The Monday after Merrillville lost its first and only regular-season game to Roosevelt in the 1994-1995 season was a terrifying proposition for the team.
The players thought that Jim East, a demanding, intense coach, was going to erupt.
Instead, according to T.J. Lux, East gathered them around and made a retching noise.
“This vomiting sound came out,” said Lux, who would later go on to also coach at Merrillville. “Then, he said, ‘It’s done. It’s over.’ We were all able to relax and move on.
“It was just an example of him knowing what buttons to push.”
East, a Hall of Fame coach, led that team to the state championship game, where it lost in heartbreaking fashion to Ben Davis. East died on Saturday after a long illness. He was 79.
East didn’t put Merrillville basketball on the map, but he elevated it to a different level.
He won 14 sectional titles, five regional titles and a semistate at Merrillville. East arrived for the 1980-81 season after stints at Connersville and Lawrenceburg. The Pirates, who made it the Final Four in 1978, had only won two sectional titles before East.
East lived in southern Indiana his entire life. According to his wife Marlene, he took the Merrillville job because he wanted a new challenge after winning a sectional at Lawrenceburg.
He retired from Merrillville after the 2010-2011 season with an overall record of 653-337.
There were two staples to East’s teams.
They played belly button-to-belly button, man-to-man defense and ran a motion offense.
“The practices were competitive and physical,” Lux said. “We had to play with toughness. He would challenge you mentally as much as anything.”
Merrillville coach Bo Patton, who played point guard for East, said his formula was simple and lives on.
“You were going to play defense, you were going to learn the system and you were disciplined,” he said.
The East coaching tree is spread all over.
Assistants who coached or went on to coach include Mike Hackett (Munster), Chris Johnson (Homestead), Lux (Merrillville), Skeeter Heath (Wheeler boys, LaPorte girls), Tom Peller (Chesterton) and Randy Stelter (Wheeler).
Johnson won a state title at Homestead. Hackett was hired by East after coaching as an assistant at Kankakee Valley from 1991 to 1999.
When he left for Munster, Hackett just took East’s book with him. East taught him everything and gave him plenty of responsibility.
“I learned how to run a feeder program,” Hackett said. “I dealt with parents and I learned how to buy stuff from the sporting goods store.
“There is so much more that goes into coaching than what happens on game night.”
Former Valparaiso and LaPorte coach Joe Otis said East was the best defensive coach he ever went up against. Otis finished 10-23 against East.
“I lost 23 times against him and I think 15 of those games were by three points or less,” he said. “He was the master at winning close games. That’s how you get over 600 wins.”
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Kara Bonin, East’s daughter who’s an administrator in the Merrillville school system, has been overwhelmed by the outpouring of support.
The East family was always at his games, cheering loudly for purple. Marlene also is a teacher.
“We’ve been around education all our lives,” Kara said. “It was more than just wins and losses for him. It was important for him to develop the character of young men and for them to be successful.
“What an impact he made on their lives not just in basketball but beyond that. That’s what makes us so proud. It’s an honor to be his daughter.”