No Photo Finish for Nordquist : Basketball: His picture-perfect career at Moorpark not done yet.

Ah, those old photographs and the stories they tell.

There, forever frozen in time, are the images that chronicle a man’s lifelong devotion to basketball.

They depict his transformation through the years, at least outwardly, in sharp detail. From the once-popular long sideburns and leisure wear of a bygone era to a more conservative and streamlined look, his appearance in the photos provides a link between his past and present that words cannot describe.

Somewhere in his office at Moorpark College or at his home in Camarillo, Al Nordquist, 59, knows there are countless more memories stashed away in photo albums and frames. But darn if he can find them.

“I know we have a lot more (pictures),” Nordquist says, looking at assistant Del Parker. “We just haven’t been real good about filing things.”

Not that he needs the photos to remember.

Even now, in his 28th season at the helm of the Raider men’s basketball program, Nordquist can rattle off names and highlights from games played before any of his current players were born.

He can do it without visual aids, without props, but those pictures sure can help re-live the moments.

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The big picture when talking about Nordquist is his longevity, exemplified by nearly three decades as the only men’s basketball coach since Moorpark opened in 1967.

Over that span, Nordquist has shaped and molded countless players into cohesive units known for their sound fundamentals and consistency. His teams have never been flashy or filled with an abundance of superstars, but they have seldom taken the court without preparation or the ability to win.

“We’ve always found his teams well-prepared and difficult to play against,” said Lee Smelser, who is in his 26th season as Canyons coach.

During his tenure at Moorpark, Nordquist is 477-375, one of the best records for a California junior college coach. Former Cypress Coach Don Johnson, who retired after last season, was 588-259 in 27 seasons with the Chargers and Nordquist could challenge that mark in about six seasons if the Raiders continue to average 17 victories per campaign, as they have done in their history.

Nordquist also guided Moorpark to the Western State Conference championship and the state Final Eight tournament in 1980-81, to another conference title in 1982-83 and to one more Final Eight appearance in 1989-90.

Last season, the Raiders took second place to ever-powerful Ventura in the WSC North Division for the fourth time in five seasons and finished 24-9 after losing in the second round of the Southern California regional. This season, the Raiders are 17-10 and 1-4 in division play going into tonight’s home game against Cuesta. They have dropped three of their last four games but Nordquist is not panicking.

“We compete against other people for the joy of the competition,” Nordquist said. “If I was doing it just for the wins and losses, maybe I would feel differently.”

There was a time, Nordquist says, when he felt vastly different. Back in his early days at Moorpark, losses would gnaw at him. But the years have provided him with a metamorphosis that transcends the physical and reaches into his coaching philosophy.

“In the beginning, I had more ego and pride,” Nordquist said. “I was selfish. I was doing it for myself rather than the players. Soon after I came to Moorpark, my outlook began to change. It began to reflect more my wanting to be a good coach and do a good job for the kids. . . . I realized, and this is the reason I’ve coached for as many years, that I like the kids. I like the interrelationships. Those are the rewards that come in coaching.”

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Nordquist went looking for those rewards in rural America.

After graduating in 1957 from San Diego State, where he played forward for the Aztecs, Nordquist was an assistant coach at Long Beach State until he received a master’s degree in physical education and kinesiology. He was boys’ basketball coach at Lynwood High for six years and was an assistant at Compton College from 1964 until he was offered the Moorpark job.

At the time, Moorpark was little more than a sparsely populated outpost without a freeway nearby. But Nordquist, who was born in Los Angeles and grew up in Compton, adjusted rapidly. It was an opportunity to move up through the coaching ranks and it didn’t much matter to him how isolated the town was.

“I wanted to coach all my life,” Nordquist said. “In my teens, I was coaching teams in rec leagues. My dad had his own construction company and was against me wanting to coach. He said I wouldn’t make any money in it and wanted me to come into the business with him. But coaching is all I’ve ever wanted to do.”

If his first season at Moorpark didn’t discourage Nordquist, then not even his father’s admonition could.

The Raiders joined the eight-team Western State Conference and were pitted against some formidable foes. There was, for instance, defending state champion Pasadena City coached by Jerry Tarkanian and a strong Pierce team under Denny Crum. Moorpark went 8-21 but Nordquist laid a foundation on top of the unavoidable first-year egg.

“It was a challenge starting a team at a school that had only 800 students,” Nordquist said. “The team was made up primarily from kids from area high schools. We had a very young team.”

Moorpark improved to 16-13 in 1968-69 and the following season Nordquist, seeking someone to help develop the program, hired Parker as his assistant. The association has lasted 26 seasons.

“We turned down (Arizona Coach) Lute Olson to hire Del,” Nordquist said.

