Eisenhower of Rialto boys basketball coach becomes the first from the Inland Empire to gain state's top honor since 1932. He also is the CIF Division II state coach of the year. Full honor roll of all-time state coaches of the year also now updated to include Johnson.

By Mark Tennis, Executive Editor
(Contributing: Ronnie Flores, Paul Muyskens)

It was midway through the 2006-07 season when Eisenhower High of Rialto principal Reginald Thompkins prodded former boys basketball coach Steve Johnson to take over a struggling team.

Fast forward to the end of the 2008-09 season and not only did Johnson put a charge into the Eagles, but he guided them to the CIF Division II state title. And for doing that with a smallish but super-quick lineup that relied on ball-hawking defense and depth, he has now been selected as the 2009 State Coach of the Year by CalHiSports.com.

In the 90 years in which a State Coach of the Year for boys basketball has been chosen (most done retroactively based on research) the only previous honoree from the Inland Empire area of the state is Karl Kaiser, who coached at Chaffey of Ontario in 1932.

Johnson's first championship season for Eisenhower came in 2003 and it turned out to be the end of a 12-year stint. He left the school shortly after that season to become athletic director at Carter High, the new school in Rialto. He came back to Eisenhower a few years later to take over the same job at his previous school. He is still Ike's athletic director in addition to being the boys basketball coach.

In his 14-plus seasons coaching basketball at Eisenhower, Johnson has compiled a record of 316-96 with 10 leagues championships and two CIF Southern Section titles. This year's state title, though, was something else.

The Eagles did it with only one of the nine players in their primary rotation who was taller than 6-foot-4. Andrew Bock, a senior guard headed to Creighton University, topped the group with 21.3 ppg, but after that it was a seemingly endless supply of 6-1 to 6-2 players who consistently frustrated the opposition with quickness, intensity and balanced scoring.

In the Division II state final, Eisenhower faced Rocklin of the Sacramento area, which featured 6-9 center Brendan Lane. And while the UCLA-bound Lane got his share of points, rebounds and blocks,

the Eagles overwhelmed the rest of Rocklin's lineup and posted a 73-61 victory. They finished 30-3 overall and were No. 9 in the final overall state rankings.

	Ronnie Flores
	Steve Johnson

Despite his hardened and poker-face demeanor, the coach exuded confidence and it seemed to rub off on his players. He was quite demanding, but stated after the team's triumph over Rocklin  that he gave his guard-oriented club the green light.

"We play nine guys, we know our quickness bothers a lot of teams,” said Johnson, a native of Clackamas, Oregon "We gave our guys a lot of freedom on the offensive end. It's a great feeling (to win the state championship) because our goal was achieved. The kids busted their butts all season long."

Among the former players that Johnson has coached at Eisenhower include Alex Acker of the Detroit Pistons and former Boston College standout Sean Marshall. He's definitely aware of his own program's tradition and is proud of his school's accomplishments.

"It's been amazing the response we've gotten from the community as we went on our run. People
have been calling up or stopping by," said Johnson after his team defeated Loyola of Los Angeles in the CIF Southern Section finals. "We used to have one high school in our town and a lot of people associate Eisenhower with the community. There are more schools now, but a lot of people that still live around town have some connection to the school."

Their connection now is also to the 2009 State Coach of the Year.

Here is the complete slate of 2009 State Coaches of the Year for boys basketball:

Division I
Bill Powers (Monte Vista, Danville)
The 15-year veteran of the East Bay school called the shots for a team that won its second CIF North Coast Section Division I title in the last three years. The NCS Div. I title normally is the domain of nearby De La Salle and although the Mustangs lost twice to the Spartans during the regular season Powers was the one cutting down the nets after this year's playoffs. Monte Vista also was particularly impressive against Sac-Joaquin Section Div. I champ Folsom as it blew out the Bulldogs twice, the second time in the Northern Regional semifinals. Monte Vista then played McClymonds of Oakland in the NorCal final and lost by three points, 48-45, and could have tied it on a long three-point attempt at the buzzer that rimmed out. After losing that game, Powers took a leadership role in fund-raising when he found out about financial woes in Oakland that might have prevented some cheerleaders and band members from McClymonds from attending the CIF state finals. Although the Oakland Unified School District did not accept the money, Monte Vista's display of sportsmanship certainly should be applauded.

