Tom Asbury led Wyoming with 20 points in a 1967 NCAA Tournament game against UCLA and All-America center Lew Alcindor.
The Cowboys were huge underdogs and Asbury’s performance wasn’t enough to change the outcome. But he demonstrated his passion to compete against any odds.
“UCLA crushed us,” Asbury said of the Bruins’ 109-60 victory, which came in his senior year. “The season still was memorable.”
The Cowboys were co-champions of the Western Athletic Confernce with BYU and beat the Cougars 70-63 in a playoff game to advance to the NCAA Tournament.
Asbury always had a competitive mind-set. So it’s not surprising he became a basketball coach. He was the head coach at Kansas State and Pepperdine, compiling a 238-215 record in 15 seasons.
His roots in the game also are tied to quality teachers. He played high school basketball for coach Bill Weimar at Denver’s George Washington and college ball for coach Bill Strannigan at Wyoming.
“My high school and college coaches were very skilled coaches,” Asbury said by phone from his home in California. “They also were good people. They taught me a great work ethic in basketball and in life skills as well.”
Asbury announced last week at Pepperdine in Malibu, Calif., that he was retiring from coaching. He had a 125-59 record in six seasons with the Waves from 1988-94, guiding them to the NCAA Tournament three times and to the NIT twice.
Asbury also coached the Waves the last three seasons.
“I came back with the understanding that I would stay for three years and be able to name my successor,” he said. “The program had become a big-time mess. There had been seven coaches in 14 years and the school had reported a possible recruiting violation.”
Marty Wilson, who joined Asbury’s staff in 2008, has been promoted to Waves head coach.
Asbury started his college coaching career in 1976 as a Wyoming assistant. He joined the Pepperdine staff in 1979 as an assistant.
In six seasons as Kansas State’s head coach, from 1994-2000, Asbury went 85-88. He was an assistant at Alabama from 2003-07 before returning to Pepperdine.
Asbury coached high school basketball at Arvada and Pomona before moving to the college ranks.
“I think the high point for me was our 38-game conference winning streak at Pepperdine in the early 1990s,” Asbury said. “We won four West Coast Conference championships and went to the NCAA Tournament three times in the four years. I had some good teams at Kansas State (including a 20-13 season). There have been some highlights every place I’ve been.”
Asbury coached 24-7, 23-8, 22-9 and 20-13 teams during his first stop at Pepperdine. His 1993-94 team finished 19-11 after playing in the NCAA Tournament, but that was a painful season for Asbury and his family. His older daughter, Stacey, died in September of heart failure related to an eating disorder.
“That was a terrible time,” Asbury said. “She had been ill for five years. It was a constant battle.”
Asbury’s high school playing career came at a time of change in the Denver Prep League. George Washington, Abraham Lincoln and Thomas Jefferson were added to the five established members for the 1960-61 school year.
George Washington, with Asbury a member of the school’s first class, won the 1961 Class 3A state basketball championship. Asbury was a 6-foot-6 forward who could play well at both ends of the court. At Wyoming, he was selected to the all-conference team as a senior.
Asbury remembered that he had three excellent choices for college when he left high school. He liked the old field house at Colorado and CU coach Sox Walseth. He considered Jim Williams at Colorado State a very good coach. But he decided to play for Strannigan and Wyoming.
Although he plans to make Tucson his permanent residence, Asbury maintains ties to Denver.
“I still have friends in Denver,” he said, “but I don’t get there very much.”
Although he wanted to keep a competitive edge in his life when he entered coaching, Asbury is ready to relax.
“Retirement isn’t going to be scary for me, not in the least bit,” he said. “I don’t think I’ll be bored. I coached in six decades. I just want to live a little bit and relax.”
Asbury bio
Born: July 14, 1945, in Denver
High school: George Washington in Denver
College: Wyoming
Family: Wife Carlie, daughters Stacey (deceased) and Megan
Hobby: Golf
What’s next: Shoulder surgery, so he can play golf
