Spreading the Goorjian seed
Hamlet Nalbandyan
It began with one of the most horrifying events of the 20th
Century.
Jake Goorjian and his wife-to-be, Mary, lost everything in 1915.
What later became known as the Armenian Genocide -- the brutal
killings of approximately 1.5 million people perpetrated by the
Ottoman Empire -- left Jake an orphan and separated Mary from the
rest of her family.
But through what can only be described as unimaginable conditions,
they managed to survive, and in the process, spread the Goorjian
seed.
They traveled across continents and adopted a new culture. Jake
came to New York and later moved to Los Angeles, where he met Mary. A
few years later, Ed was born, and the rest is well ... history.
Ed Goorjian started one of the richest high school boys’
basketball programs in Southern California, and in the process,
reshaped the area’s sports scene.
He coached all three of his sons at Crescenta Valley High from
1963 to 1978, amassing an amazing 306-97 record. His oldest son,
Brian, graduated in 1971 and played on what could possibly be the
greatest team -- in any sport -- ever from this area.
His middle son, Kevin, graduated in 1976 and played alongside one
of the greatest athletes from this area, Brad Holland.
And his youngest son, Greg, graduated in 1978 and had one of the
best high school careers of any basketball player from Southern
California.
Fast forward nearly 25 years, and the Goorjian seed has spread
once again, this time to a land down under.
Australia is where the Goorjian name is thriving now, but the
roots are still very much alive back home -- wherever that may be.
*
Ed Goorjian is 75 now, and retired from basketball.
Maybe so, but the contributions he’s made to the game won’t ever
be forgotten. After his days at CV, he went on to coach at Loyola
Marymount University, where he was an assistant in 1980 and the head
coach from 1981 to 1985.
From there, he coached in Saudi Arabia, was an assistant under
Coach George Raveling at USC and won an NCAA national championship as
an assistant under Jerry Tarkanian at University of Nevada at Las
Vegas in 1990.
He stepped away from the game in 1993, and now lives in Oceanside
with is wife of 53 years, Joyce.
“At my age, you take things day by day,” Ed said jokingly. “I’ve
got really great memories [of La Crescenta]. It was a great place to
raise my kids and a great place to coach.”
Don’t let his sense of humor fool you. Ed is in great shape and
enjoying life to its fullest.
He travels. He plays handball. He still loves basketball. And
more so, he loves his family.
“I’m really proud of them,” he said.
And he’s got plenty to be proud of.
*
Of all the Goorjian boys, Greg was the most likely to be headed
for success in basketball.
“But it’s funny how life goes,” said the 42-year-old, who owns
Hilltop Properties, a real estate business in Las Vegas.
“Basketball has always been a love of mine, and it still is, but
I’m glad I found other things in life.”
After an impeccable career at CV -- during which he scored 2,506
career points (31.3 average), including averaging 43.4 points a game
his senior year -- Greg’s college career never really materialized.
He originally went to Arizona State before transferring to UNLV
and then to Loyola Marymount, where he finished his career playing
for his dad.
But it is from there when Greg’s life really took off.
“I always thought about becoming financially stable first,” said
Greg, who put much of his time into his work after college and wasn’t
involved in basketball.
“Now, I’m at a point in my life where I can maybe do more [with
basketball].”
Greg -- who has been married to Patty, his second wife, for five
years -- coaches in his spare time at Meadows School, a small school
in Las Vegas.
His oldest son, Gavin, 18, just graduated from Meadows after
starting for two years for his dad.
Greg’s middle son, Camden, is an incoming freshman and will play
for his dad at the varsity level.
His youngest boy, Colin, is 3, but “he’s already got a basketball
in his hands,” according to Greg.
“I’m really enjoying where I am now,” said Greg, who also owns a
second home in Melbourne, Australia. “Now that I look back on it,
it’s really amazing what me, my father and the rest of my brothers
accomplished [at CV.]
“It wasn’t until recently that I could really grasp it. Looking
back on the scrap books, I couldn’t really believe that it ever
happened.”
*
Kevin Goorjian thought it was going to be a one-year thing.
After coaching in Saudi Arabia with his father, he got a call from
his brother, Brian, to come help him coach in Australia, where Brian
had gotten a head coaching job after playing in the National
Basketball League for the previous 10 years.
That was 1989, and Kevin has been there since -- and has no plans
on leaving.
“Melbourne is just a great place,” said Kevin, 44, who has a
20-year-old stepson, Nathan, from his eight-year marriage to Judith.
“The people here are great, and the lifestyle is very slow and
peaceful. I love it.”
Like Kevin, Brian can’t stop boasting about his new home either.
“It’s a hidden jewel,” he said. “There aren’t many places in the
world like Australia.”
Of course, Brian has other reasons for falling in love with the
land down under.
The 49-year-old is a coaching legend there. His 322 wins are an
NBL record, and he has won two titles (1992 and 1996) and been named
Coach of the Year four times.
For the previous 13 years, with Kevin as his assistant coach, he
had been coaching for the organization in Victoria -- which had
undergone three ownership and name changes during that time -- and
led the team to the semifinals each year.
Goorjian’s squads made the Grand Final seven times, including the
past six years. Unfortunately, they suffered from Buffalo Bills’
syndrome and dropped the past five title chances.
But despite all the success, Goorjian was let go when Victoria
made its fourth ownership change this summer.
However, it didn’t take long for him to find another job. The
Sydney Kings -- who have never won an NBL title, despite being in the
country’s most high-profile city -- jumped at the chance to work with
Goorjian, signing him to a multi-year contract.
“It’s like getting the L.A. Lakers job,” said Brian, who has a
17-year-old daughter named Genna with his wife Amanda, with whom he’s
been married to 19 years.
“There are 20 million people in the country, and seven million
live in Sydney, so I’m excited to be coaching there.”
He’s also got more reasons to be excited. Five months ago, he was
given the chance of a lifetime: Coaching the Australian national
team.
Goorjian, who is a citizen of the country, is the first
American-born to coach the national team, and judging by the squad’s
recent success during an exhibition tour, Australia could contend for
a medal in the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens.
Under the guidance of Goorjian, Australia went 10-3 in the summer,
and had wins over countries like Yugoslavia -- which many say is the
next best team next to the U.S. -- Russia, China and Turkey.
“This is a great time in my life,” said Brian, who played on the
1971 Falcon team that went 29-1 and continued his playing career at
Pepperdine, becoming part of the first graduating class. “I can’t ask
for anything more.
“I took to playing longer than I anticipated, and after that, I
had the option of going back to America and starting from scratch, or
staying here and coaching. I had a good reputation, and the players
respected me, so it’s been a great situation. It’s really gone beyond
my wildest dreams.”
Of course, not everything has been smooth sailing.
Being away from family members has been tough on all the
Goorjians, but as the times have changed, things have gotten easier.
“It was really hard in the beginning,” Kevin said. “But with the
Internet, e-mails and phone calls only being 15 cents a minute now,
we communicate all the time.
“Dad has been down here six or seven times, and Greg comes down a
couple times a year. It’s great.”
And if Australia qualifies for the 2004 Olympics, one can bet
there will be a major family reunion in store, giving the Goorjians
just another chance to spread their seeds.