Bill Reynolds

Every weekday at 3:15 p.m. Bill Reynolds leaves his job as a counselor at Bolsa Grande High School and rushes to Southern California College where he changes into a Vanguard shirt, grabs a practice rundown sheet and heads into SCC's old-fashioned gymnasium. Reynolds, 44, may look slightly tired from this double life--high school counselor by day, college basketball coach by night--but he loves what he's doing. He's good at it, too.

Using balanced scoring and a dominant second half, El Toro defeated Newport Harbor, 53-41, to win the championship game of the Newport Harbor Bill Reynolds Classic at Vanguard University Saturday. Tournament MVP Matt Green had 16 points and 12 rebounds and Ashkan Nazeri had 13 points and five assists for El Toro (6-0), ranked sixth in the county. Sophomore Will Brown added seven points and seven rebounds for the Chargers, who outscored Newport Harbor in the second half, 24-16.

The twists and turns of life have led Bill Reynolds to some pretty exciting places. West Point. Paris. Costa Mesa. OK, so not all of them have been exciting. Some, like Southern California College, have just been comfortable. For the past 7 years, Reynolds has been the head basketball coach at Southern California, a small (enrollment of less than 900) college in Costa Mesa. It's not exactly the center of the college basketball world--it's more like an outpost.

Southern California College men's basketball Coach Bill Reynolds announced his retirement Monday, ending a 17-year head coaching career at the school. Reynolds met with his players at 4 p.m. to inform them. "It was difficult sharing with the team," Reynolds said. "I love the kids and this school so much. This is something I've thought and prayed about for a long time. "It's time for me to spend more time with my family." Reynolds, 57, compiled a 354-184 record at SCC.

In the grand scheme, maybe it's better that almost no one knows where Southern California College is located. Take the college's brochure, for example. Nowhere is there a photograph of the campus. There are plenty of shots of students walking on the beach, golden sunsets and even a panoramic view of the Newport Beach area. So just where is Southern California College? It's a question often asked SCC basketball Coach Bill Reynolds. "People in Costa Mesa don't even know we're here," he said.

America is raining jump shots again. The high school basketball season officially tipped off this month, and few towns anywhere, it seems, fail to embrace this most American of sports. A virus known as "Hoosier Hysteria" grips the entire state of Indiana from December to March (remember the movie "Hoosiers"?). In Kentucky, grandmothers know who the backup point guard is for the local high school . . . and whether he can go to his left well enough to shake a defender. Lately writers and filmmakers have left the Rockwellian scenes of Middle America (basketball hoops nailed firmly to farmhouses, barns and garages)

Bill Reynolds has been hired as women's tennis coach at Cal State Fullerton, school officials announced Thursday. Reynolds, 43, had been men's and women's tennis coach at Christ College Irvine for the past two years. He replaces Brad Allen, who did not have his contract renewed. Reynolds is a graduate of UC Santa Barbara.

Four players scored in double figures as Southern California College defeated Christian Heritage, 81-65, in a nonconference men's basketball game Monday at SCC. The victory was the 299th for Coach Bill Reynolds, who will go for his 300th when the Vanguards host Elmhurst (Ill.) at 7:30 tonight. Eric Walker led SCC with 19 points. Forward Marlon Watson contributed 11 points and 11 rebounds for the Vanguards (5-5).

Bill Reynolds, Southern California College men's basketball coach, has been selected the National Christian College Athletic Assn. coach of the year, the school announced. Reynolds led SCC to a 29-5 record and the Golden State Athletic Conference championship. Todd Dixon, a senior guard, was named a first-team All-American and Jeff Bickmore, a sophomore center, was a second-team All-American.

Bill Reynolds, Southern California College basketball coach, has been named the NAIA District 3 coach of the year for the second time in three years. The Vanguards (22-7) play Point Loma Nazarine College at 6 p.m. Saturday night at Chapman College in the district semifinals. The all-district team includes two players from SCC: Jon Haar, a 6-foot 4-inch senior guard who has averaged 18.1 points and shot 53% from the field, and Rob Lucas, a 6-7 senior forward who has averaged 17.9 points and 7.

