3A Boys Basketball | Mercer Island coach Ed Pepple is the constant coach

MERCER ISLAND -- From Alpenland Deli to Noah's Bagels to Hedman's Hair Salon, word travels quickly on this island. And no gossip spreads faster than Ed Pepple gossip.

The first rumor of Pepple's retirement circulated the island in 1982 -- or seven years before the oldest Mercer Island senior was born. The rumors returned in the late '90s. Every year since, they pick up when each season ends.

And after each season, Pepple takes an anniversary vacation with his wife, Shirley, and returns for another year.

"Nobody ever asks me," Pepple says, sitting, legs crossed, in an armchair in the living room of his Mercer Island home.

Shirley has turned the living room into a shrine of Pepple's 41 years as Mercer Island coach. Framed pictures, awards and newspaper clippings hog the walls and clutter the bookshelves. The most wins in state history and four state championships have given her more than enough material.

This season just might provide her some new décor.

Pepple, 75, has guided the Islanders back to the Class 3A state boys basketball tournament, their first trip since 2004. With a group of 11 seniors, Mercer Island swept through the KingCo 3A Conference, earning Pepple his 21st conference championship and his fourth KingCo coach of the year award.

"It's been one of the more satisfying seasons that I've had," Pepple says. "And I've had a lot."

When Pepple arrived at Mercer Island, the school had only one banner -- a state cross-country championship -- hanging in its gymnasium. Today, Mercer Island displays more than 300 banners, and at least 30 of them belong to the basketball team.

Pepple's 936 career wins are 301 more than any other coach in state history.

In 41 years at Mercer Island, Pepple has coached fathers and their sons, including his own sons and grandson. He has coached most of his players since fifth grade and keeps in touch with them into adulthood.

"Coach P is like a second father to us," says Leroy Lutu, Mercer Island's leading scorer.

Since Pepple's first year on the island, little has changed. Pepple's rules still reign.

First rule: Wear your blazer. In 1968, Pepple's first year at Mercer Island, he bought maroon blazers for each of his players from Don's Group Attire. Players have passed them down each year. Some of the original blazers are still in circulation. The team wears them each time it goes on the road.

"When we walk into a gym," Pepple says, "I want people to know we're there."

Over time, Pepple has relented on the accompanying attire. The players used to wear ties -- he used to give a class on how to tie them on the team's yearly retreats -- but now they have mock turtlenecks. And he even began allowing jeans.

"These kids drive me crazy because they don't know how to dress," Pepple says. "They're wearing jeans with a blazer, which in itself doesn't make a whole lot of sense. That's the best I can do right now."

Second rule: Cut your hair. After tryouts each fall, the players who make the team must get a haircut before Pepple, a former Marine, will give them their uniform. At Hedman's Hair Salon on the north side of the island, players only have to ask for the "Mercer Island Special."

"As soon as they get their haircut, everybody in the school knows who made the team," Pepple says. "It's sort of a badge of honor."

Rule three: Play as a team. As players improved and coaches got smarter, Pepple had to adjust. But he has not strayed from the crux of his coaching philosophy: to stay as far away from one-on-one basketball as possible.

On almost every Mercer Island play, even the ones for last-second situations, every player touches the ball. The players keep moving and passing until they find an open shot.

Pepple credits a coaching staff that he calls "the best in the state," and his assistants conduct most of practice. But Pepple often whistles with his fingers and jumps in the moment he sees someone with his hands down or out of position.

"I've never seen someone so intense, so focused on the game," senior guard Matt Schut says.

Senior Drew Sexton puts it this way: If a player does nine out of 10 things right, Pepple will hammer on the incorrect one until the player does that right, too.

Sexton is an example of how that perfectionist approach has worked: He went from a player who barely made the freshman team to a second-team All-KingCo pick this season.

"My former players think I've mellowed out," Pepple says. "My current players don't think I've mellowed out. I'm probably not the easiest guy to play for because I try to set the bar pretty high."

The Islanders, ranked fourth in 3A, began the season with a win against Bellevue, the preseason pick to win KingCo, and beat Issaquah two games later. When they beat Reno, the eventual Nevada state champion, in December -- Reno had blown out Mercer Island last year -- the Islanders realized this season could be special.

Long ago, Pepple saw the potential in this group. And long ago, he knew he would still be on the sideline. So much for all the rumors.

"He told me in fifth grade that he was looking forward to my senior year," senior guard Evan Zahniser said. "He knew even back then."

Pepple can already see his retirement. He envisions spending his days conquering golf courses, traveling the world and pursuing the business interests he never had time for.

But he says all that can wait. He still has more basketball left in him.

"When I think I can't make a contribution, I'm not effective or don't enjoy it -- whatever, I don't know," he says. "I think you know when it's time to try something else."

Tom Wyrwich: 206-515-5653 or twyrwich@seattletimes.com