The 1991-92 basketball season marks a new beginning for both Bill Odell and the Azusa Paciric men's basketball program. The reason: Odell takes over the helm of the Cougar program after 23 successful years coahcing at the high school level.
Odell comes to Azusa Pacific from Millikan High in Long Beach, Calif., where he served as the varsity basketball coach from 1971 to 1991, and as the athletics director from 1976 to 1991. During the past 20 years his teams compiled 350 victories, making him the winnintgest coach in Long Beach high school basketball history. Couting a three-year stint at Northview High in Covina, Calif., Odell notched a 402-199 record in 23 years at the prep level. His 1989 Millikan team won the CIF Southern Secton 5AA championship, and was one of five Odell-coached teams to reach the CIF title game. In addition, Odell coached eight leage champions, 15 teams that earned trips to the CIF playoffs, 16 All-CIF players, and ten athletes who eventually played at the NCAA Division I level.
Odell received numerous coaching honors along the way: league coach-of-the-year six times, CIF Coach-of-the-Year in 1989; LA Times South Coast Coach of the Year twice; and the first-ever tw0-time winniner of the YMCA High School Coach-of-the-Year award (1974, 1989).
Odell played his collegiate basket ball at Westmont, where he was an all-district guard. He received his undergraduate degree in 1964, and later earned his maaster's in physical education administration from USC. In additional to coaching, Odell also teaches physical education and health classes at APU.
Bill and his wife, Gayle, an elelmentary school principal, live in Long Beach. Their son, Dave, played basketball at Westmont, and their daughter, Susie, was an All-American volleyball player at Westmont.
