CdM, Mesa seek to add titles

Fresh from closing out two nail-biters last week, two coaches calmed their respective teams.

Hard to do after seeing their players raucously celebrate the victory that led them to their ultimate goal before the season: the CIF Southern Section championship game.

But the jubilation stopped for the Costa Mesa High girls’ basketball team and the Corona del Mar boys’ team.

Talk of the area’s two most storied girls’ and boys’ basketball programs grabbed the attention of the players.

In the locker room in Yucaipa, Costa Mesa Coach Jim Weeks choked up after joking that there was a mistake with the scoreboard.

The words came out that Saturday night, though, after guiding the third-seeded Mustangs to a 51-50 Division IV-AA semifinal victory against No. 2 Arrowhead Christian of Redlands.

Weeks told his Mustangs they were special because everyone contributed to help the program reach its fourth section title game in school history.

“This is the first time the school has done it without a superstar,” said Weeks, referring to guard Olivia DiCamilli, who was instrumental in leading Costa Mesa to its first three section title games, 1989-90, 1990-91 and 1992-93.

“We’ve made it. Let’s make sure we’re remembered.”

If Costa Mesa (20-10) beats No. 1 St. Mary’s of Inglewood (28-5) in the title game, which will be played either Friday or Saturday at the Walter Pyramid in Long Beach, it will be the Mustangs’ third championship. CIF officials will announce Wednesday what day the game will be played.

No one forgets a section winner, especially at CdM. And in his first year at the school, Coach Ryan Schachter recognizes what warrants recognition in CdM’s gym.

“Just CIF section championship banners,” Schachter said. “Four CIF banners are already up in the gym. The bar is set pretty high. A fifth one will look pretty nice.”

Schachter’s players agree. They bought into their coach’s resilient style, earning CdM its ninth appearance in a section title game.

The No. 4-seeded Sea Kings (21-7) play No. 2-seeded Renaissance Academy (28-1) of La Cañada Saturday at the Honda Center after beating No. 9 West Valley of Hemet, 67-61, in the Division III-A semifinals. Game time will be announced Wednesday.

The two coaches responsible for leading their teams to the championship game couldn’t be any different.

Weeks is in his 15th year as a varsity head coach, and Schachter in his third year.

But just as loud as they are on the sideline, they’ve been vocal about carrying on the tradition of their respective schools.

Weeks lived the glory days at Costa Mesa when DiCamilli dazzled most with her scoring prowess. As coach, he won the 3-A section crown when the Mustangs’ beat Rancho Alamitos, 51-49, in 1989-90. The following year, there he was coaching in another title game. This time Weeks watched his team fall to St. Bernard, 73-71.

Unforgettable times for Weeks, and the year after he stepped down as coach, the Mustangs won their second title in school history. But they went farther than ever before, winning the Southern California regional and playing for the state title.

Weeks still wonders what it would’ve been like to coach DiCamilli, a four-time All-CIF performer who scored 2,220 career points, for one more year.

“She’s a once-in-a-lifetime player,” Weeks said of DiCamilli, who went on to play at San Diego State and is now coaching women’s basketball at RHEMA Bible Training Center in Broken Arrow, Okla. “At 5-foot-9, she could play point guard, the wing or center, and she was brilliant. We don’t have a player of that caliber.”

What Weeks does have is depth. Ten players receive action. Adjusting to the high numbers took some time for the Mustangs to settle into after starting 4-8.

The rotation began working in late December. The Mustangs’ took off, winning 16 of their last 18 games to become the fourth team in school history to win 20 games.

The other three 20-win teams were led by, who else? DiCamilli.

Point guard Michelle Figueroa has played a huge part. The junior credits her development to assistant coach Evelyn Johnson, a former Costa Mesa guard.

“She would push me a lot,” Figueroa said.

It made sense because Johnson — known then as Evelyn Powers — missed her chance to play for a section title her senior year in 1998-99, Weeks’ first year back as coach after a six-year absence.

The Mustangs lost in the semifinals that season, and Saturday, Figueroa made sure Johnson wouldn’t miss coaching in her first section title game. She scored 13 of her team-high 17 points in the second half to lift Costa Mesa past Arrowhead Christian.

“This is a very special group, because I can say there’s not a Division I basketball player on this team,” Weeks said. “I have seven players coming back, so this could be the start of something. We could be back next year, too.”

So can the Sea Kings. Schachter said he knew before taking the CdM job after two years at Costa Mesa that the Sea Kings would be legit contenders the next two years.

Restoring CdM’s tradition looked promising. There was 6-foot-9 junior center Stefan Kaluz and junior point guard Erik Rask. The floor leader never made the court this year due to a knee injury Rask sustained while playing football.

He’ll be back, so will Kaluz and starting 6-5 junior guard Joe Eberhard, and bench contributors in sophomore guard Sean Donovan and 6-5 junior forward Ali Meshkin.

But Schachter says the time to win a championship is now. With how Kaluz is dominating, averaging 20.8 points, 12.1 rebounds and 2.4 blocks per game, there’s no arguing that.

Former CdM Coach Paul Orris has seen Schachter make the program his after Orris left his mark on it for 15 years, from 1987-2001.

Orris knows a championship team when he sees one. He guided teams in five section title game, including Division IV-AA titles in 1992-93 and 1994-95. He he came close to winning a third in 1998-99.

The Sea Kings lost to Chaminade, 45-40, in the Division III-A final at the then-Arrowhead Pond, now known as Honda Center.

Orris, now the Sea Kings athetic director, tells anyone who will listen about how the arena’s configurations can hinder a player’s depth perception on the court.

“Well, when you have a player like Stefan Kaluz, it really doesn’t matter,” said Orris, referring to the big man’s height advantage. “During my time as the head coach, we never had players the size of Stefan. We were guard-oriented, defensive-oriented teams. Sometimes it’s hard for me to watch, because I’ve been involved for so many years. I play armchair quarterback.”

One thing Schachter said he’s happy about is that Orris never talks to him about coaching.

The tradition, yes. Orris has educated Schacter on Sea Kings lore that includes from former standout players like Jeff Pries to Jack Tuz to former coach Jack Errion, who guided CdM to CIF titles in 1976-77 and 1980-81.

Corona del Mar boys

2006-07 -- CIF Division III-A final vs. Renaissance Academy

1998-99 -- Lost CIF Division III-A final to Chaminade, 45-40

1994-95 -- Won CIF Division IV-AA final over St. Bernard, 47-46

1992-93 -- Won CIF Division IV-AA final over St. Bernard, 47-46

1989-90 -- Lost CIF Division 3-A final to Dos Pueblos, 39-38 (OT)

1988-89 -- Lost CIF Division 3-A final to Trabuco Hills, 59-55

1980-81 -- Won CIF Division 3-A final over Tustin, 69-54

1979-80 -- Lost CIF Division 3-A final to La Quinta, 63-52

1976-77 -- Won CIF Division 3-A final over Ramona, 56-50

Costa Mesa girls

2006-07 -- CIF Division IV-AA final vs. St. Mary’s Academy

1992-93 -- Lost State Division III final to St. Francis, 50-43

1992-93 -- Won CIF Division III-A final over Rancho Alamitos, 72-55

1990-91 -- Lost CIF Division III-A final to St. Bernard, 73-71

1989-90 -- Won CIF Division 3-A final over Rancho Alamitos, 51-49