Coach and Player of the Year : Gillette, Akins Hailed for Cage Feats

For El Monte High Coach John Gillette, it was the finishing touch in a dream basketball season.

Gillette, third-year coach of the Lions, was named the Los Angeles Times San Gabriel Valley Section coach of the year at The Times’ basketball awards ceremony in Harry Chandler Auditorium at Times Mirror Square this week.

Gillette shared the spotlight with Muir High’s Tony Akins, who was named San Gabriel Valley player of the year.

Akins and Gillette each received a trophy and certificate. The other nine players on the All-San Gabriel Valley team also received trophies and certificates, as did players on all-star teams from eight other circulation areas: San Fernando Valley, Westside, Glendale, South Bay, Orange County, Southeast, South Coast and Central Los Angeles. The awards were provided by the Times Fund.

All-Valley Team

The All-San Gabriel Valley team consists of Ron Draper of Pomona, Brian Graham of San Dimas, Michael Johnson of Baldwin Park, Efrem Leonard of Damien, Erik Rogers of Temple City, Phillip Sanchez of Arroyo, Greg Trygstad of Bonita, Bruce Wheatley of Nogales, Scott Williams of Wilson and Akins.

Guest speaker at the ceremony was Stan Morrison, USC coach who guided the Trojans to a share of the Pacific 10 Conference title with Washington and a berth in the NCAA playoffs. The Trojans lost to Illinois State in the first round and finished with a 19-10 record.

The El Monte basketball program was in disarray when Gillette became coach three years ago. The season before he arrived, the Lions had a 1-1-19 record.

Gillette has steadily moved the Lions upward. El Monte completed the transformation from Mission Valley League cellar dweller to a CIF title contender by reaching the 2-A Division finals.

First Since 1957

The Lions lost to perennial powerhouse Santa Clara of Oxnard in the 2-A title game, 57-36, but it still was a year to remember. It was El Monte’s first berth in a CIF title game since 1957.

El Monte finished with a 20-8 record, its best mark in recent years, and won the Mission Valley League title. Not bad for a team that did not start a player taller than 6-2 1/2 center Felipe Perez.

Not surprisingly, Gillette also was named Mission Valley coach of the year. Gillette’s overall record at El Monte is 40-34. El Monte was 6-14 in 1982-83 and 14-12 last season.

Some people considered Akins the top ninth-grader in the state when he enrolled at Muir. But it has taken the 6-5 1/2, 200-pounder the better part of his high school career to develop into an All-CIF-caliber player.

Knee Injured

Because of a severe knee injury suffered before his freshman year, his career almost ended before he got an opportunity as a starter. Akins had two operations on his left knee and sat out that season.

A three-year starter, he averaged 13 points and 11 rebounds as a sophomore and 15 points and 9 rebounds as a junior before blossoming into a standout this season.

Akins averaged 24 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists to lead Muir to the second round of the CIF 4-A playoffs and a 20-7 record. He was named to the All-Pacific League and All-CIF 4-A squads.

One of the most heavily recruited players in the area, Akins has listed his top choices as USC, Texas, Montana and the University of San Diego. The first day prep players can sign national letters of intent with colleges is April 10.