JASON QUINN

Steve Virgen

These days, Jason Quinn is a difficult person to watch basketball

with.

He’s always analyzing the game and he’s always looking for ways to

improve the team, as if it were his. But that’s just Quinn. He

usually immerses every fiber of his being into his work. Take, for

instance, his high school days, when the former Costa Mesa resident

was a star point guard for the Mater Dei High Monarchs.

“Basketball is in my blood and I love the game,” said Quinn, who

now coaches the defense for the Mater Dei boys basketball team. “I

love watching it and I love watching the Lakers. I’m always the coach

and the strategist, so I don’t know if I’m much fun to watch the game

with. I will always be a coach. I just think that’s what I’m supposed

to do. I feel I’m in the right spot, especially for right now. I feel

that I’m supposed to be at Mater Dei coaching.”

When Quinn was in high school, he seemed to be the perfect fit for

the Monarchs. In the 1989-90 season, he directed Mater Dei to a CIF

state championship. Along the way, he made an improbable game-winning

three-point shot with 1.8 seconds left that lifted the Monarchs past

Long Beach Poly, 46-45, in the CIF Division I Southern California

regional final.

“It was a shot from the baseline about 22 feet out,” Quinn said.

“I just flung it up there. I was trying to get fouled and get to the

free-throw line. I got fouled and people said the shot curved and

just went through the net. I didn’t know how to react. We went up by

one, so I intentionally missed the free throw.”

Quinn said he remembers laughing after the game when the team

watched the tight contest on video. Before his free throw and during

a timeout, Quinn was seen shouting at his teammates telling them that

the game was far from over.

“We had unbelievable cohesiveness and camaraderie on that team,”

Quinn said. “I knew without my team, there is no way I could do

anything. And with them, I honestly believed we were going to be beat

anybody. No matter who was out there, the O’Bannons at Artesia or

anyone else, we believed we would win.”

Quinn played three years of varsity basketball at Mater Dei, yet

he acknowledges only two when he started at point guard during his

junior and senior years.

There are many memories Quinn holds dear, but when he’s asked to

talk about those days, he thinks about losing his last game his

junior year, but coming back to help his team win the state title and

go 34-1 his senior year.

“We lost to St. Monica in the state quarterfinals my junior year

and that sticks with you the whole year,” Quinn said. “My senior

year, we had a goal and we achieved that. Everyone expected us to win

state that year. There was excitement and we felt like, ‘Wow, we did

it.’ There was so much pressure to win at Mater Dei. It was such a

relief.”

Quinn said he remains in touch with his former teammates. He also,

obviously, remains in close contact with Mater Dei Coach Gary

McKnight, who has been a huge inspiration and has taught Quinn how to

motivate players.

Motivation and determination is what kept Quinn in the game. His

love for playing basketball dwindled after high school. He went from

Vanguard University to Orange Coast College, then realized coaching

would be his route.

“When I hung up the tennis shoes in 1993, that was one of my most

difficult decisions,” Quinn said. “Basketball was my life. I would

play everyday. I am so glad I became a coach. It was still a way for

me to be involved with basketball. I love it. I love watching tape. I

love trying to find other team’s weaknesses. I found a new love for

the game of basketball.”

Quinn, 31, who is single and lives in Huntington Beach, is the

latest honoree of the Daily Pilot Sports Hall of Fame.