The two players from the graduated Class of 2021 that put their names on all-time state list of career scoring leaders above 2,400 points are Cole Anderson from Clovis West of Fresno and Malik Thomas from Damien of La Verne. Photos: yourcentralvalley.com & damienathletics.com.
All of our boys basketball state record files are ready to go prior to the start of the 2021-22 season. Here’s some highlights from many categories (team, individual & coaching) that are completely updated and do not exist anywhere else.
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TEAM RECORDS
*Santa Ana Mater Dei and the rest of the teams in the Trinity League were part of a media day last Friday. If the question was asked if any other school can ever win the league title, it would not have been a stupid one. The Monarchs start out 2021-22 gunning for their 34th consecutive league title (includes co-titles), which is an ongoing state record. All have been under legendary head coach Gary McKnight. Modesto Christian is not that far behind MD on the all-time state list with 25 straight league titles and counting. Two others on the list also still going are at Pasadena (17 in a row) and Long Beach Poly (12).
*Speaking of LB Poly, the Jackrabbits remain the state’s all-time winningest school in boys hoops with 2,105 since their first season of reported results, which was 1907. No other school is above 1,800, but Berkeley only needs six to reach that total. Long Beach Poly’s Moore League title from last spring also was its 63rd of all-time. That is now tied for the state record with Bakersfield, which did not win its league title last season.
*A school that no longer fields a team, Ribet Academy (Los Angeles), won a game last season 129-22 over Mesrobian of Pico Rivera. The 106-point margin was not close to the record of 125 points, first set in January of 2002 by Tarzana Stoneridge Prep vs. Sherman Oaks Bridges Academy with a 148-23 win and then tied in 2019 by California City vs. Ridgecrest Immanuel Christian with a 165-38 win.
TO VIEW ALL UPDATED STATE BOYS BASKETBALL TEAM RECORDS (GOLD CLUB), CLICK HERE.
Rolling Hills Prep boys basketball head coach Harvey Kitani keeps climbing on all-time state lists. Photo: Twitter.com.
COACHING RECORDS
*Damien of La Verne head coach Mike LeDuc is closing in on becoming just the second in state history to reach 1,000 career wins. LeDuc, who began his career at Damien in 1980 and came back to the school in 2016 after many years at nearby Glendora, starts out just 14 wins short of the 1,000-win milestone. He’s looking to join the list that only currently has one member — Mater Dei’s McKnight (who needs just 12 more wins to get to 1,200).
*The other big milestone win looming in the works is for Harvey Kitani of Rolling Hills Prep (San Pedro). Kitani, the former longtime coach at Fairfax of Los Angeles, needs just 14 more wins to become just the fifth in state history to reach 900 career victories. Last season, Don Lippi from St. Joseph Notre Dame (Alameda) became the fourth.
*Kitani’s longtime former rival at Westchester of Los Angeles, Ed Azzam, retired after the last spring season and did so with 932 wins (fourth all-time). Another significant retiree after the last season was Craig Ashmore from Newark-Memorial (Newark). Ashmore has 683 career wins. We did notice, however, that Ashmore is now coaching as an assistant at Cal State East Bay.
TO VIEW ALL UPDATED STATE BOYS BASKETBALL COACHING RECORDS (GOLD CLUB), CLICK HERE.
INDIVIDUAL RECORDS
*The player who gained more mentions in the updated record book files more than any other was all-state guard Cole Anderson of Fresno Clovis West. Cole, now at UC Santa Barbara and a four-year shooting star for the Golden Eagles, wrapped up his career (2018-2021) with 2,730 points in 121 games. He moved to No. 2 in CIF Central Section history and to 23rd on the all-time state list. Cole is much higher for career three-pointers with 464. That is No. 1 in his section’s history and is No. 3 for California.
*Anderson also had one phenomenal game last spring (witnessed by our good friend, Bob Barnett, the Central Section historian) that set two new state records. In a 100-51 triumph against Garces of Bakersfield, Cole went off for nine straight three-pointers made in the third quarter and he made 10 straight three-point shots in all (one in the fourth quarter before a miss).
*It takes 2,300 points to break into the all-time state career scoring chart and the only other two players from last spring to do that were Malik Thomas from Damien of La Verne and K.J. Simpson from Chaminade (West Hills). Thomas, now at USC and a Mr. Basketball State POY finalist (junior Amari Bailey of Sierra Canyon won it), wrapped up his outstanding career with 2,469 points. Simpson just made it with 2,342 points.
*One player who didn’t quite make it on the career scoring list but who did for career three-pointers was Breckin Beaman from Sacramento Adventist (Carmichael). Beaman, who has a younger brother expected to keep on scoring points in buckets at that school, hit for 347 career three-pointers. That is No. 13 in state history and No. 3 in the Sac-Joaquin Section. Jay Araya of Stockton Christian wasn’t far behind as he ended his career with 329.
*There were no players added to the individual state records for rebounds, blocks, assists or steals. Two of our record holders made moves in the off-season to new NBA teams. All-time career assist leader Lonzo Ball of Chino Hills is now playing for the Chicago Bulls. All-time career steals leader Jason Kidd from St. Joseph (Alameda) is now the head coach of the Dallas Mavericks, the same team he played with when he broke into the NBA as a player in the 1990s.
TO VIEW ALL UPDATED STATE BOYS BASKETBALL SCORING/SHOOTING RECORDS (GOLD CLUB), CLICK HERE.
TO VIEW ALL UPDATED STATE BOYS BASKETBALL REBOUND/ASSIST/BLOCK/STEAL RECORDS (GOLD CLUB), CLICK HERE.
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