Division II
Steve Johnson (Eisenhower, Rialto)
Also named as the 2009 State Coach of the Year.

Division III
Jim Harris Sr. (Ocean View, Huntington Beach)
The affable coach gains his first coach of year honor from CalHiSports.com after 32 years at the helm of the Seahawks' basketball team. Work ethic has always been the mantra for Harris and the players that come through his program, as they often get positive results against taller and more talented teams through preparation and putting in extra practice hours. Harris Sr.,the only head coach in Ocean View's history who at one time simultaneously coached the girls team for five seasons, has overcome a recruiting scandal that nearly cost him his job in the mid-1980s to become one of the most respected coaches in the CIF Southern Section. This year was especially gratifying for Harris, as he led a team that was thought to be "one year away" to the school's, and Harris' first appearance in a state championship game, where the team lost to Sacred Heart Cathedral. Along the way, Ocean View captured a CIFSS Div. IV-AA title and finished ranked among the state's top 25 with a 27-8 record. The 1990-1991 season was the last time an Orange County coach (Tim O'Brien Costa Mesa Estancia) was honored in this division.

Division IV
Bill Mellis (Salesian, Richmond)
Choosing Mellis for Division IV is similar to picking Harris in Division III since his team this year also was supposed to be a year away from being a favorite. Salesian, however, didn't fall in its state final and instead defeated favored Bishop Montgomery of Torrance, 65-64, on a buzzer-beating layup by sophomore Kendall Andrews. Mellis has been head coach of the Pride for 11 years and has led the team to 20 wins or more for nine of those seasons. This year's team ended at 31-4 and also was among the top 20 ranked teams in the state overall. Mellis and the Pride could be the No. 1 team overall in Northern California to start next year. Desmond Simmons, a junior, had 31 points in the state final. Also back will be current sophomore Jabari Brown, who along with Simmons was one of the top two scorers for this year's team.

Division V
Mike Ruble (Bradshaw Christian, Sacramento)
He became the first head coach in Sac-Joaquin Section history to capture two section basketball championships in one season as he led the boys and girls to titles last month. Making his impact with the Pride complete, he not only has been the head coach for both basketball teams the last three years but is also the school's athletic director. Ruble has been at Bradshaw Christian the last six years and started coaching the boys team four years ago before then starting his head coaching double duty. This year's boys team didn't advance out of the first round of the NorCal Div. V playoffs, losing to Branson of Ross, 48-34, but finished up at 24-7. The Bradshaw Christian girls ended at 28-5.

BOYS STATE COACHES
OF THE YEAR
ALL-TIME LIST

(Selected by Cal-Hi Sports)

