Memories of Marvin

Former Players & Colleagues Share Heartfelt Thoughts on Pali High Boys Basketball Coach Jerry Marvin

By STEVE GALLUZZO | Sports Editor

The passing of former Palisades High basketball coach Jerry Marvin on Aug. 27 has inspired many to share their love and appreciation for a local legend who will never be forgotten. 

Sam Lagana, a 1980 Pali High graduate and the LA Rams public address announcer:

“Many of us valued our time with Coach Marvin, whether it be in practice, playing badminton for better hand-eye coordination or in meetings. lt was an honor to have Jerry at my side when I began working on the Wooden Award event as he was the one who prepared me with the leadership tools necessary to accomplish this assignment. I’ll miss his upbeat nature and enjoyment of life. He had an amazing career and leaves a legacy worthy of the wonderful person he was.

“I vividly remember a lunch we had at Mort’s Deli where he advised me to focus on fewer activities. His observation was that I’d spread myself too thin and needed a bit of refocus to excel in three objectives he thought would catapult me further and faster. He was spot on!

“Upon moving from playing basketball to assisting Jerry as a team manager, I saw how good he was about delineating the expectations he had and our whole team should have as a group—working together to achieve a common goal. Jerry gave me my first assignment to announce a basketball game as a 10th grader at Pali. His vision and encouragement has helped progress my announcing style to this day.”

Merle Duckett, a teacher and swim coach at Pali High from 1973-04:

“In the 1970s and ‘80s we had mandatory weekly faculty meetings and I actually enjoyed them when Jerry was there. I always made sure I sat in the back of B101 with Jerry and some of the other coaches and brought along the LA Times Sports section. He’d find an article and state an opinion, crack a joke or give us some history about a team or coach. He was a wealth of knowledge, especially about basketball. All the athletes I knew respected and loved Coach Marvin. He was a classic.”

Don Shaw, who grew up two blocks from Pali High, played center for the 1969 City championship team and went on to coach volleyball at Stanford: 

“Jerry ran our practices the same way John Wooden ran his. He was unbelievably organized. He would write plays down on index cards or cocktail napkins. For us local kids, Herb Furth’s junior high league was the cornerstone of our development and Jerry was smart enough to organize that into a feeder system for Pali. We ran a high post offense and were deep—all 13 of us could play. Jerry always knew who to go to down the stretch. We went 18-1 and beat Reseda by 28 points, which was the largest margin of victory ever in the City finals!”

Joe Spector, Pali High booster and life experience coach:

“I’ve known Jerry since 1969 when they won City. I was able to go to every game home and away that season. Throughout the years he would ask me to fix anything at Pali instead of going through the school system and I was always happy to do it. He was a true coach in the mold of John Wooden. His teams were disciplined and played exactly like Wooden’s teams.”

Steve Kerr, a 1983 Pali High graduate, five-time NBA champion and current head coach of the Golden State Warriors:

“He was really advanced for a high school coach. His peers saw him as a college coach who didn’t want to deal with recruiting. He knew the game and his practices reflected that. He was tough, a product of his time. I learned a ton from him. I feel lucky to have had the basketball education I had from Herb’s league to Coach Marvin and then Lute Olson at Arizona. All of that experience prepared me as a player and now as a coach. Jerry surprised me last year when he flew up to Oakland to see me accept the Coach of the Year Award. It meant so much to me.”   

Chip Engelland, a 1979 Pali High graduate, who went on to play four years at Duke University and is currently the shooting coach for the San Antonio Spurs:

“Our team was known as the ‘Champagne Kids.’ We beat Crenshaw for the first time in school history and we were underdogs at the Taft Tournament, but when we won it we were jumping around in a circle. Our co-captain Paul Assinesi had a bottle of champagne and we poured it over Coach Marvin’s head. His hair was always perfect and you never dared touch it, but coach said ‘Pour more!’ and  that became a defining moment. We really connected after that.”

Bud Kling, Pali High tennis coach from 1979-present:

“I knew Jerry for about half of his tenure at Pali and he lived up the street from me. He was a nice guy with a great sense of humor. He was an astute coach, he knew the game and he was the intellectual type. He was old-school, but he was never one to jump up, yell and scream. What sticks out most, though, is how he never failed to prepare his team. They were always ready to play and knew what they were supposed to do.”       

Chris Marlowe, a member of the 1969 City championship team, a 1984 Olympic volleyball gold medalist and current play-by-play announcer of the Denver Nuggets:

“I think our team understood Jerry more than perhaps any other and that’s why we did what we did. He had a wonderful personality and was the funniest guy on the face of the earth, but he was also blunt and direct. He’s the best coach I ever had. He ran the double post offense and matchup zone defense called the ‘jitterbug’ that was way ahead of its time. There was never a situation he was flustered by. When I was a junior he told me I had to score more for us to win and the next game I scored 24 points—the most I’d ever had. That was the impetus for me to become a great player. He saw my potential before I ever did. I wish I could’ve taken him with me to college. Years later I’d call him for advice and we’d talk about basketball and life.”  

Marvin’s memorial service will be Sunday, Sept. 17 at 1 p.m. at Pacific Palisades Presbyterian Church (15821 Sunset Blvd).