This year’s top player in the North Coast Section did not come out of the blue, and did not surprise anyone in Northern California with his domination on the court. Rather, Salesian’s James Akinjo took an already high set of expectations and somehow surpassed them, leading the Pride to a 30-win season, including an unbeaten run through the always-grueling TCAL-Rock schedule and an NCS Division III title.

As always, Salesian coach Bill Mellis set a daunting schedule for Akinjo and his teammates. The senior leader who is currently being courted by top Division I programs around the country made sure he delivered in one marquee match-up after another.

At the Gridley Tournament, it was a 26-point win over Capital Christian in the title game. At the Tarkanian Classic, Salesian took down Illinois 3A state champion Morgan Park-Chicago, Idaho 5A state semifinalist Post Falls, and Oklahoma 6A state champion Putnam City North. The lone regular season loss for the Pride also occurred at the Tarkanian, a six-point defeat to Nevada 4A state champion Bishop Gorman. Later, in individual showcases, Akinjo led Salesian to wins over Modesto Christian and San Joaquin Memorial.

“(James) came up big in the biggest games, on the biggest stages,” Mellis said. “Modesto Christian and San Joaquin Memorial were two huge performances this year. He is one of, if not the best, point guard we have ever had.”

In the win over SJM, at the Crush in the Valley showcase, Akinjo displayed his true all-around game, going for 22 points, nine assists, six rebounds, and three steals. In the earlier win over Morgan Park, Akinjo lit up the Illinois champs for 20 points and six assists. He finished the year averaging 21 points and five assists, including a 28-point performance in Salesian’s CIF Open Division loss to Folsom. He will also be defined by his lasting legacy to the Pride program.

“His impact on this program has been huge. One of the biggest things with James is he has been a great example of how to go about working on your game. He is the biggest gym rat I have ever coached,” Mellis added. “He would often leave our gym and go to 24-Hour Fitness, and then take shots for another hour. He has just been a great example of how to constantly improve all aspects of your game.”

After being honored as the North Coast Section Junior of the Year after last season, Akinjo lived up to those accolades and more during his senior year. As a result, we are pleased to honor Akinjo as our 2017-2018 North Coast Section Player of the Year.

Other players considered for this award include Bishop O’Dowd’s Naseem Gaskin, Bishop O’Dowd’s Elijah Hardy, and Las Lomas’ Nate Robinson.

Throughout his two decades of being a head basketball coach, Heritage’s Pat Cruickshank has seemingly only gotten better at his craft as time has worn on. This year, the veteran coach and athletic director guided the Patriots to unprecedented territory – back-to-back league titles for the first time in program history and the first-ever section title, as Heritage beat Clayton Valley to win the North Coast Section Division I championship.

Despite having won the 2016-2017 Bay Valley Athletic League title – the program’s first in seven years – Heritage entered this year with numerous question marks after advancing to the 2017 NorCal Division I regional semifinals. Sure, the Patriots returned league MVP Jonathan Ned, who captured his second straight award in 2018, but graduated all three members of their backcourt, along with their only true post presence. Heritage would start three underclassmen during the 2017-2018 season, one which started with nine straight victories before an overtime loss to Dublin in the championship game of the Don Nelson Classic.

One of those underclassmen was 5-foot-8 point guard Ezra Manjon, who took the reins in Cruickshank’s system after moving from Ohio. Manjon and sharp-shooting senior Jacob Williams ended up out-performing the previous year’s trio of guards which were catalysts for the Patriots’ success. And after the early nine-game win streak was interrupted by the loss to Dublin, Heritage quickly reached a career milestone for their coach, as he earned his 300th victory all time – with previous coaching stops at San Leandro and Liberty before Heritage opened – with a win over Urban in the opening game of the Bambauer Classic at Marin Catholic.

The Patriots fell to Serra-San Mateo in the semifinals of the Bambauer, but responded with an 18-game winning streak. The win streak included a perfect 10-0 mark in BVAL play, plus a four-game run to the NCS title, one which included blowout wins over San Leandro and College Park before a thrilling double-overtime win against Dublin in the semifinals and a back-and-forth win over Clayton Valley to cut down the nets.

“I could coach for another 30 years and never coach in another game like Wednesday night (against Dublin),” Cruickshank said after the win over Clayton Valley. “And then to have another thriller and to play for a championship, it was just an incredible stretch of basketball.”

The bond on this year’s team was evident in the reaction of the players to the section title, who were quick to credit the coaching staff for a successful run, and for a school-record 29 victories.

“Our coaching staff really deserved this title, especially being the first one in school history,” Manjon said. “They deserve a ton of credit for helping me to adjust so quickly after arriving here. They just spent so much time helping me through the beginning of the season, and to learn everything I needed to know.”

Cruickshank, who finished the year with 319 career victories, is quick to acknowledge the work of his assistant coaches, especially long-time assistant Rich Castellano. He laughed a bit at the notion of making it 400 career victories, but has continued to up the program’s non-league schedule again next year, in an effort to raise the bar for a team which will graduate a couple significant pieces but also return a handful of key contributors from this season.

For his ability to guide Heritage to unprecedented success this year, we are pleased to recognize Pat Cruickshank as our North Coast Section Coach of the Year.

Other coaches considered for this award include Las Lomas’ Brian Dietschy, Salesian’s Bill Mellis, O’Dowd’s Lou Richie, Stuart Hall’s Charles Johnson, University’s Randy Bessolo, and Branson’s Jonas Honick.

Naseem Gaskin

Elijah Hardy

James Akinjo

Jonathan Ned

Nate Robinson

Robby Beasley

Garrett Pascoe

Viktor Rajkovic

Justin Pratt

Ezra Manjon

Rob Prince

Benno Zecic

Max Anderson

Spencer Spivy

Riley Smith

Ben Baker