado. "I never really understood coaching when I coached high school ... I've learned a lot from Ed."

Koch, who coached at El Molino High, has a steady fan in Boyle, who misses few games.

"He's a wealth of knowledge," said Koch. "It's an honor to present him on Friday."

Boyle is impressed with Koch, too.

"If it wasn't for Kevin, I might have stuck around to coach a few more years," he said. "I remember when Kevin was at Ukiah, I tried to recruit him but he wanted to play baseball and basketball at SRJC."

Two of his former players coach at community colleges - Ben Riley at Lassen and Billy Offill at Siskiyous, and one of his former assistants, Mark Giorgi, coaches at American River.

One of his former players is John Gastineau, boys' coach at Cloverdale, who was on both Mendocino teams that went to the state tournament.

"They had small- and large-school divisions then," said Boyle of the 1978-79, 1979-80 seasons. "We lost in the quarters to Merced the first year and lost to them again in the semifinals the next season."

Boyle said looking at the Hall of Fame list is humbling.

"There are some big names on that list," he said. "My win-loss record wasn't great, but I think I did a good job, and taught guys how to play ... if a kid left the program knowing more than he did when he got here, then it was a success."

Former Santa Rosa JC coach Bill Trumbo was inducted into the Hall of Fame last year.

Boyle said the "teaching" aspect is what he misses most.

"I loved that two hours (practicing) in the gym," he said. "I learned from a lot of people and tried to teach the things I had learned."

He occasionally hears from former players, now coaching, "who say they still are using things I taught them."

Boyle plans on teaching another 1? years, then travel with his wife, Judy, and "maybe try to learn to play golf."

He regrets that his longtime friend, Redwoods coach Bill Treglown, won't be in Fresno on Friday to see him inducted.

Treglown died two years ago, a few months after being inducted into the hall himself.

"Bill and I played each other 62 times," said Boyle, whose son teaches P.E. at Pomalita JH in Ukiah. "Bill has the edge in wins and losses."

He added, "I thought I would never retire, but now I'm looking forward to it."