ESPN analyst still part of state boys-girls hoops combo record, at least until Mater Dei this year gets done…..Basketball coaches land milestone wins….California basketball players not doing well when they initially decide to play east of the Mississippi River….Plus, Oak Grove football coach steps down.

By Mark Tennis, Executive Editor
Contributing: Steve Brand, Ronnie Flores

It's unknown if any high school in America has ever gone unbeaten in both boys and girls basketball and won state titles in the same season. It's probably happened somewhere, sometime but the accomplishment doesn't appear in any record book in the ESPN RISE filing cabinet.

It's definitely never happened in California and there's still a good chance it will happen this year with the boys and girls teams at Mater Dei High in Santa Ana.

The Monarch boys, coached by Gary McKnight, which are No. 1 in this week's ESPN RISE FAB 50 national rankings, will need to win out and earn the California Interscholastic Federation Division I title. The Monarch girls, coached by Kevin Kiernan, who are No. 3 in the FAB 50 this week, will have to do it in Division II.

Around the nation, the higher division isn't always the most difficult, but this year in California it's clearly going to be harder for Mater Dei's boys to win in Division I than it will be for the girls in Division II.

The current state record in California for the best combo record in one season for boys-girls basketball was set in 1982 by Drake of San Anselmo (near San Francisco). Drake went 34-0 on the boys side and went 31-2 for the girls that year in winning CIF state titles for a 65-2 combo record.

One of the best players on that Drake boys team was guard Steve Lavin, the former UCLA head coach and current ESPN college basketball analyst.

Coaching Milestones Around The State

Mike LeDuc (Glendora): The venerable LeDuc reached a major milestone with his 700th win in a 49-37 victory over Diamond Bar in a Sierra League game. LeDuc started coaching at Damian High in 1979 and has won four Southern Section titles at Glendora. Known for his zone defense, LeDuc coached California legends like Casey Jacobsen (1996-99) and Tracy Murray (1987-89).

Mark Lehman (Cajon, San Bernardino): Although Cajon suffered a setback to Mater Dei (Santa Ana) last weekend, the Cowgirls handed Coach Lehman his 500th win earlier that week in an 80-14 San Andreas League rout of winless Colton. Some of Lehman's wins have come in boys basketball.

Tom Maier (Redondo, Redondo Beach): A boys coach for many years previously at Chadwick of Palos Verdes Estates, Maier recorded his 600th win in 35 year total seasons as the Sea Hawks snapped West Torrance¹s 13-game winning streak, 55-52.

Scott Smith (Arroyo Valley, San Bernardino): Smith collected his 300th win as Arroyo Valley stopped Pacific (San Bernardino) 56-39 in a San Andreas League game. Most of Smith's wins were at Cajon of San Bernardino.

Simpkins leaves Memphis

Matt Simpkins, a highly-regarded 6-10 big man who played at Berkeley and Capital Christian of Sacramento and was at a prep school last season, has left the Memphis University basketball team.

The departure of Simpkins brings to mind many other recent top California basketball prospects who picked East Coast colleges but didn't stick.

 Just two months ago, last year's Ms. Basketball State Player of the Year, Jasmine Dixon of Long Beach Poly, left Rutgers just a few games into her freshman season.

Tre'von Willis also went to Memphis out of Washington of Easton after his memorable prep career. He didn't stick, but is now doing well at UNLV.

Former Mr. Basketball State Player of the Year Taylor King of Mater Dei is another example. He went to Duke at first, played one year and is now going to Villanova.

Buller steps away from head coaching post

Ed Buller, the 2007 CalHiSports.com State Coach of the Year in football and one of the winningest coaches in Northern California history, has resigned as the head coach at Oak Grove High in San Jose.

Buller said in a story published in the San Jose Mercury-News that would still be serving as Oak Grove's athletic director and would be the school's director of football operations.

"I just figured it was time, I have some things I want to pursue personally and I'm also focused on making sure we keep athletics in the East Side Union High School District next year,” Buller told the Mercury-News.

Oak Grove went 11-1 last season and was ranked No. 1 in the Central Coast Section at the time it lost in the CCS Open Division semifinals to Valley Christian. Buller's team the year before won the Open Division crown after losing its first game.

The two one-loss seasons pushed Buller's career record to 214-39-3. In his 23 years as the school's head coach, Buller's teams also won 18 league titles and five CCS crowns.

As the athletic director and head of football operations, the longtime Eagles' head coach is expected to hire his successor.

On a personal note, we've always found Coach Buller to be one of the most personable, approachable coaches in the state, regardless of sport.

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