Bay Area basketball legend Stan Buchanan remembered as ‘larger than life’
At 6-feet, 2-inches tall, Stan Buchanan was not the biggest player on the basketball court, but he was always “larger than life,” according to his friends.
Buchanan started on the University of San Francisco’s celebrated 1955 national championship basketball team alongside Bill Russell and K.C Jones, and later was a beloved coach and teacher at Redwood High and St. Ignatius.
Mr. Buchanan, who had been diagnosed with cancer, died recently at the age of 91.
“Stan was larger than life. He was a force in any room. He did not sit quietly in a corner,” said longtime friend Marilee Rogers, who taught with Mr. Buchanan at Redwood, and was with him at the end of his journey.
Mr. Buchanan spent 30 years as an English teacher and tennis coach at Redwood, where the courts bear his name.
“As a player for him, he was the ultimate mental coach,” said Beth Fernbacher, who played tennis at Redwood under Mr. Buchanan’s tutelage. “He was really good about finding what made you play best and how to work well with teammates in an individual sport. He also taught us how to grow up a bit.”
Fernbacher continued, “When he was teaching me, there was a lot of pressure to win, to be competitive nationally. But he had me read books by George Leonard and Michael Murphy. He taught me winning isn’t everything, it’s just one element of the dance. He’d say ‘Get out there and dance.’”
Mr. Buchanan had opportunities to dance during his life as an athlete and a coach, and as an educator and entertainer.
Mr. Buchanan, who grew up in San Francisco, helped USF win the first of back-to-back NCAA titles as a senior in the 1954-55 season. Playing at forward often against bigger opponents, Mr. Buchanan was a defensive ace for the Dons. The squad, coached by Phil Woolpert, featured future NBA stars Russell and Jones — as well as Mr. Buchanan, Jerry Mullen and Hal Perry — and went 28-1 including a 26-game win streak capped by a 77-63 victory over La Salle for the title.
When Mr. Buchanan was inducted into the USF Hall of Fame in 1976, Woolpert said of him, “Stan is a court opportunist, and he likes the rough going. An excellent student, he has the capacity to anticipate his opponent’s actions on the floor. Most important, he is a complete hustler and never slows down.”
Woolpert recalled on the USF Hall of Fame site, “At one forward we had Jerry Mullen, a tremendous player, a fine jumper, excellent outside shooter, very strong off the board, with a natural sense for the game. At the other forward was 6’2” Stan Buchanan. He couldn’t jump, he was slow, a poor shooter, with very little all-around skill, but he had heart, determination, and a tremendous attitude. He was also very smart. Stan started every game for us, including the championship contests and did everything I asked of him. Basically he did it with determination, a big heart. We pitted him against 6’8” forwards and he still got the job done. He typified our team spirit — one-for-all and all-for-one. That team spirit carried us all the way to two straight national championships.”
Mr. Buchanan, who always treasured his friendships, said of his senior year with the Dons, “To be able to receive beautiful passes from the incomparable K.C. Jones and pass the ball to the magnificent Bill Russell, and play alongside of the outstanding Jerry Mullen and effervescent Harold Perry was a sports memory to be cherished. I never wanted to let these great players down and the memories are overwhelming.”
Mr. Buchanan went on to coach basketball at St. Vincent of Vallejo and his alma mater St. Ignatius, where he coached current USF head coach Jim Brovelli.
A member of the Redwood Hall of Fame and Marin Athletic Foundation Hall of Fame, Mr. Buchanan built a new legacy at Redwood, where he coached tennis, basketball, water polo and baseball between 1965-95.
“His philosophy was about enjoying the process of life, whether in sports or relationships,” said Fernbacher, who went on to play tennis at Cal.
As the boys and girls tennis coach from 1974-95, his teams won 15 girls championships and nine boys championships. The Giants teams of that era produced future professional tour champions, including Aleco Preovolos. The Redwood Tennis Courts are named the Stanlee J. Buchanan Courts.
Buchanan also served as head women’s basketball coach at College of Marin from 1979-81.
“Stan loved coaching girls tennis and he loved the girls, obviously,” Rogers said. “They teased him and he teased them, but it was a mutual admiration society. He was the type of teacher who students wanted to maintain contact with. A lot of his students were in touch with him at end of his life.”
Mr. Buchanan had a flair for the dramatic, but also an intelligent wit, that he brought to the stage with the Ross Valley Players and Redwood High theater revues, and to the tennis courts.
“He did theatrics while coaching us,” Fernbacher said. “Sometimes after we’d act cocky in a match, he’d call us a bunch of Redwood cherries and walk out. He admitted later that he went over to the pools and watched us through the fence and saw us practice harder.”
Mr. Buchanan, who was the recipient of a Fulbright Scholarship to England in 1972, later served as the Chair of the Redwood English Department from 1991-95.
“Stan was quick to have anything to say about any situation,” said Rogers, who — with her husband — enjoyed traveling the globe with Buchanan. “He was quick to liven up any group and he didn’t like to get too serious. He was a good person. I know I would have loved to have been in his classroom, it would have been fun. He made people feel like they were listened to.”
Mr. Buchanan is survived by his children Linda, John, Greg, and Laura, plus stepdaughters Karin Teague and Susannah Woerner.