ALEX OMALEV, COACH, DIES

END OF AN ERA: Alex Omalev, who died Monday at age 88, was Cal State Fullerton's first men's basketball coach. Omalev coached the Titans from 1961-72. The longtime Fullerton resident also coached at Fullerton College from 1949-1961 and captured eight conference titles and a state championship.
PHOTO COURTESY, CAL STATE FULLERTON

Here is an email forwarded to me from Mike Johnson, class rep for the class of '58:

WE LOST OUR COACH AND FRIEND ALEX OMALEV ON MONDAY NIGHT.
THEY WLL HAVE THE SERVICE IN DEC.

ALEX OMALEV
DEC. 6 TH. AT II:OO AM.
FULLERTON FIRST UNITED METHODIST CHURCH
114 N. POMONA
FULLERTON,CA.92831 714-871-4115
ON THE CONNER OF COMMONWEALTH AND POMONA

FOR MORE INFO. CALL ME AT (email Connie or Mike for the number) AND TELL ANYONE THAT MIGHT HAVE MET HIM.

THANKS EDGAR" BEAN' CLARK

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Thursday, November 13, 2008
CSUF's first men's basketball coach dies
Longtime coach and Orange County resident, Alex Omalev, also served as a translator for Vlade Divac.
By LOU PONSI
The Orange County Register
Alex Omalev, Cal State Fullerton's first men's basketball coach, died Monday. He was 88.
The longtime Fullerton resident who still lived in the Fullerton home he built in 1954 with his wife of 63 years, Betty.
"She was holding his hand when he died," said his son, Tom, of Chula Vista.
Omalev coached at Fullerton College from 1949-61, winning eight conference titles, a state championship and compiling a record of 262-77, the best in school history.
He joined the staff at CSUF in 1961, coaching the Titans until 1972, compiling a 139-176 record.
"They were pretty good in those early years," said Steve DiTolla, CSUF Sports Information Director.
In 1961-62, under Omalev's guidance, the Titans advanced five rounds into the NAIA championship tournament and finished with a 24-7 record, still the best mark in school history.
Though he grew up in Michigan, Omalev spoke Serbo-Croation, the native language of his parents who were from Yugoslavia.
Omalev's command of that language came in handy in 1989 when he accepted a request from the Los Angeles Lakers to serve as a translator for the recently drafted Vlade Divac, who hailed from Serbia-Montenegro.
Omalev traveled with the Lakers, serving as Divac's translator and mentor for the first few months of the 1989-90 season.
A gifted basketball player himself, Omalev played four years at USC, where he earned second-team All-American honors in 1945 before joining the Navy.
He went to work at Fullerton College as a drama instructor in 1949, when he was asked to coach basketball on a "temporary" basis.
Omalev was inducted into the Orange County Sports Hall of Fame in 1992 and the Fullerton College Sports Hall of Fame in 2005.
Omalev is survived by his wife, sons Tom, 51, and Stephen, 59, and five grandchildren. A daughter, Tania, died in 1990 at age 38.
A memorial service will be held 11 a.m., Dec. 6 at United Methodist Church in Fullerton. Omalev was cremated.

http://www.ocregister.com/articles/omalev-fullerton-college-2228057-basketball-record