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Show No Scrapbook Could Hold The Memories Journal Sports YOU MAY not like to play de- fense,'' Moon would tell the kids, LAYTON - Youve heard of the man without a country and now theres a man without his sport. -- "But order During those Uintah days, most were playing zone defenses but the Vernal school played between the sport of basketball and tough, aggressive Doug Moon last week as the veteran high school coach made up his mind to give up coaching for good. mentoring comes to an end with 14 of the past seasons being spent at Layton High School. It also means that the Davis County school says good-by- e to the man who spent more years in coaching there than any other. CERTAINLY it was a marriage 15 boys on ev- ery varsity squad). Its no wonder as Moon told some of the more memorable moments of the past two decades, that his eyes became moist and tears appeared. THOUGH depicted as a disciplinarian and a tough guy, to basketball last saying good-by- e week was like giving up his favorite son. Moon himself said the first couple of years will be the hardest to live through and hopefully after that I might be able to live without it. HE WILL stay on at Layton High as a teacher. Moon was a standout prepster 25 years ago at Davis High School, thanks to those countless hours of shooting at a hoop at home in Farmington. From Davis he sprang onto the collegiate scene with the University of Utah and Jack Gardner. AS A freshman at the U he got a few breaks and displayed some pure basketball skills which in turn earned him a ticket as a starter with the Utes for the next three years. Moon was quite a basketball star in his day. As a guard he aver17.5 points per game his aged senior year at the University of that Utah as the Utes went season. As the teams leading scorer he was named to the Team District Team, the and finally landed one of the 10 coveted spots on the West squad in the annual College Game played that year in Lexington, Kentucky. 6-- 1 19-- 9 A All-WA- C East-We- st All-St- ar MOON, WHO was later selected draft, played with such in the pro basketball greats as Providence Colleges John Thompson (today the head coach of Georgetown University), Mel Counts (later a big name ABA star). Bill Bradley (Later a New York Knicks star), Jeff Mullins, Cazzie Russell and Wayne Estes. That game was another fine highlight in his life. "There were some very influential people at the University who had much to do with future decisions in my life, said Moon, Gardner was one of them, along with LaDell Anderson (assistant n PERH APS one thing that Moon developed while in Uintah that has only gtou n deeper over the years, is his respect and friendship with his assistant coaches. He and Beth still consider Ted Taylor one of their greatest friends, along with Billy Murray. Beth and I were very young when we went out there and we developed some friendships that will never die, said Moon. Taylor, like Moon, had just come out of college and took over as the head football coach. Maybe the thing that stands out the most about the Vernal experience, was state tournament time. If we made the tournament, the entire town would pack up and travel to Provo where it was held each that demanded its own respect. He spent more than 3000 days (at least five months of every one of those 20 years) developing relationships and doing good for more than 300 young men (at least man-to-ma- stuff and had several occasions where they held opponents to 30 points or less. years of prep 20 ou ve got to play it well in to he a champion. teams AN EMOTIONAL division came That means solid defense. play By KEITH DUNCAN After a gutsy freshman season at Utah, Moon broke through the barrier and went on to start for the University of Utah three straight years. year. Jack Gardner said Doug Moon was one of the greatest guards that he had ever coached. coach), Bud Jack (athletic director), Jerry Pimm (assistant coach) and others. I REMEMBER talking with Coach Gardner right before graduating and I asked him if he thought I could handle a coaching situation. He was very positive about it and told me hed do anything he could to help me get a coaching job. GARDNER kept his word and it wasnt too long before Moon was being given the opportunity to become the head coach at a junior college in Orange County, Calif., Gardners influence having much to do with that. I thought and thought and We slowly fell in love with the place and on the way back home to Farmington, we made the decision to take the job. WE DROVE out the next weekend, signed the contract and made plans for the move. Moon not only took on basketball, but was to assist in football and also became the head track coach. I HAD never been to Vernal and rather than jumping into it head first, I got on the phone and talked to a few former U of U players who served on the Chamber of Commerce there. They knew who I was and encouraged me to come and visit the place. So I remember Beth and I leaving one Friday evening and taking off for Vernal . I had no idea how far it was. We got out to Strawberry Reservoir and I began saying there was no way we could move out that far, we were only half way there. It was the longest drive of my life because I had no idea how far it was. NOT ONLY was it far, but driving through some of the communities on the way discouraged us. But once we got there, we were amazingly impressed. Its a beautiful place that sits in the Uintah Basin. Its The town went ape the season Uintah team Moon led his to the state title game. It was 1967 and Uintah was ranked No. by the Tribune while the Deseret News look Emery as the No. team. The luck of the draw happened to pit both teams in the same bracket and on the third night they red-cla- d 1 1 met in the semi-fin- al game. fLL NEVER forget that THAT WAS the beginning of it, said Moon, We spent six very enjoyable years there. The community was super and always supportive. The administration, bent