Fuller Returns as Pepperdine Coach : College basketball: San Diego State athletic director calls Waves’ actions ‘unethical.’

Tony Fuller has been named Pepperdine basketball coach, returning to the school where he once starred and was an assistant.

Fuller, who coached San Diego State the last two seasons, replaces Tom Asbury, who resigned April 12 to coach at Kansas State.

“Pepperdine has always been a special place for me,” Fuller said. “Sixteen years ago, I decided I wanted to play here and coach here some day. Through the grace of God, that dream has been realized.

“We’ve got a lot of work to do.”

Pepperdine has only two part-time starters returning from last season’s team.

Wayne Wright, Pepperdine athletic director, said he received 65 inquires from coaches and answered nearly 500 telephone calls during the three-week nationwide search.

The final decision came down to Fuller and Steve Aggers, a four-year assistant under Asbury.

“What you see (in Tony Fuller) is what you get,” Wright said at a news conference. “He’s honest, professional and has good morals. He’s all the things we were looking for.”

San Diego State Athletic Director Fred Miller said he was upset with the manner in which Fuller was hired.

“Tony Fuller is a hell of a guy, and I wish him well,” Miller said. “But there are procedures to follow, and San Diego State was never contacted by Pepperdine University.”

Miller said Pepperdine did not get permission to interview Fuller, who, at the end of the season, orally agreed to an extension through the 1997 season with the Aztecs.

Said Miller: “I consider that unethical and bad business practice. . . . It was clandestine and it was unethical.”

Wright could not be reached for comment on Miller’s charges.

Jerry Tarkanian, who will be in San Diego today on business unrelated to San Diego State, is a leading candidate for the Aztec job.

Fuller took a struggling program and guided the Aztecs to an 8-21 record during the 1992-93 season and 12-16 last season. He began his coaching career as a part-time assistant under Jim Harrick at Pepperdine in 1983 and was promoted to a full-time position two years later. He followed Harrick to UCLA, where he served four years.

Inducted into the Pepperdine Hall of Fame last fall, Fuller averaged 19.5 points and 6.8 rebounds as a senior under Harrick in 1979-80.

“Tony was a tremendous player for me,” Harrick said. “I described him as quietly effective, and he’s proved to be that way as an assistant and as a head coach.”

Marty Wilson, a part-time Wave assistant for four seasons, will be one of Fuller’s full-time assistants.

Times staff writer Gene Wojciechowski contributed to this story.