Longtime Orange Coast College basketball and, more recently, men's tennis coach Tandy Gillis will step down from his post early next January after nearly 25 years at Orange Coast College.
Gillis, 61, of Laguna Niguel, joined the Orange Coast College faculty in 1976 as head basketball coach and physical education instructor.
"I had mixed emotions when I was filling out the paperwork," he said. "Retiring now is the right thing for me to do, but I've enjoyed the time I've spent here. I've worked with a lot of great people."
Gillis coached the OCC men's basketball team for 16 seasons. His 1978-79 team logged a 27-5 record and won the state title. His overall coaching mark at Orange Coast College was 244-228, good for a .517 winning percentage. Since stepping down as men's basketball coach in 1992, he has coached OCC's men's tennis team.
Although he is retiring from his full-time position, he plans to stay at Coast as a part-time physical education instructor. He'll have plenty of spare time, and he knows how he'll spend it.
He'll work on his golf handicap and as an assistant basketball coach at Irvine Valley College. When springtime arrives, he'll travel and visit his daughters, Courtney and Bryn, who live in Des Moines and Kansas City, respectively. In the summertime, he figures he'll head to Montana to go flyfishing, and then to Del Mar to watch the thoroughbreds.
"I'm definitely going to stay active," said Gillis, a past president of the California Community Colleges Basketball Coaches Association. "I don't feel as old as I actually am."
Born in Los Angeles, Gillis played high school basketball at Long Beach Wilson High and then went on to the University of California at Berkeley. Playing for legendary coach Pete Newell, Tandy was a member of the powerful 1959 squad that won the NCAA championship.
The following year, in 1960, the Bears lost to Ohio State in the NCAA championship game. During the tournament, Tandy was responsible for guarding superstars Oscar Robertson (Cincinnati) and Jerry West (West Virginia). He limited Robertson, who was averaging 35 points per game, to just 18. He held West to seven points, his lowest total as a college player.
He earned his B.A. degree at Cal and picked up his M.A. from Azusa Pacific. He coached basketball for three years at Cathedral High School in Los Angeles, and for a year in Verdun France. He was the head coach for seven seasons at Corona del Mar High School, rolling up an impressive 124-56 record, and winning four league championships. His 1975-76 squad went 25-0 during the regular season before losing to Muir High School in the CIF Playoffs.
Both of Gillis' daughters, Courtney and Bryn, were collegiate volleyball players. Bryn was a standout at OCC before transferring to Iowa State, while Courtney played at the University of Iowa.
