The names of the players change, but the success remains the same. Success that is unequalled not just in university history, but in conference history as well.
Azusa Pacific's 20-win seasons, GSAC championships and NAIA tournament berths are as constant as a heartbeat. Yet the only human element that runs a common thread throughout the Cougars' amazing run near the top of the NAIA is the head coach -- Bill Odell.
Odell, who was once called "the architect of one of college basketball's most dramatic turnarounds in the past decade," is now the curator of a dominant program. To put it simply, the man can coach basketball.
Now in his 12th season at the Cougar helm, Odell transformed Azusa Pacific from a local "also-ran" into a national power, guiding the Cougars to their best 10-year period in program history. In 1998, a 103-69 win over Claremont-Mudd gave Odell his 200th career win. It took just 256 games to get there. He collected career win 300 in 2002 with a 75-54 victory over Concordia. That milestone required just 374 games to reach. Naturally, his .799 winning percentage ranks in the Top 10 among active NAIA coaches.
The 60-year-old Odell has guided the Cougars to a conference-record 9 GSAC championships and his teams have garnered 9 NAIA Tournament berths (prior to Odell's arrival, Azusa Pacific had made just one other appearance in the NAIA tourney and had never won a GSAC title). He has led the Cougars to a trio of 30-win seasons, including a program best-ever 35-3 record in 2001 (the 35 wins was tops in all divisions of college basketball, thanks in part to a school-record 21-game winning streak), and has managed 10 straight 20-win campaigns. His Cougars have made appearances in 3 of the past 5 NAIA Final Fours and have reached at least the Elite Eight in 4 of the past 5 years.
After spending 20-plus years as a successful high school head coach, Odell made a career change that brought him to Azusa Pacific in the summer of 1991. To say his impact on the program was immediate would be something short of an understatement. In his initial 1992 season, he led the Cougars to a 17-14 record, only their second winning season in 10 years. He followed that with an amazing 1993 campaign in which the Cougars posted a then-school-best 30-4 record, including a perfect 12-0 Golden State Athletic Conference mark (the first and only undefeated GSAC season ever). The program's first-ever 30-win season and then-school-record 16-game winning streak propelled the Cougars into the NAIA Coaches Poll Top 5 for the first time ever, and eventually made the Cougars the NAIA's No. 1-ranked team in the nation for 3 weeks (Feb. 1 - Feb. 21). They closed the season ranked No. 2 with a berth in the NAIA Tournament for the first time in 19 years.
Odell led Azusa Pacific to a near identical repeat in 1994, piloting the Cougars to a 29-5 record and a second consecutive NAIA Tournament berth (first back-to-back appearances ever by a GSAC team). His Cougars won 11-of-12 GSAC contests and clinched their second straight conference crown to become the first GSAC program to win back-to-back titles outright. They finished the season ranked No. 5 in the NAIA Top 25 poll.
In 1995, the Cougars again won the GSAC championship, winning 11 of 14 conference games to lead the way to a 23-10 overall record. For the first time ever, Odell was named the GSAC Coach of the Year.
In 1996, he guided the Cougars to another GSAC title and another NAIA tournament berth with a 29-8 record.
In 1997, he may have pulled off his most impressive feat, taking a completely rebuilt team that featured 11 new players and just 3 returnees to the GSAC title, a 29-8 record, and the second round of the NAIA Tournament.
The 1998 season was the most successful to date in the Odell regime. His Cougars were the top seed of the NAIA Championship Tournament and advanced to the NAIA semifinals before losing to eventual champion Georgetown College (Ky.). The final record of 34-5, was at the time the best in program history and the 34 wins were the most by any GSAC team. Odell was named GSAC Coach of the Year for the second time.
In 1999, Odell led the Cougars to their seventh straight GSAC title, becoming the first program in any GSAC sport to capture the conference crown 7 straight years. Again, the Cougars advanced to the NAIA semifinals, becoming only the third California school ever and the first since Pepperdine in 1945 and 1946, to appear in back-to-back Final Fours. Again, the Cougars narrowly lost to eventual national champion Life University (Ga.).