Southern California College's latest game against an NCAA Division I men's basketball team ended like the first 22--with a loss--but SCC Coach Bill Reynolds isn't unhappy about it. Reynolds said the Vanguards played well during their 98-81 loss to San Diego State Saturday. "We don't typically feel great about a loss," he said, "but in this case I felt our kids played about as good as they could considering the circumstances."

They are the patsies, the guaranteed victories on the schedules of Division I basketball teams. Azusa Pacific is pounded by fourth-ranked Utah, 83-50. Concordia takes a 96-63 beating at San Diego. Southern California College travels to Utah State Saturday and San Diego State next month. The David vs. Goliath coaches know the score. They schedule the games knowing it could get ugly, and come back yearly for more punishment.

The milestone--300 victories as Southern California College men's basketball coach--wasn't something Bill Reynolds was shooting for especially. After it happened Tuesday in a 56-55 victory over Elmhurst (Ill.), Reynolds graciously accepted a plaque from the SCC athletic department and congratulations from friends and family, but it was clear he is focusing primarily on the rest of this season.

With his team trailing Elmhurst (Ill.) by one with 19 seconds to play, Southern California College men's basketball Coach Bill Reynolds called for a timeout Tuesday night. In the huddle, Reynolds drew up a play, as he has countless times in his 15 seasons at SCC. It didn't work--at least not the way Reynolds envisioned it.

Four players scored in double figures as Southern California College defeated Christian Heritage, 81-65, in a nonconference men's basketball game Monday at SCC. The victory was the 299th for Coach Bill Reynolds, who will go for his 300th when the Vanguards host Elmhurst (Ill.) at 7:30 tonight. Eric Walker led SCC with 19 points. Forward Marlon Watson contributed 11 points and 11 rebounds for the Vanguards (5-5).

America is raining jump shots again. The high school basketball season officially tipped off this month, and few towns anywhere, it seems, fail to embrace this most American of sports. A virus known as "Hoosier Hysteria" grips the entire state of Indiana from December to March (remember the movie "Hoosiers"?). In Kentucky, grandmothers know who the backup point guard is for the local high school . . . and whether he can go to his left well enough to shake a defender. Lately writers and filmmakers have left the Rockwellian scenes of Middle America (basketball hoops nailed firmly to farmhouses, barns and garages)

Johnny Griffin and Paul Horn scored 22 points each and P.J. Wnek added 19 to lead Biola to a 90-78 victory over Southern California College in the West Regional final of the National Christian College Athletic Assn. tournament Saturday at Biola. Griffin, a 6-foot 5-inch NAIA All-American selection last year, scored 14 of his points in the second half as Biola (29-4) pulled away late in the period after leading by just one with 10 minutes left.

Southern California College's latest game against an NCAA Division I men's basketball team ended like the first 22--with a loss--but SCC Coach Bill Reynolds isn't unhappy about it. Reynolds said the Vanguards played well during their 98-81 loss to San Diego State Saturday. "We don't typically feel great about a loss," he said, "but in this case I felt our kids played about as good as they could considering the circumstances."

In the grand scheme, maybe it's better that almost no one knows where Southern California College is located. Take the college's brochure, for example. Nowhere is there a photograph of the campus. There are plenty of shots of students walking on the beach, golden sunsets and even a panoramic view of the Newport Beach area. So just where is Southern California College? It's a question often asked SCC basketball Coach Bill Reynolds. "People in Costa Mesa don't even know we're here," he said.

Bill Reynolds has been hired as women's tennis coach at Cal State Fullerton, school officials announced Thursday. Reynolds, 43, had been men's and women's tennis coach at Christ College Irvine for the past two years. He replaces Brad Allen, who did not have his contract renewed. Reynolds is a graduate of UC Santa Barbara.