TITAN NOTES : Mt. San Jacinto Guard Signs to Play Basketball

Don Leary, an all-state guard at Mt. San Jacinto College the last two seasons, has signed a letter of intent to play basketball at Cal State Fullerton, Titan Coach Brad Holland said Friday.

Leary, a 6-foot-2 shooting guard, averaged 22.7 points as a freshman and 20.8 as a sophomore. He holds school records for three-pointers in a game (nine), season (144 this season) and career (269).

“He’s a great, great shooter,” Mt. San Jacinto Coach John Chambers said. “A lot of big schools weren’t sure if he could cover the big Division I off-guards, but he’s a good defensive player.”

Leary averaged 28 points at Banning High School in 1989-90 and signed with Northern Arizona, but he did not fulfill NCAA Proposition 48 requirements and decided to enroll in community college.

Chambers said several major Division I schools, including Cincinnati, were recruiting Leary this spring but backed off because Leary isn’t scheduled to complete his Associate of Arts degree requirements until the summer.

Leary was named 1990-91 most valuable player of the Foothill Conference over former Antelope Valley standout J.R. Rider, now at Nevada Las Vegas, and was a first-team, all-conference selection this past season.

Chris Brazier, 30, has joined the Titan basketball staff as a volunteer coach and is expected to be named a full-time assistant in June, Holland said.

Brazier, who played at Carson High School, Long Beach City College and Montana State, coached last season at St. Mary’s University and was previously an assistant at Santa Clara University and West Valley College.