These are the best of times if you're seeking a girls basketball coaching position.
There are many jobs open, including St. Joseph Notre Dame which is best known for its boys teams, but also had a girls team that went 15-13 this season and only loses three seniors to graduation.
Chris Ponduk, who is also the St. Joe's athletic director, has resigned as girls hoops coach to concentrate on his A.D. job.
“I’m stepping down,” Ponduk said. “To do both jobs at the highest level is very difficult, so I had to pick. Whoever gets the job will be getting a nice program."
The St. Joe's girls program wasn't much until Julie Guevara got a hold of it. She won a North Coast Section title and eventually turned it over to Ponduk who also claimed an NCS crown.
The school has already received 4-5 applications for the job and, making it more enticing, there are a few teaching openings for next year.
“We’d love to get an on-campus coach,” Ponduk said.
There are also girls hoops openings at San Ramon Valley, Carondelet, Convent of the Sacred Heart, International, OMI College Prep, Kennedy-Fremont and Petaluma.
Reconstructing history: Former El Camino baseball coach Carlos Roman contacted me Monday and, at the urging of family and his former players, he's trying to figure out his career coaching record at the Colt helm. Knowing Roman, he'll also be mortified that I'm putting this into print.
Anyway, I've reached out to Central Coast Section assistant commissioner Steve Filios and Glenn Reeves of the Bay Area Newspaper Group and we're trying to help Roman out. He has the records from 2005 through 2012 from MaxPreps, so we're working on 1985 through 2004. If anyone happens to know the final record of any of those Colt teams, we're all ears.
Getting crabby: Speaking of El Camino baseball, the Colt Crab Feed fundraiser is Friday, May 2 at the Municipal Services Building, 33 Arroyo Drive in South San Francisco.
The event is a benefit to aid the Colt teams and pay for the newly upgraded field. Tickets are $50 apiece. More information: Vince Lopiccolo at v_lopiccolo@yahoo.com
Service Friday for Booker: One of the great characters of Bay Area basketball will be remembered Friday when Mervyn Booker's memorial service is held at 11 a.m. at Providence Baptist Church, 314 South 12th Street in Richmond, Calif. He died Wednesday or complications following surgery to rid his body of a flesh-eating virus.
Booker, known as both "Cell Phone" and "Mad Hooper," starred at Balboa High and coached at McAteer High. He later became a long-time assistant coach to Pete Pontacq at Skyline College.
Questions regarding the memorial should be directed to Mr. Booker’s niece Terrie, 415-602-6378.
One year later: Monday marked the one-year anniversary of my sister-in-law Linda Murphy's passing. April 12 of last year she was out with some friends at lunch when she suffered a brain aneurysm. Two days later - on April 14 - she was gone at age 60. Known for her big, bright blue eyes and ready wit, she was wife to my brother Jim, mom to former Serra athletes Dan and Chris Murphy and beloved by many.
I'd only been on the job at Prep2Prep for a few months, having moved up here from Riverside. The day before Linda was stricken I covered a softball game at Mills High between the Vikings and San Mateo. I dropped by my brother's house after and I'm glad I did because that was the last time I saw Linda, the Mercy-Burlingame High grad. Hard to believe she's gone, but there's a tree planted in her memory at Mercy if you're ever in those parts.
Feeling draft: Former Archbishop Mitty basketball star Aaron Gordon is holding a press conference Tuesday to announce his future plans, the Arizona Star newspaper has reported after contacting Gordon's mother, Shelly Davis. Many expect the University of Arizona freshman standout to enter the NBA Draft, but nothing is official yet.
Gordon, a 6-foot-9 forward, averaged 12.4 points and eight rebounds per game for Arizona and was named the Pacific 12 Conference freshman of the year.
He is projected as the eighth pick in the June NBA Draft by Draft Express.
He's back: Eric Luescher has been hired as the new Silver Creek football coach and will be starting his second stint in that capacity.
“Eric was the head coach here for about 15 years and has taken the last 3-4 years off,” said Silver Creek athletic director Arsalan Niazmand. “We are excited to have him back and look forward to him reinvigorating the program and getting back to some of the successes we’ve had in the past.”
Chris Bolding resigned as the Raiders’ coach after a 3-7 season in 2013.
Also, Gunderson is advertising its football job after Steve Papin recently vacated the position.
Domingo leaving Hoyas: Stephen Domingo, who left St. Ignatius College Prep a year early to enroll at Georgetown, is leaving the Hoyas, according to Jon Rothstein of CBSSports.com.
Domingo, 18, has scored 29 points in 40 games while seeing limited playing time.
The 6-foot-6 guard was a star at S.I., known for his three-point marksmanship. He played for USA’s U17 team following his junior season in high school.
