NCS Freshman of the Year
AIDEN MAHANEY
In his first high school game, Aidan Mahaney dropped in 16 points during a loss to James Logan. From there, the six-foot-two freshman standout was off and running, and did not stop until he had helped lead Campolindo to the first CIF boys basketball title in school history.
Mahaney, who entered his freshman campaign as a known commodity to the Cougars, finished the year with nearly 16 points and four rebounds per game. Not only that, but he played huge down the stretch for Campolindo, defying any possible cases of the jitters for a first-year high school athlete. Playing at the Golden 1 Center during the state final against Colony, Mahaney put the exclamation mark on a fantastic season, scoring 19 points on 7-of-10 shooting to go with nine rebounds and four assists.
“Aidan came in with a lot of hype, but lived up to all of it by the end of the season,” said Campolindo coach Steven Dyer. “He came up big in some huge games down the stretch, and has a very bright future in front of him.”
His performance in the title game was no outlier in the post-season. In the regional quarterfinals, he scored 22 points in a 74-72 win over Sacramento, hitting four three-pointers, a category in which he ended up leading the team for the year. It was also his eighth game of the year with 20 or more points, which included a 23-point performance in the NCS Division III title game loss to Salesian and a season-high 26 points during a key 71-67 DAL-Foothill victory over College Park.
All the while, he also had to figure out his role on a team which had returned key figures from the year before.
“He played on the ball and off the ball, and had to learn how to play with his older brother, Carter,” Dyer added. “He improved dramatically throughout the season, and that was reflected with how he finished the year, and how our team did so with him.”
Indeed, the games in which Mahaney struggled the most were also the ones in which the team struggled. That included a season-low two-point effort in a 53-51 regular season loss to St. Patrick-St. Vincent, a game in which the freshman went 0-for-4 from beyond the arc. The Cougars, however, got to face St. Pat’s again in the NCS semifinals.
Once again, the game was tense and close. This time, however, Mahaney dropped in 18 points, including four three-pointers, to go with six rebounds and four assists as Campolindo prevailed, 70-68. In the section and regional playoffs combined, Mahaney scored in double figures every game and twice came tantalizingly close to a double-double, capping a year which also saw him recognized with first-team all-league honors.
For his efforts throughout the season, we are pleased to recognize Aidan Mahaney as the Prep2Prep North Coast Section Freshman of the Year.
Other players considered include Freedom’s Jordan Pope, Salesian’s Austin Johnson, De Anza’s Broyce Batchan and International’s Giovanni Maddalozzo.
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