Pazanin clan driven to succeed at Mundelein

Near an exit in an empty Mundelein gym, lights still on, Ron and Dorothy Pazanin, jackets still on, wait for their son.

What's a few extra minutes, or 30?

What's a six-hour round-trip drive on a weeknight?

"He would drive down sometimes (three hours from Lindenhurst) on a Thursday night, come watch us play, and then drive back (three hours) that same night," Martin Pazanin says of his dad, who was an administrator for 36 years in the Big Hollow school district.

Before he became Mundelein's new girls basketball coach, replacing longtime coach Brian Evans, Martin Pazanin coached girls basketball at Illinois Valley Central High in Chillicothe, which isn't far from Champaign Central High. That's where the 2005 Antioch graduate started his coaching career.

Pazanin, whose last name is pronounced Puh-ZAN-in, matriculated at Bradley. He taught at Champaign Central for four years, serving as an assistant boys basketball coach for one season, before becoming the JV girls coach for a year. The following year, he got the head girls job.

He was just 25.

Two years later, an opportunity came up at Illinois Valley Central. Pazanin took it, excited to play in the always competitive Cornbelt Conference against the likes of University High and Bloomington Central Catholic. Last season, his Lady Grey Ghosts defeated state-ranked Peoria Christian and state-qualifying Bloomington Central Catholic.

Then, another opportunity arose for the young coach. It was a chance to leave central Illinois and head back home, close to his two biggest fans.

Mom and Dad.

"It's always been my dream to come back," says Pazanin, who grew up in Lindenhurst and played basketball for coach Tom Duffy at Antioch. "When (the Mundelein job) opened up, I jumped at it. It's like a dream job for me right here."

A decade removed from the days when he twice advanced to state in the IHSA 3-point shooting contest, Pazanin, who turned 29 this past week, makes no secret about what his mother and father mean to him.

"My parents are a couple of my best friends," he says.

Let's not get all mushy, though.

After Mundelein beat Highland Park 48-25 with a coach's-dream defensive effort in Pazanin's debut as Mustangs coach Monday night, his proud parents stood up. Then they started walking toward the exit, their son thought.

"I was screaming at them," Pazanin says. "I was walking to the locker room and I saw them put their jackets on."

Ron and Dorothy had all the time in the world. Hugs for their son would have to wait, however.

"They know better than to hug me around people," says Pazanin, smiling. "They know I always want to go speak to my team first."

Pazanin's knowledge of basketball is thicker than the dark-rimmed eyeglasses he wears. He talks like a coach, easily able to articulate his philosophies and what he expects from his players.

The shooter is, after all, a basketball junkie.

When Mundelein athletic director Perry Wilhelm called Pazanin on a Monday morning last spring to tell him he got the job, Pazanin started packing. He had emerged as Mundelein's choice after three interviews, the first two of which focused on his teaching. (Mundelein also hired him to be a special-education teacher).

Duffy later sent his former player a text message, congratulating him on his new gig.

"As soon as I turned my stuff in at (Illinois Valley Central) I jumped in my car and I drove up here," Pazanin says. "The next day I was working with the Mundelein girls."

He kept his summer gig, coaching AAU ball for the Illinois Pizazz near Bloomington.

It made for a crazy summer. But what's a little drive for the son of Ron Pazanin?

"A lot of Sundays I'd drive down and go to Bloomington, drive back and I'd be back here Monday working with the Mundelein girls," Pazanin says. "I just take every opportunity. It's what I love doing."

Now, he's home. Lovin' his basketball team, lovin' MHS, lovin' life.

And, yes, lovin' the love from his parents.

"I'm really happy they could be here," he says.

A proud son stretches his 6-foot-2 frame. He can't wait to wake up and coach the next day.

jaguilar@dailyherald.com

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