over backwards to do their part. We were fortunate during those years to have some fine basketball talent at Uintah. game, said Moon, Emery was undefeated and wed lost only two games. The game was packed, not a vacant seat in the house and we ended up beating them by 12. We won the championship the next night, beating Grantsville by DURING Moons tenure he led the school to four region titles, one. state championship in 1967 and several other high rankings in the state tournament. At that time, Uintah competed in the B classification, one of only two classifications in the state. It was just an enjoyable time. THAT Emery-Uinta- h game had an air about it that will never be matched. The town, proud of the accomplishment, gave each player a plaque and even went so far as to buy Moon a Barretta brand shot gun with his name engraved upon it. The assistants also got a gun as well. said Doug, Beth and I thought, loved Utah and I couldnt see myself dragging her and our two sons off to California. So we decided to stay here and not too much longer after that, an opening came up in Vernal at Uintah High School. AS LONG as we would stay, unbelievdo the same. able how close-kn- it they were, said Moon. theyd We played against some great teams and against some great e coaches, guys like Millard at Manti, Richfields Larry Slappley, Gary Bliss at Emery, Unions Gary Eldridge and many other super guys. Braith-wait- THOSE FIRST years at Uintah were memorable because there was so much enthusism surrounding everything. Gosh, I couldnt wait for November to roll around so we could get another basketball season started, remembers Moon. Moon loves basketball, but he has always loved playing defense in that sport the most. He claims that as one of the reasons his teams were so successful both at Uintah and Layton, is that we taught the kids from the very beginning to 20. IT WAS a very, very special time, said Moon. But Doug always had the desire to come back home and in 1971 Vaun Barber (then the principal at Layton High) called him and let him know that the basketball position was open at the school. WE TALKED it over, Beth and I, but really didnt want to leave. Maybe the biggest factor in us pulling away from Uintah was my longtime desire to coach in the big leagues or Class A as it was called. So we came home, which it was. I had grown up in Farmington and Beth was from Syracuse, said Moon. ABOUT THE 14 past years at Layton, Moon began by saying hed been fortunate to have many super ballplayers come through his I guess the thing here at gym. Layton has been the kids. Ive grow n so close to many of them. The day the news came out of my stepping down, the phone never stopped ringing and the line was usually occupied with former ballplayers. Moon says hell never forget a few significant happenings at Layton, things like the heated and series. intense Layton-Clearfiel- d East-We- st and giving to it the best you can each and every day. The association with players, coaches and even officials is what life has been all about for me. ILL ALWAYS love athletics, basketball, football or whatever. Its been a very important part of my life." something special to me. Whether 1 was coaching against Marcus Garrett, Roger Reid or Craig Hansen, they always gave it their best shot. If you lost the game on Friday, you felt like not going back on Monday, but maybe soaking your head all day. If you won, you couldnt wait for Monday to roll around. It was a great series and it probably always will be. At Layton, Moon led the Lancers to several region titles and as many or more state tournament appearances. But perhaps the most special season of all was the year Dougs son, Jeff, came through. WITH JEFF on board the 1982 squad made it all the way to the consolation championship with a team that really had no business even being close. They lost their first game but came back to win three games on nothing but sheer guts and heart. "They won with character and heart, said Moon with eyes that were moist, That season had the finest climax of any other because of the blood tie. THE ASSOCIATIONS in athletics is what its all about. When it comes to high school sports, it's not a financial thing at all, its living OF COURSE there were other memorable years a$ well. He immediately began recalling the year in which Dave Burke was a senior. WHAT A super series. remembered Doug, The rivalry couldnt have been any better and I'll remember those games as Thla wm the team back in 1967 that brought Uintah High School a coveted state basketball championship. It was led by Moon who also won four region crowns there as well. Though Moon is depicted by many as one of the greatest defensive prep basketball coaches to ever coach in the state, he also loved the offensive side of things too. His senior season at Utah he averaged over 17 points per game, leading the team in scoring and eventually College All Star roster that inearning a spot on the cluded many greats that went on to play in the ABA and NBA. That teams biggest player was 3 Stan Owens but they extended a memorable year by beating a much bigger and more talented Bingham team in a playoff to go further in state and win a consolation title. Moon always had a knack in getting the most from what he had. 6-- ASKED IF he was going to miss it, Moon responded with tears appearing, "I'll look around here when no ones around and see the ball rack, the sneakers in the locker or even the whistle hanging. Yea, Ill miss it. And like most retired coaches say, the first few years will be the toughest for me. Maybe 1 can stay involved someway, maybe in officiating or something. YOU DONT just dump a lifetime. 1 cant just walk away completely and say it was cruel, Ill show you. This thing has been my life. It will be unusual to have Doug around the house a little more for Beth. As Doug put it, Basketball probably has been the first wife to me through all these years and Beth has been second. I'm sure she would agree. |