After posting a 27-6 mark that included yet another NAIA Tourney berth, Odell fashioned back-to-back seasons in 2001 and 2002 in which the Cougars were 63-11, including a perfect 6-0 record that led to 2 GSAC Postseason Tournaments championships. In 2001, Azusa Pacific returned to the NAIA Elite Eight, losing to eventual NAIA champion Faulkner University, in a tight 79-75 verdict. Last year, the Cougars returned to the NAIA Final Four for the third time in 5 years, the most appearances by any school in the time period.
In the past 11 seasons, Odell has navigated the Cougars to victories over eventual 1993 NAIA national champ Hawaii Pacific, eventual 1994 NCAA Division II national champion Cal State Bakersfield and defending NAIA champion Faulkner in 2002. He also led the Cougars to the championship of the prestigious CS Bakersfield tournament, the first team besides the Roadrunners to win the title.
"I believe that basketball is a microcosm of life," said Odell. "It is my responsibility to put players in situations where they can succeed."
The facts powerfully speak of his ability, but the numbers are more succinct. In 11 years, Odell has coached Azusa Pacific to a 307-77 record and 11 consecutive winning seasons (a program record). Even more impressive, Odell's Cougars have appeared in 62 consecutive NAIA Coaches' Polls and have been ranked in the Top 10 in 50 of the past 53 polls. Azusa Pacific has won 112 of their past 132 GSAC games and have won 129 of their past 141 home games.
By nature, Odell is humorous yet reserved and even-keeled. The Los Angeles Times once said that he is "a study in moderation ... devoid of the irate outbursts common in many coaches. Odell's reputation extends far beyond merely being a sound basketball technician." On the court, he favors a high-power, high-octane offense that relies more on speed than bulk. His 1993 and 1994 teams were the highest scoring at Azusa Pacific in more than 20 years, with the 1994 Cougars setting a GSAC record by averaging 98.1 points while eclipsing the 100-point barrier a school-record 16 times (including 5 straight).
"I'm the kind of coach that likes a fast-paced, up-tempo, full-court offense," Odell said. "Dictating the tempo of a game, I believe, leads to team success. We try to take advantage of mismatches and create a lot of off-the-ball movement."
Odell came to Azusa Pacific from Millikan High in Long Beach, Calif., where he served as varsity basketball coach from 1971-1991 and as athletic director from 1976-1991.
During his 20-year tenure, Millikan compiled 350 victories, making Odell the winningest coach in Long Beach high school history. Counting a 3-year stint at Northview High in Covina (1968-1970), Odell notched a 402-199 (.669) record in his 23 years on the prep level.
In addition to his exceptional record, Odell coached Millikan to a dozen 20-win seasons, 6 Moore League titles, 13 CIF playoff berths, 4 CIF title game appearances, and the 1989 CIF Southern Section 5A Championship. For his efforts, he was named the 1989 CIF Coach of the Year, the Los Angeles Times South Coast Coach of the Year twice, and was the first ever 2-time winner of the YMCA High School Coach of the Year (1974 and 1989). He was also named Moore League Coach of the Year 6 times.
Odell began his career in 1965 as an assistant varsity and head junior varsity coach at Westmont College, serving famed Warrior coach Tom Byron for 3 years.
Odell was a star athlete at Huntington Park, (Calif.) High, earning letters in basketball and baseball.
In basketball, he won All-L.A. City honors and was named 1960 Eastern League Player of the Year. He played his collegiate ball at Westmont, where he was an All-NAIA District guard. He received a bachelor's degree in 1964, and in 1972 earned his master's in physical education administration at USC.
Bill and his wife, Gayle, live in La Verne, Calif. They have 2 adult children, a son Dave, who played basketball for his dad at Millikan and then was a 4-year letterman at Westmont, and a daughter, Susie Maga, who earned her master's at Azusa Pacific, was an All-American volleyballer at Westmont. She is currently the girls' and boys' varsity head volleyball coach at St. Margaret's High School in San Juan Capistrano, Calif. The Odells have 1 granddaughter, Raynee Odell, and 3 grandsons, Walker Odell and Jacob and Matthew Maga.
