Garry St. Jean
Age: 58
Resides: Danville
Then: St. Jean was the Kings' coach from 1992 to 1997, then became the Golden State Warriors' general manager. He remained in that position until Chris Mullin replaced him in April 2004.
Now: St. Jean is not working but has stayed connected with basketball while he and his wife, M.J., raised their children, Emily and Greg. Both children played high school basketball in Concord, Emily at Carondelet and Greg at De La Salle. Emily played two years at Yale and now is a senior. Greg is at Phillips Exeter Academy, a prep school in Exeter, N.H.
What happened to Garry St. Jean?
After I received the wonderful news (that he was fired) from (then-owner) Jim Thomas in March of 1997, I was hired by the (Golden State) Warriors that July. I was blessed that the opportunity with the Warriors came up for me. I had a (seven-year) run with them. I've had a couple of opportunities to do some things in the league, but they weren't right for me. You know, I'm a big family guy, and Greggie wanted to finish his high school days at De La Salle. It was time for me to sacrifice.
You've always been a big-picture guy, so how has life turned out for a small-town (Chicopee, Mass.) guy?
The ride has been phenomenal. How many people can say they lived their lives doing what they dream of doing? I'll tell you, not many. So I've been blessed. I've got a great family, and, in fact, I'll be going back East next week, and we're going to get together with everybody and spend Thanksgiving (at Cape Cod).
So, with the kids out of the house, are you ready to get back into ball?
I've kind of been Mr. Mom with M.J. working. She's been into the real estate since (2004) and she loves it, and she's really, really good at it. Let me share this with you. I had the opportunity to watch my kids and help them with their careers. But I know everybody in Safeway here just like I knew everybody in Raley's up there.
Given the opportunity, though, I'm open to anything, really. The reality is I've kind of had my day in leadership as a coach or general manager. I'd love to get back into scouting. That's how I got into the league (with Milwaukee and Don Nelson). If there was a young coach who needed a veteran assistant … When I was in the front office (at Golden State), I coached the CYO (Catholic Youth Organization) teams for Emily and Greggie. So there's nothing beyond my realm on any level.
You watch a lot of ball on the tube. So what's up
Hey, you know, I was loving the 24 hours of college basketball that was on TV the other day. At 7 o'clock in the morning, I was watching Drexel and Penn. My wife called me "a sick nut," and told me I was losing it. I told her if that was the worst thing going on, then I've had a pretty good life. I like the things the Kings are doing up there. I like the things I've seen Reggie (Theus) do. One of the things you look at is how a guy handles last-second situations, and in those two games they lost over the weekend, they got good shots. I think the guy has done a solid job. He is playing without his best player in Kevin Martin.
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