Paul Webb obit

Paul Webb, a Virginia Gentleman Who Built ODU Into a Division I Basketball Powerhouse, Passed Away Friday Morning

 

He was not on the list.

Paul Webb, who built Old Dominion into a Division I men's basketball powerhouse and has long been praised as one of the great gentleman of college basketball coaching, passed away on Friday morning at his home in Virginia Beach.

Eddie Webb, his oldest son who played for and coached with his father, said he passed peacefully surrounded by family, including his four children – Kenneth and Douglas Webb and Deborah Webb Sanders, in addition to Eddie. 

Webb died two years to the date after his wife, Charlotte, also passed away. Charlotte and Paul met in high school and were married for 72 years.

"That was his plan," Eddie Webb said. "He loved our mother so much."

Webb, 94, was in failing health in recent months and asked to be put in hospice care at his home. He recently visited Charlotte's grave. "He said, 'Charlotte, honey, I'm going to be with you soon,"  Eddie Webb said.

"He had a life well lived. He was ready to go and he's with her now."

Webb came to ODU in 1975 after coaching 19 years at Randolph-Macon, where Eddie played for him. Eddie later came to ODU as an assistant coach.

Paul Webb took over from Sonny Allen, who left for SMU after leading the Monarchs to the Division II national title.

Building on the foundation begun by Allen, Webb took ODU back to the Division II Final Four his first season, and then in 1976-77, led ODU on a wild ride in its first year in Division I. The Monarchs upset Mississippi State at home and Georgetown and Virginia on the road.

The Monarchs won 22 games in a row at one point and finished 25-4. After beating Georgetown in the ECAC South championship game, the Monarchs lost to Syracuse, 67-64, before a frenetic sellout crowd at Scope in the ECAC championship game. They thus just missed being one of 32 NCAA Tournament teams.

Webb took ODU to postseason play nine times in ten seasons – four times to the NCAA Tournament and five times to the NIT.

Along the way, the Monarchs upset No. 1 DePaul in Chicago, No. 3 Syracuse at Scope and Clemson in the NIT. Webb retired with 511 career victories, then the fifth-most in college basketball.

He won 196 games at ODU, an average of 19.6 per season, and he won the right way. His teams always comported themselves with class, a reflection of their head coach, even when involved in tense games with archrival VCU.

"It's hard to think about ODU basketball without thinking of Paul Webb," said Dr. Wood Selig, ODU's director of athletics.

"He did not skip a beat when the program transitioned to Division I. He had a blueprint and executed it perfectly."

Selig noted that Webb rarely missed an ODU home basketball game since retiring in 1985 and attended every basketball banquet and Big Blue barbecue. He was also a football season ticket holder.

"He meant so much to the evolution and growth of our program and the national prominence that we have enjoyed," Selig said. "His fingerprints are all over our program. He represented the program with such class and charisma and integrity.

"He really loved ODU. It was as much a part of him as he was a part of us. This is such a huge loss for everyone associated with ODU."

Webb was born in Petersburg and graduated from Petersburg High School and the College of William and Mary. He was a better baseball player than he was a basketball player but went into basketball coaching because Highland Springs High School, just east of Richmond, offered him a basketball coaching job.

Webb enjoyed immense success everywhere he coached but is remembered more for his kindness and decency.

"He was a really, really good coach," ODU men's basketball coach Jeff Jones said. "But I don't think of him as a coach.

"I think of him as a true gentleman. He was so good to me and not just since I came to Old Dominion but before that.

"He was just such a great human being."

The Raleigh News and Observer revealed a year ago that Duke University nearly picked Webb before hiring Mike Krzyzewski. Webb told the newspaper that things worked out as they should have both for Coach K and for himself.

"I have no regrets at all way things turned out with Duke," Webb told News and Observer reporter Luke Decock. "Mike's done a great job with class and integrity. I've been very happy with my life."

Selig said he's sure that Webb had many other coaching offers.

"He could have coached at many places across the country," Selig said. "I'm sure he had so many opportunities to coach elsewhere.

"But he remained loyal to ODU. He made this place his home."

Webb continued to coach right up until last summer at his Paul Webb Basketball Camps held in Virginia Beach and at Randolph-Macon. Thousands of young men and women participated in his camps, in which he talked about treating people with respect as much as he spoke about basketball.

Eddie began running the camps years ago, but his father made appearances at every camp, even when he was forced to begin walking with a cane.

Webb was a man of modest tastes. He passed away in the same middle class Virginia Beach home that he and Charlotte purchased in 1975 and among his favorite places to eat were the Surf Rider and Uncle Al's Famous Hot Dogs.

He stayed in touch with former players, including those from Randolph-Macon, and would spend many hours around Christmas calling former players and friends.

"I've known coach for 42 years and never saw him lose his temper or utter a curse word," said Kenny Gattison, who played for Webb before going onto a successful NBA career.

"He wasn't just a coach. He was the best human being I've ever known. I was recruited by all of the ACC and SEC schools. And I had not heard of Old Dominion before they started recruiting me.

"I came to Old Dominion because of Paul Webb. A majority of coaches start cussing five minutes into a conversation with them. I knew the most important thing to me was the coach I was going to play for, not the program. And after I met Paul Webb, I knew that's who I wanted to play for.

"I've never regretted coming to ODU for a second."

Gattison said that Charlotte was the secret to Paul Webb's success. She was always involved in the recruiting process and once a player signed with ODU, he had a friend for life in Charlotte.

Players always hugged her coming off the court and often dined with her and Paul at their home.

"Without Charlotte Webb," Gattison said, "there was no coach Webb."

ODU won a major recruiting war for then high school senior Ronnie Wade when Paul Webb walked into his Richmond living room and made one simple promise to his father, Ronnie Wade said.

"He shook my dad's hand and said, 'I don't know how much he's going to play, but I promise you that he will graduate, and I promise you that I will take care of your son.'

"He never promised you playing time. You had to earn that. But he promised that he would take care of you and that you would go to class and graduate. And he's been taking care of me ever since.

"He was a father figure to me. He's been a part big part of my life since I was a teenager. I know his kids, his grandchildren. He's not just like family. He is family."

Ronnie and his wife, Linda Wade, who also an ODU graduate, have two sons who went to ODU. Jason plays for the ODU basketball team and Jordan was a team manager.

Jason Wade had two season-ending injuries in back-to-back seasons and then found himself deeply depressed. It took nearly a year of medication, therapy and love from his family and others to bring Wade out of a deep hole.

Jason has spoken publicly about his struggles, he said, to help others. He returned to ODU last season and starts for the Monarchs this season.

"While we were dealing with that, coach Webb called me almost every day with encouragement," Ronnie Wade said. "He'd call the boys and talk to them, and I wouldn't even know it.

Paul Webb to Be Honored at Randolph-Macon Saturday

"They listened to Paul. Even with the gap in age, he had so much wisdom and they knew it.

"Coach Webb had such a kind, loving heart. He would help anyone."

Gattison and Wade, interviewed before his passing, both cried when they learned Webb was close to death.

"Everybody's relationship with their coach is different. So, I can't speak for nobody else. I wouldn't try," Gattison said.

"But he's been a friend, a father, a coach, an uncle, a grandfather to my kids. Coach meant everything to me. I felt like one of his sons.

"The true measure of a man lies in his words and his deeds. I know of no better man than coach Paul Webb.

"I've never wanted to be like coach Webb, the coach. I've strived to be like coach Webb the man. "

Eddie Webb said funeral arrangements aren't complete but that the family hopes to announce plans within a day or two.