One more time for Warriors' Whitacre

By: TERRY MONAHAN - Staff Writer | Monday, January 1, 2007 11:18 PM PST ∞

Fallbrook High girls basketball coach Len Whitacre will call it quits after this season.

The Warriors have fashioned an 11-1 record this season for the 58-year-old Whitacre, who is actually retiring a year later than he had originally planned.

"I was ready to leave after last season, but a couple of the juniors asked me to stay one more season and I gave in,'' Whitacre said. "The kids have known, though, that is the last go-round. This is my 18th season as a coach and it's become a year-round thing to coach basketball these days. That's a lot of time for a walk-on like me who is also running a business.

"I'll either have to find a new team to coach or get a new wife.''

Entering this season, Whitacre was 25-29 as the Warriors' coach. He also coached for two years at La Costa Canyon, where he was 39-20.

Whitacre's future plans include visiting his grandchildren in the Washington, D.C., area as often as possible, and continuing to run his computer business, Intech USA.

Legacy lives on

The Chase Budinger era has ended at La Costa Canyon, but the Mavericks reaped one last benefit from their former star, who was the co-MVP of the McDonald's All-American game in April and now plays for the University of Arizona.

Because so many fans attended boys basketball games at La Costa Canyon, the school's concession sales were out of sight. The girls basketball team, which was in charge of those sales, collected more than $23,000 in profits.

With that money, the Mavericks were able to play in the Holiday Tournament last week at Walt Disney World in Florida.

"We try to get out of town every two years or so to play some different teams,'' said La Costa Canyon coach John Labeta, who is also the school's athletic director. "We made so much money last year because of the boys basketball team that we were able to make it a great experience.''

There will also be plenty of time for the Mavericks to enjoy Disney World, with free passes part of their tournament package. According to Labeta, none of his players has ever been to Disney World.

"They were so excited to go from the moment I first told them,'' Labeta said. "Fortunately, every girl has already been on a plane, so we didn't have to worry about any first-time flyers.''

The Mavericks went 2-1 in the tournament.

Hooping it up

The Winter Basketball Showcase, which pits teams from the San Diego Section against teams from the Southern and Central sections, is back for a second year.

On Jan. 20 at Cathedral Catholic, Ramona's girls tip off the day at 11:15 a.m. against South Torrance, followed by a boys game featuring Parker and Mission Prep at 1 p.m.

Torrey Pines faces Fairfax in a girls game at 2:45 p.m., Brawley takes on Villa Park in a boys game at 4:30 p.m. and Cathedral Catholic hosts Santa Margarita in a girls game at 6:15 p.m.

The day's final game pits St. Augustine's boys against El Segundo at 8 p.m.

Tickets cost $6 and can be purchased by calling the CIF office at (858) 292-8165.

Milestones

El Camino boys basketball coach Ray Johnson needs 10 more wins to reach 600 for his career.

Johnson, in his 27th season with the Wildcats, is already the county's all-time leader in coaching victories, posting a 590-183 record for a winning percentage of .763.

Poway girls basketball coach Jay Trousdale is six victories shy of 400. Trousdale is 394-154 (.719) in 20 seasons with the Titans.

Top honor

Oaks Christian of Westlake Village was named the state's football team of the year by Cal-Hi Sports after the Lions downed Santa Rosa Cardinal Newman in the CIF Division III State Bowl Game at the Home Depot Center in Carson.

Despite its 15-0 record, Oaks Christian needed overtime to claim its 27-20 win over the Cardinals. The win, coupled with Concord De La Salle's 28-13 loss to Canyon of Canyon Country, was enough to give the Lions the state's top honor.

Terry Monahan is a staff writer for the North County Times. He can be reached at (760) 739-6648 or tmonahan@nctimes.com. Comment at nctvarsity.com.