Ex-star now in charge

Nancy Hatsushi, who was a standout point guard at Costa Mesa High and Orange Coast College, has been named the Costa Mesa girls’ basketball coach, the school announced Tuesday.

Hatsushi takes over for Jim Weeks, who retired at season’s end.

“I’m very excited,” Hatsushi said. “It’s always where I wanted to go back. I am very excited to get this opportunity to coach there.”

After excelling at Costa Mesa High as a player, Hatsushi went on to lead OCC to its first state championship and was named the state tournament’s MVP in 2003. She left as OCC’s all-time leader in three-point field goals (154) and three-point accuracy (45%). She then played at Concordia for two seasons. She worked as a graduate assistant at Concordia for two years afterward.

“I think she’ll be tremendous,” OCC women’s basketball coach Mike Thornton said. “She’s pretty much been a coach all her life. When she played with me she was a coach on the floor … She’s a hard worker. Everything she does she does it to the best of her ability.”

Thornton also said one of his assistants, Leigh Marshall, who played at Costa Mesa and was on the state title team with Hatsushi, was recently named the girls’ basketball coach at El Modena.

Hatsushi, who is working on a masters degree, is a teacher at Washington Middle School in La Habra, but received a reduction in force notice. She said she’ll finish out the year and then, just as several teachers statewide, will be cut.

A teaching position at Costa Mesa, “is up in the air,” she said, but she remains excited.

“I think that’s a great choice,” Weeks said of the hire. “She was an outstanding player. She’s been helping us the past three summers. I’m looking forward to having her take over.”

Weeks said assistant Evelyn Johnson will remain in the same role with the Mustangs.

“I always had an interest in coaching at Costa Mesa,” Hatsushi said. “I had a great experience there and that’s why I always wanted to coach there.”

This past season, Costa Mesa finished 19-9 and won its second Orange Coast League title. The Mustangs reached the second round of the CIF Southern Section Division IV-AA playoffs this past season and played in the title game in 2007.

STEVE VIRGEN may be reached at (714) 966-4616 or at steve.virgen@latimes.com.