The Bay Area swept the CalHiSports top honors this week as Bishop O'Dowd's Ivan Rabb was named the state's player of the year and Serra's Chuck Rapp was named coach of the year,
Rabb led O'Dowd to the CIF State Open Division title, making one of two free throws with less than one second left to give the Dragons a one point overtime win.
This week the the 6-foot-11 center committed to Cal, delighting Golden Bear fans. He is also the first state Mr. Basketball (player of the year) from the North Coast Section and the East Bay since Jason Kidd of St. Joseph's in 1992 in 1991.
"Both are well deserved," said Leigh coach Patrick Judge who watches the area hoops scene closely. "Ivan Rabb's career speaks for itself and he also hit the winning free throw in the state title game. There are so many great players in the state, but the fact he led his team to the state title speaks volumes.
"With Chuck (Rapp) and the talent level he had and how hard they play and winning the Open and beating Moreau, that's a well deserved honor. He gets a lot out of his players and does a very good job and they run great stuff. It's great to see two award winners from Northern California and it's also great to see Rabb staying local and going to Cal."
Rabb led O'Dowd to the CIF State Open Division title, making one of two free throws with less than one second left to give the Dragons a one point overtime win.
Rabb averaged 24.5 points, 16.3 rebounds and 4.5 blocks per game. Friday Rabb will play at the Jordan Brand All-Star Game in the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
"It's a tremendous honor for him to be player of the year,” O'Dowd coach Lou Ritchie told CalHiSports. “When you can say you're player of the year in your state, it's a big deal, but this is California and there are really great players here. To be Mr. Basketball in California is absolutely incredible."
"It's pretty exciting, (the previous winners) those are all great guys,” Rabb told CalHi: “I didn't think I would be up there with those guys but I'm excited to be. Actually I didn't think I would be at this level with the nation's best players. Over time, I got better and started figuring it out, because when I first started playing I didn't take the game seriously."
Rabb and Tony Jackson (1982) are the only players from O'Dowd to earn Mr. Basketball honors. Jackson later played at DePaul after leading O'Dowd to the state title in 1981.
While Rabb's state honor could have been expected before the season, Rapp's not so much. Serra had three returning starters entering the season, but none that will be NCAA Division I players.
Nevertheless, the Padres upset St. Francis in the CCS Open title game and also stunned Moreau Catholic in a NorCal Open Division opener.
CalHi called Rapp "one of the most highly respected boys hoops coaches in the San Francisco Bay Area."
“I’ve been very blessed to have been able to coach at Serra High School,” the 1986 Serra graduate told CalHi. “It’s a tremendous school, surrounded by a supportive community that represents the very best in prep sports. The school is an amazing place where everyday moments turn into extraordinary events in young people’s lives. I’m so thankful for the many life-long relationships that I have formed through my years at Serra. The young student/athletes there are some of the finest people that I have ever known.”
Rapp, originally from San Bruno, is the second boys' state coach of the year to attend Serra and St. Robert's grammar school. The other was Steve Filios who earned the honor with St. Francis in 1995.
Serra overcame St. Francis in the section title game when junior forward Jake Killingsworth made three consecutive free throws with .8 seconds left for a 40-38 win.
The Padres then knocked off Moreau, ranked No. 12 in the state at the time, 79-51.
Serra finished 23-6 overall with its season ending with a 53-48 loss to Modesto Christian. Serra's tallest starter was 6-foot-4 Trevor Brown, who has earned a basketball scholarship to the University of Redlands.
Rapp was the Prep2Prep coach of the year for the 2013-2014 season after leading the Padres to second-place finishes in the WCAL and CCS Open Division. That team had just one returning starter.
