OCC Picks Estancia’s O’Brien

COSTA MESA —  Tim O’Brien, Estancia High School’s basketball coach for the past five seasons, has been named coach of the Orange Coast College men’s team, OCC Athletic Director Barry Wallace said Monday.

O’Brien, 37, has been one of Orange County’s most successful high school coaches. At Estancia, his teams had a record of 111-42, winning a state title in 1991 and a Southern Section title in 1990. He also coached at Tustin and Santiago high schools and in Arizona, compiling a record of 207-75.

He replaces Tandy Gillis, the most successful of the six men who have coached at OCC since the basketball program began in 1948. Gillis was 244-228 in 16 seasons and won the state title in 1979.

OCC was 11-19 this past season and finished last in the Orange Empire Conference. Wallace reassigned Gillis to men’s tennis March 4.

There were about 20 applicants for the basketball job, and the field was narrowed to six before O’Brien was selected.

The other finalists were Rio Hondo College Coach Don Frank, Saddleback College assistant Larry Sunderman and high school coaches Roy Miller (Huntington Beach), Rainer Wulf (Trabuco Hills) and Steve Popovich (Marina).

O’Brien has been trying to move into the college ranks in Orange County for the past two years, applying at Christ College Irvine and Chapman.

“It was nice to get a call telling me I had the job,” O’Brien said. “The last couple of times, it hasn’t worked out.”

O’Brien, who has a master’s degree in physical education from Arizona State, will continue to teach at Estancia and be a part-time employee at Orange Coast.

Herb Livsey, who has been an assistant at OCC the past four seasons, will remain in his position. Livsey is a full-time teacher in the college’s English department.