Marty Wilson (basketball)

Marty Wilson
Current position
TitleAssistant coach
TeamCalifornia
ConferencePac-12
Biographical details
Born (1966-10-17) October 17, 1966 (age 58)
Pacoima, California, U.S.
Playing career
1984–1989Pepperdine
Position(s)Point guard
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1989–1990Simi Valley HS (assistant)
1990–1996Pepperdine (assistant)
1996Pepperdine (interim HC)
1996–1998San Diego (assistant)
1998–2004UC Santa Barbara (assistant)
2004–2008Utah (assistant)
2008–2011Pepperdine (assoc. HC)
2011–2018Pepperdine
2018–presentCalifornia (assistant)
Head coaching record
Overall91–139 (.396)
TournamentsCBI: 0–2

Lamar "Marty" Wilson[1] (born October 17, 1966) is an American college basketball coach, currently an assistant coach at UC Berkeley. Wilson previously served as head coach at his alma mater Pepperdine University.

Playing career

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As a player at Pepperdine, Wilson ended his career in fifth place on the all-time assists list with 342 (he still ranks ninth). Under head coach Jim Harrick, Wilson was a backup point guard in 1984–85 and 1985–86, and the Waves advanced to the NCAA Tournament both seasons. A back injury sidelined Wilson for the entire 1986–87 campaign, but he took over as the starting point guard in 1987–88. Unfortunately, he suffered a season-ending knee injury in the 17th game of the season, though the Waves still advanced to the NIT.

Tom Asbury took over as head coach in 1988–89, and Wilson's extensive rehabilitation paid off as he returned to the starting lineup as a senior and led the Waves to a 20–13 record and the second round of the NIT. The Waves posted a record of 97–58 (.626) during his five seasons as a student-athlete.

Wilson graduated from Pepperdine in 1989 with a bachelor's degree in communications. In the year between his graduation and his return to Pepperdine as an assistant coach, Wilson tried out for the Continental Basketball Association and was an assistant coach at Simi Valley High School.

Coaching resume

[edit]

Marty Wilson is set on helping the program return to the triumphant days that he previously enjoyed as a player and assistant coach with the program.[2]

After 21 seasons as an assistant coach, including nine at Pepperdine, Marty Wilson was elevated to the position of head coach of the Waves following the 2010–11 season. Wilson has compiled an impressive record in Malibu, beginning as a student athlete (1985–89) and continuing as an assistant coach (1991–96, which included a brief stint as the interim head coach) and as the associate head coach for three seasons (2009–11).

The Waves went 10–19 in his first season. Including his time as interim coach, his overall record is 13–29 in two seasons at Pepperdine.

Excluding interim coaches, Wilson is the 12th men's basketball head coach in Pepperdine history.

During his first six seasons on the Waves’ staff, which followed his graduation in 1989, Wilson helped Pepperdine to a 106–72 (.596) record. He began as the restricted-earnings coach before being elevated to full-time status for the 1994–95 season.

With Wilson on the bench, Pepperdine earned bids to the NCAA Tournament in 1991, 1992 and 1994 and made the NIT in 1993. The Waves also won West Coast Conference regular-season titles in 1991, 1992 and 1993 and WCC Tournament titles in 1991, 1992 and 1994.

Following Tom Asbury's departure for Kansas State after the 1993–94 season, Wilson remained on the staff under new head coach Tony Fuller. When Fuller resigned midway through the 1995–96 season, Wilson took over on an interim basis at the age of 28 and directed the Waves to a 3–10 record down the stretch. Most notably, that included an upset of a Steve Nash-led Santa Clara team in the first round of the WCC Tournament.[3]

Wilson left Malibu but stayed in Southern California for the next several years, spending two seasons (1996–97 and 1997–98) as an assistant coach at San Diego, where he was also the recruiting coordinator under head coach Brad Holland.[4]

He spent the next six seasons (1999–2004) at UC Santa Barbara, and was the top assistant for Bob Williams as the Gauchos averaged 18 wins a season during his last three years there. UCSB won the Big West Conference's West Division in 1999, captured the Big West Tournament title and advanced to the NCAA Tournament in 2002 and won the Big West regular-season title and made an appearance in the NIT in 2003.[5]

Prior to his return to Pepperdine, Wilson was an assistant for four seasons (2005–08) at Utah under head coaches Ray Giacoletti and Jim Boylen. During his first season with Boylen, the Utes went 29–6, won the Mountain West Conference's regular-season title, advanced to the NCAA Tournament's Sweet Sixteen and finished the year ranked 18th nationally by the Associated Press.[6]

In February 2008, Wilson returned to Pepperdine as the associate head coach and head coach in waiting following the retirement of Asbury.[7]

After 7 seasons, Pepperdine announced that Wilson would not return as head coach effective at the end of the 2017–18 season.[8]

On April 5, 2018, Wilson was hired by Cal as an assistant coach under Wyking Jones.[9]

Personal life

[edit]

Born Lamar Wilson in Pacoima, California, Wilson is married and has two grown children.[7]

Head coaching record

[edit]
Statistics overview
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Pepperdine (West Coast Conference) (1995–1996)
1995–96 Pepperdine 3–10 3–10 8th
Pepperdine (West Coast Conference) (2011–2018)
2011–12 Pepperdine 10–19 4–13 7th
2012–13 Pepperdine 12–18 4–12 T-7th
2013–14 Pepperdine 15–16 8–10 5th
2014–15 Pepperdine 18–14 10–8 4th CBI First Round
2015–16 Pepperdine 18–14 10–8 4th CBI First Round
2016–17 Pepperdine 9–22 5–13 8th
2017–18 Pepperdine 6–26 2–16 10th
Pepperdine: 91–139 (.396) 46–90 (.338)
Total: 91–139 (.396)

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

References

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  1. ^ "Lamar Wilson was born on October 17, 1966 in Los Angeles County, California". californiabirthindex.org. California Birth Index. Retrieved May 23, 2020.
  2. ^ "2012–13 Pepperdine Quick Facts" (PDF). CBS Interactive. Retrieved 2012-07-01.
  3. ^ "Pepperdine Coach Abruptly Resigns". LA Times. 1996-01-21. Retrieved 2012-07-13.
  4. ^ "San Diego Gives Northridge a Jolt". LA Times. 1997-12-03. Retrieved 2012-07-13.
  5. ^ "Marty Wilson Bio". UC Santa Barbara athletics. Retrieved 2004-01-01.
  6. ^ "Utah Utes basketball: Utes' assistant takes Pepperdine job". Deseret News. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved 2008-02-28.
  7. ^ a b "Marty Wilson". Pepperdine Athletics. Retrieved December 11, 2016.
  8. ^ Johnson, Raphielle (February 13, 2018). "Pepperdine to replace Marty Wilson at season's end". nbcsports.com. Retrieved February 18, 2018.
  9. ^ de los Santos, Justice (April 5, 2018). "Cal men's basketball hires Marty Wilson as assistant head coach". Daily Californian. Retrieved April 29, 2018.