Furman is taking a life timeout

By Pierre LaBossiére
The La Grande Observer

Published: April 20, 2004

C.J. GISH/UNIVERSITY ADVANCEMENT Former Eastern head coach Art Furman is spending more time with his children, such as his son, Davis (on chair behind Furman).

He isn't debating whether to call a zone defense or a high pick-and-roll on the offensive end of the floor. He's mulling over something deeper and much more profound — what the future holds for him.

After 11 years, 114 victories and endless memories, Art Furman, the Eastern Oregon men's head basketball coach for 11 years, resigned at the end of this year's season. He's teaching physical education classes at the university until the end of the semester.

"After June, it's up in the air. I'm not rushing into anything," he said last week. Furman has numerous contacts in coaching circles, and it's possible he'll take another coaching position elsewhere, or it's possible he and his wife, Sally, will stay in La Grande.

Furman said the time had come for him to "recharge his batteries." He had been coaching for 24 years at Eastern and the University of Portland (as an assistant), traveled thousands of miles on the road, and experienced the countless highs and lows of coaching a non-scholarship small college program. That took its toll, he said.

Part of what made the decision a little easier was the fact that Eastern had six seniors (Tyree Jones, Larry Smith, Tony Luper, Jason Crawley, Bryan Rabas and Trevor Exline) on the squad.

"It was good to be able to finish with those six guys. I enjoyed all the guys this year. It was a special year," he said. He made his decision during the season to leave, but didn't tell his players he was moving on until after the season was over. He wasn't sure that would've been good for the team. "I didn't want the guys to go out and ‘win one for the gipper.' "

Furman said he is enjoying the opportunity to get in more golf, fishing and turkey hunting, and most of all, spending more time with his children, Davis, 8, and Kelsey, 10. He even took a trip to San Antonio to take in the NCAA championship between UConn and Georgia Tech.

After this spring? Furman said the options are limitless, and he hasn't decided on one yet. He said this region is suddenly a real hot-bed for powerful basketball programs, with programs at Eastern Washington, Gonzaga and Boise State making the NCAA and NIT tournaments. Washington State is on the upswing as well with Dick Bennett at the helm.

Furman is well known in La Grande for far more than being head coach of the men's team. Countless children in the county have participated in Furman's basketball camps. In fact, Furman likes to tell a story of how he noticed a college student recently working out in the Eastern weight room wearing a t-shirt from one of his camps from 10 years ago.

He's also been one of the leading promoters of the Mountaineers Booster Club.

Furman figures as many as 8,000 kids came through his camps and clinics. He said the Booster Club has more than 250 members now, up from less than 100 before he became involved.

Though Furman said it was a time for a breather, he admits that he's feeling antsy already. He calls this a "battle of my inner being." Being the head coach of a college program is essentially a year-round job. This time of year, Furman normally would have a phone glued to his ear trying to recruit kids to come to Eastern.

"I feel like I should be picking up a phone and calling someone," Furman said.

It's doubtful Furman is done with the sport. His connection to basketball runs deep and broad. When he was a kid living in Arkansas near the campus of College of the Ozarks, the college's coaches lived on his street, and he used to spend time with them listening to their knowledge about the sport, and about coaching. He said he knew then, way back in the fourth grade, that he wanted to be a basketball coach.

Furman knows dozens of people in the business. In fact, he once made arrangements with legendary pro coach and part-time Union County resident Tex Winter to have a new batch of young Chicago Bulls players secretly practice the triangle offense at Eastern's gym.

There's a lot Furman has done over the years that he takes pride in. A few years ago, Eastern came back from 29 points down to beat Northwest in a record-breaking comeback. Before the team suffered a rash of overtime losses this year, Eastern was briefly ranked No. 19 in the nation after the Mountaineers beat an NCAA Div. II team, Hawaii-Pacific. Also, this season, Eastern took Oregon Tech, which eventually won the NAIA national championships, to overtime.

But, Furman doesn't point to wins and losses or close calls as far as where his pride really lies. He is proud that he took dozens of young men over the years, some of whom came to Eastern with few aspirations other than playing in the NBA someday, and turned them into well-rounded individuals. He said he helped teach many of these young men that there was much more to life than just basketball.

"It's more than wins and losses. It's about people. I tried to get them to buy into the concept of improving their lives and attaining a degree," he said.

Furman is also extremely proud of how many of his former assistants and players have gone on to coach. Two of his players, Isaac Williams and James Freitag, coach La Grande and Union teams, respectively. One of the applicants for the vacated Eastern position is Ryan Looney, another Furman protégé.

Furman said what he's going to miss the most about coaching at Eastern is all these personal connections he's built over the years. "It's all about relationships. That's what you miss," he said.

Contact Information

University Advancement Eastern Oregon University One University Boulevard La Grande, OR 97850 phone 541.962.3740 fax 541.962.3680 email University Advancement