2009 - Steve Johnson, Rialto Eisenhower (31-4)
2008 - Dwight Nathaniel, Oakland McClymonds (32-0)
2007 - Harvey Kitani, Los Angeles Fairfax (28-5)
2006 - Peter Diepenbrock, Palo Alto (32-1)
2005 - Pete Newell, Santa Cruz (36-1)
2004 - Don Lippi, Alameda St. Joseph (28-6)
2003 - Zack Jones, San Diego Horizon (32-1)
2002 - Ed Azzam, Los Angeles Westchester (32-2)
2001 - Vance Walberg, Fresno Clovis West (31-3)
2000 - Frank Allocco, Concord De La Salle (31-1)
1999 - Clinton Williams, Oakland Fremont (28-4)
1998 - Jerry DeBusk, Rancho S.M. Santa Margarita (32-2)
1997 - Frank LaPorte, Alameda St. Joseph (31-4)
1996 - Russell Otis, Compton Dominguez (34-2)
1995 - Steve Filios, Mountain View St. Francis (27-8)
1994 - Hank Meyer, Carmichael Jesuit (31-7)
1993 - John Barrette, Palo Alto (31-0)
1992 - Tom Orlich, South Tahoe (30-1)
1991 - Tom McCluskey, Tustin (30-4)
1990 - Lou Cvijanovich, Oxnard Santa Clara (28-0)
1989 - Willie West, L.A. Crenshaw (25-2)
1988 - Reggie Morris, L.A. Manual Arts (27-3)
1987 - Gary McKnight, Santa Ana Mater Dei (31-1)
1986 - Mike Phelps, Oakland Bishop O'Dowd (31-5)
1985 - Stephen Keith, Glendale (28-0)
1984 - Ron Palmer, Long Beach Poly (31-2)
1983 - Jorge Calienes, Rosemead Bosco Tech (25-5)
1982 - Dick Acres, Carson (26-2)
1981 - Maury Halleck, Santa Barbara San Marcos (25-1)
1980 - Leo Allamanno, Oakland Fremont (24-2)
1979 - Dave Shigematsu, Oakland Castlemont (23-3)
1978 - Ben Tapscott, Oakland McClymonds (22-3)
1977 - George Terzian, Pasadena (29-3)
1976 - Bill Armstrong, Palm Springs (22-4)
1975 - John Mihaljevich, Palos Verdes (24-6)
1974 - Dan Risley, Elk Grove (30-0)
1973 - Tom Conway, Stockton Stagg (28-0)
1972 - Tom Cleary, Fresno San Joaquin Memorial (27-2)
1971 - George McQuarn, L.A. Verbum Dei (29-2)
1970 - Spike Hensley, Berkeley (32-0)
1969 - Gordon Nash, La Mesa Helix (29-2)
1968 - Ralph Krafve, East Bakersfield (29-0)
1967 - Frank LaPorte, Oakland Bishop O'Dowd (37-2)
1966 - Len Craven, Whittier Sierra (28-1)
1965 - Leo Allamanno, Oakland Fremont (21-2)
1964 - Bill Mulligan, Long Beach Poly (32-1)
1963 - Bill Armstrong, Compton (27-4)
1962 - Dick Edwards, Sacramento El Camino (23-1)
1961 - Paul Harless, Oakland McClymonds (19-1)
1960 - Bill Thayer, L.A. Fremont (17-1)
1959 - Gene Haas, Glendale (32-1)
1958 - Don McDonald, Easton Washington (17-0)
1957 - Jim Witt, S.F. Poly (28-1)
1956 - Rene Herrerias, S.F. Ignatius (27-5)
1955 - Claude Miller, Alhambra (27-2)
1954 - Martin Martinelli, L.A. Mt. Carmel (34-1)
1953 - Bill Barnett, L.A. Loyola (34-2)
1952 - George Powles, Oakland McClymonds (19-1)
1951 - Ken Fagans, Compton (29-3)
1950 - George Phelps, El Monte (31-4)
1949 - Bob Tuttle, Ventura (30-0)
1948 - Will Ryan, S.F. Lincoln (29-2)
1947 - Phil Woolpert, S.F. St. Ignatius
1946 - Pete Lenz, Stockton (20-2)
1945 - Rick Wilson, San Diego Hoover (16-1)
1944 - Stan Schnepple, Alameda (15-1)
1943 - Alex Shwarz, S.F. St. Ignatius (14-0)
1942 - Hod Ray, Palo Alto (18-0)
1941 - Porter Thompson, Glendale Hoover (21-1)
1940 - Lloyd Leith, S.F. Washington (16-4)
1939 - Charlie Church, Long Beach Poly (21-3)
1938 - Don Douglas, Whittier (24-3)
1937 - Benny Neff, S.F. Lowell (17-3)
1936 - Dewey Morrow, San Diego (14-1)
1935 - Clarence Schutte, Santa Barbara (14-1)
1934 - Earl Crabbe, Auburn Placer (18-2)
1933 - Howard Butterfield, Glendale Hoover (12-2)
1932 - Karl Kaiser, Ontario Chaffey (12-1)
1931 - Don Douglas, Whittier (25-1)
1930 - Hod Ray, Palo Alto (13-0)
1929 - Tommy De Nike, S.F. Galileo (17-1)
1928 - Pete Lenz, Stockton (14-0)
1927 - Ernest Palfrey, Dinuba (13-2)
1926 - Frank Needles, S.F. St. Ignatius 145s (15-0)
1925 - Binks Rawlings, Porterville (9-1)
1924 - Jimmy Hole, Berkeley (18-4)
1923 - Jim Blewett, Fresno (14-1)
1922 - Claude Downing, Alhambra (19-1)
1921 - Ed Kienholz, Long Beach Poly (16-0)
1920 - Al Dowden, Orange (16-2)

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