OCC’s Gillis ‘In Shock’ After Being Reassigned : Community colleges: Athletic director moves longtime basketball coach to tennis program.

COSTA MESA —  Tandy Gillis, Orange Coast College men’s basketball coach for the past 16 years, has been reassigned to the men’s tennis team, Athletic Director Barry Wallace said Wednesday.

“I’ve been fired,” Gillis said. “I’m upset. I’m hurt. I’m in shock. You name it. I had no inkling this was going to happen. None whatsoever.

“The only reason he gave me is that the program isn’t going in the right direction. That’s bull. We had a young team this season that lost some very close games. And we have a lot of good players coming back.”

Gillis, 53, had a 244-228 record at OCC and guided the Pirates to a 27-5 record and the state championship in 1978-79. But OCC finished 11-19 overall this year and was last in the Orange Empire Conference for the second consecutive season.

Wallace, who said the move was in the best interest of the school, the students and Gillis, says the Pirates’ place in the standings was not a factor, however.

“I don’t use wins and losses as a measure of a job well done,” Wallace said. “But Gillis is a competitor, and losing plays on you. It eats at you. The past couple of years, we’ve been evaluating the basketball situation and I’ve noticed the strain on him.”

Gillis says the only strain on him has been his dealings with Wallace, who became athletic director 2 1/2 years ago after serving as baseball, men’s soccer coach and assistant athletic director in more than 20 years at OCC.

“We’ve had some run-ins, and I guess he’s out to get me,” Gillis said. “But I don’t want to stop coaching basketball. I was hoping to make that decision myself someday. If I had done something illegal or been thrown out of games for going after officials, I could understand.

“I’m going to make an appeal to the (school) president, but I don’t know what can be done about it now. (Wallace) told me at 11 (Wednesday), and then they released it to the press.”

Wallace, who said the decision was in part a simple matter of the school needing Gillis’ skills in another area, admitted that the news was a “bombshell” for the veteran coach.

“It was a shock, and he’s not happy,” Wallace said. “I understand that. Basketball has been a large part of his life for so long. But I think down the road he’ll realize this is a good move for him.”

Gillis, a tenured physical education teacher, will not lose his job as a teacher. He said he was not interested in coaching men’s tennis, but then hedged.

“I could always change my mind,” he said.

Maurey Gerard, 81, has been the interim men’s tennis coach for the past two years.