The men have managed to impart their own basketball knowledge on the players and still operate within the team framework. Nordquist, who usually stands stoically at the far end of the Raider bench during games, draws the offensive plan and handles the administrative duties related to the team. Parker, who generally sits on the bench next to second-year assistant John Harbour, mostly takes care of the defense and the scouting. Both recruit players.

“One of the reasons Coach Nordquist is easy to work with is he doesn’t have a big ego that gets in the way,” Parker said. “We just try to work together and not in opposite directions.”

Parker, a UCLA graduate, never played basketball but became interested in the game at West Point, where Bob Knight was the coach. He went to the academy for military service and got into coaching almost by necessity.

“When you went there, you had to do something in sports in the afternoons,” Parker said. “You either had to play or be in charge of a recreational sport. I asked Knight if I could help out with the freshman team.”

Soon after, Parker was helping Nordquist at Moorpark.

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It took some growing pains before Moorpark turned into a perennial winner. The Raiders went through roller coaster seasons until 1976-77, when they were 24-9. They won 20 or more games in six of the next eight seasons and have suffered only three losing seasons since.

Those teams, Nordquist said, were a closely knit bunch on and off the court. The players stuck together, even the fiery types such as Remy McCarthy, now the Moorpark women’s coach and a point guard on the 1975-76 and 1976-77 squads.

“We did everything together,” said McCarthy, also a former Nordquist assistant. “We prided ourselves in team unity. . . . I gained as much out of that as anything I’ve experienced. I was no day in the beach to coach. I was not very self-disciplined when it came time to shut up. They (coaches) really showed a great deal of patience with me.”

The success of the program gave Nordquist a platform from which to launch or become involved in other basketball projects.

For years, he organized and conducted coaching clinics at Moorpark with guest speakers, including Nolan Richardson of Arkansas, Paul Westphal of the Phoenix Suns and Pat Riley of the New York Knicks, who was then with the Lakers. He also helped lure the Harlem Globetrotters to train at Moorpark and play there several times in front of packed houses, and worked for years at the Cal Lutheran basketball camps conducted by John Wooden.

“Summer camps are different than coaching teams, but I remember he was very good at teaching fundamentals and got along well with all the youngsters,” Wooden said of Nordquist. “To me, the basis for anything is fundamentals, and he was very solid there.”

Nordquist worked the camps in exchange for the participation fees of his two sons, Chris and Aaron, who became fixtures there. Chris Nordquist, who played one season at Moorpark and is an assistant at New Mexico State, credits his father with his basketball education.

“He always kept me real involved,” Nordquist said. “He took me on every road trip my mom would allow me to go. . . . I always felt I was the luckiest kid. I remember all those (Moorpark players) harassing me and throwing me around the van. Some of my best memories are from when we used to play the UCLA frosh. Going to Pauley Pavilion and sitting on the bench. Oh, what a thrill.”

Moorpark faced the Bruin freshman team several times, including Jan. 23, 1971, when Bill Walton and Keith Wilkes led UCLA to a 94-70 victory over the Raiders at Moorpark.

“That was an interesting situation,” Nordquist said. “We were up and we wound up losing the game. We had done a real good job defensively. We had Walton with three fouls in the first half because we took some charges. One of our kids said to me, ‘Coach, if you just turn us loose, we’ll kill them.’ I said, ‘You’ve got to be kidding.’ ”

By the end of the ‘80s, however, Nordquist wasn’t having as much fun. In 1989-90 and 1990-91, the Raiders were 50-17 with a talented group led by point guard Sam Crawford, who set the school’s single-season scoring record with 704 points in his freshman season. But they were seasons marred with problems off the court. Crawford, for one, was involved in what Nordquist said were usually minor team and school infractions that made things unenjoyable for the coaches.

“We had satisfaction with that team, but there was always turmoil,” Nordquist said. “Some of the players on the team were not disciplined in school. Some guys got into constant trouble. That took the pleasure out of coaching.”

And while it didn’t reinforce Nordquist’s lust for coaching, neither did it push him over the edge.

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Whatever enthusiasm and drive those seasons drained from Nordquist, there aren’t any lingering signs.

“He is really patient in practice,” said Paul Foster, a sophomore forward whose twin brother, Nick, also plays at Moorpark. “He always explains things. He works on fundamentals a lot. He’ll go in half an hour early to work with you if you need him.”

The Raiders, although stuck in a division dominated by Ventura since 1986-87, continue to be among the better teams in the state. They don’t possess great height or quickness or depth, and their shooters are basically adequate.

But they’ll beat practically anyone on a given day, especially those who underestimate them.

“This is a very typical Moorpark team,” Nordquist said. “I get a lot of satisfaction seeing this group improve because we are getting the most out of their ability.

“Whether it’s a good year or a bad year, you get to the end and then you start to reload and get the adrenaline going again.”

And make room on the walls for more pictures.