WHERE ARE THEY NOW? : THE GOORJIANS : They Were a Basketball Sucess Story, Now Son Is in Sales and Dad Seeks College Spot

As befitting a noted gunslinger, Greg Goorjian went out in a blaze of shooting when he last played organized basketball, for Loyola Marymount in 1983.

His father, Ed, who coached the Lions for five seasons, also went out running and gunning before he was dismissed by Loyola after the 1985 season.

The Goorjians pere et fils had one of the most colorful--and successful--careers in CIF Southern Section history when Ed coached Greg at Crescenta Valley High, and they teamed up again for a one-semester shooting spree at Loyola where the formula was still entertaining but less successful.

Since leaving Loyola and breaking up the longtime combo, the younger Goorjian has kept his hand in amateur ball but has spent most of his time cultivating a real estate career in Las Vegas, where he works for his father-in-law.

Goorjian Sr. has remained a coach but has had to take a circuitous route to do so. Goorjian, who hopes to resurface in the Southland as an assistant at a Division I school this fall, assisted George McQuarn for a season at Cal State Fullerton, then was hired by Saudi Arabia’s royal family to coach the Arab nation’s top club team.

Goorjian, assisted by son Kevin, spent one season and part of another in Riyadh but returned to California last winter. He has spent the summer working at basketball camps in the area--he oversaw youth camps for Magic Johnson and Kurt Rambis--and says he has good prospects of joining a major college staff in September. There’s a future possibility of going to Australia where his oldest son, Brian, coaches a leading college team.

“I’m keeping busy. I enjoy basketball on any level,” Goorjian said. “I really enjoyed the camps--I might go more into that later. I’m still in contact with Saudi Arabia--I might be a consultant to the team. The royal family might send a few players here for some training, but I don’t think I’ll take any long trips over there.”

All three of his sons played for Goorjian during his 19-year reign at Crescenta Valley, but the coach found himself riding a phenomenon when Greg played there. The son, a slender, gifted guard, had a knack for the spectacular while averaging 42 points in his senior year in one of the most prolific careers in prep history.

But after being recruited by most of the nation’s basketball powers, Greg was impatient for the same type of success at Arizona State, and when it didn’t come--though he had a reasonably good freshman year--he transferred to Nevada-Las Vegas. But the high-scoring guard found himself surrounded by big scorers at Vegas, where Coach Jerry Tarkanian tried to make him a ball handler. Goorjian found himself in another father-son situation, because the Rebels’ point guard was Danny Tarkanian.

Meanwhile, Ed Goorjian had been named coach at Loyola before the 1980-81 season. So after two frustrating seasons at Las Vegas, Greg transferred to Loyola for a reunion with dad and one last chance at collegiate fireworks.

The scoring came as expected--a West Coast Athletic Conference-leading 26.5 average including 42 points against St. Mary’s and 38 against Pepperdine--but the Lions still struggled to a 10-17 record. Many of the fireworks came as critics leveled salvos against Greg, for the number and quality of shots taken, and against Ed for his one-sided offense, and the coach grew defensive and causticly answered what he felt were personal attacks.

Goorjian’s teams struggled through two more seasons before Loyola decided to change coaches. Still, Goorjian said, he prized the last season he had with Greg. “The stuff in high school was especially fun,” the elder Goorjian said. “The Loyola time was fun, too.”

Goorjian was back in the country in time to see the Lions run up their best season ever last winter--28-4--and pointed out that he recruited two of the key players, Mike Yoest and Mark Armstrong.

“I went to a few games. They were fantastic,” Goorjian said. “I was very proud of two of our kids (Yoest and Armstrong). They played their roles beautifully. The team was so entertaining. It was exciting.”

Greg Goorjian has stayed out of the limelight since leaving Loyola. He was drafted but cut by the Golden State Warriors and turned down offers to play in France and Australia because his wife, Leann, was pregnant.

So he moved to Las Vegas, got a real estate license and went into the family business. “He wanted to play, but with his wife expecting and with the job opportunities . . . he figured it would be better to get on with business, I guess you could say the ‘real’ world,” his father said.

Greg’s second go-around in Las Vegas has turned out to be profitable. He is in Europe with his family for a month celebrating a recent land development deal. Several years ago he played on an AAU team with several former UNLV players that won a national AAU title. He also coaches youth basketball. But work and his family come first these days. His older boy, Gavin, is 4. New son Camden is 9 months old.

And there may soon be a new Goorjian on the basketball scene--”the baby, Camden,” the grandfather says with a laugh. “He’s got big hands.”