I'd have to say mine would be Pete Newell. He made me the happiest, because he was all I could ever have hoped for in a coach. He brought fine players to Cal, many of whom were good, but not dominant, and with his coaching he made them all into teams that incorporated individual strengths and covered up individual weaknesses, often to defeat superior opponents and coaches, resulting in many championships in just 6 years at Cal.
All that was accomplished by a man who whose hiring by Cal had been highly criticized in the press, for having had a mediocre 45-42 record at Michigan State, despite having previously won a National Championship at USF. Newell inherited several very good players from coach Nibs Price, including previous All-American Bob McKeen. His first recruiting class included Larry Friend, who would be named an All-American 3 years later, and it also included Earl Robinson (who Newell stole from John Wooden and UCLA). Newell lobbied hard and was successful in getting the first black players admitted to Cal. Just 4 of them. But at least the door had been opened.
Newell's first season was a flop, and was hard to explain, as the team won a lot of games in the pre-conference season, but was able to win only one game in the conference. The boo-birds came out in force as Cal fans and press alike were quick to blame Newell for not meeting expectations. Then came a slow and steady rebuild of the program, which resulted in four PCC titles, two Elite 8s, two Final Fours, a national runner-up, and an NCAA Championship.
I was happy for all six years of Newell. There were some losses, but Cal always played well, and played hard. Afterward, he continued to make me happy, winning Olympic Gold for the USA in 1960, where he got to coach many of the players he used to coach his teams on how to defend against them. I was happy to see him devote his life after coaching in college, to working to develop the skills of young players and pros alike in his camps for big men and big women.
I've had great moments of happiness, exhilaration mostly, with several other Cal coaches who have given us great teams or great wins, or players exciting to watch, and there have been many of these moments. Jim Padgett's great recruiting, Campy beating UCLA for the first time in 50 years, signing Jason Kidd, best PG ever. Bozeman's recruits, and Ben Braun was always recruiting interesting players. For me, the difference between Newell and several other Cal coaches in terms of making me happy would be the difference of having a girlfriend who brings excitement and maybe happiness for a while, or having a loving wife for many years.
As for the last time I was happy about Cal basketball was when Cal won the PAC12 with Monty. He was going along pretty good there for a while, until he wrecked it for me with the shove.
SFCityBear
