Laguna Hills’ Brown Joins 500-Victory Club in His 32nd Season as a Head Coach

Perhaps it was fitting that it took an overtime victory last week for Laguna Hills Coach Dave Brown to notch his 500th career win.

Longevity has been the trademark of Brown’s 32-year tenure, which is longer than that of any other active boys’ basketball coach in Orange County. Brown is in his 12th season at Laguna Hills and spent the previous 20 at Fountain Valley.

With the Hawks’ 40-38 overtime victory over Dana Hills Wednesday, Brown joined former Katella Coach Tom Danley, former La Habra Coach Tex Wallis and active Mater Dei Coach Gary McKnight as the only county coaches with 500 or more victories.

Brown’s milestone wasn’t secured until Laguna Hills forward Matt Donat converted a layup with two seconds left in the overtime period.

“It was a great feeling for us because we were able to contribute to his 500th victory,” senior guard Chris Lee said. “We were very satisfied.”

After the game, Hawk players presented their 58-year-old coach with a congratulatory plaque, and parents held a celebration on the team’s home court.

“It really meant a lot,” Brown said. “It was neat that they recognized it the way they did.”

Brown said his 500th victory was most meaningful not because it recognized him but because it acknowledged all the people who have made his career so special since the first day he set foot on the hardwood at Fountain Valley as a 26-year-old during the 1969-70 school year.

“The reason it has significance to me is it represents so many good people that I have been around,” he said. “I have had great student-athletes and good administrators and a long list of great assistant coaches.”

Brown remembers his best players by decade. The 1970s brought Dan Malane, George Barrios and Roger Holmes, who’s now the Marina coach. Jeff Christensen and Ralph Jacobs were the stars of the 1980s, and Josh Pierson was the prize of the 1990s. Brown estimates he has sent about a dozen players to Division I universities.

“There were 100 others who were just as important, though,” he stressed.

His most memorable victory came in 1981 with Fountain Valley in a regular-season game against L.A. Verbum Dei, which Brown characterized as a Mater Dei-caliber team of that era. The Barons trailed by a point with a few minutes left, and Brown felt that his team had lost its legs and momentum.

But Fountain Valley stuck around and got the ball back, trailing by one, with the clock running down. Christensen took a pass deep in the corner and fired a last-second shot.

“Somebody snapped a picture just as the ball was going through the net,” Brown said, “and it showed the Verbum Dei players calling time out with no time on the clock. That was very memorable.”

Brown’s memories of the playoffs haven’t been as enjoyable. The farthest his teams have advanced in the Southern Section playoffs has been the quarterfinals. Last season, Laguna Hills lost to top-seeded Artesia in the Division II-A quarterfinals but was awarded a victory after the season when the Pioneers were forced to forfeit their championship for using ineligible players.

Brown builds his teams with neighborhood players, kids who aren’t always the most talented but give everything they have. This year’s team is no exception.

“We’re sort of an overachieving group,” Brown said. “No Division I recruits or anything like that, just kids who play hard and play together. That’s what we try to emphasize.”

Said Lee: “Coach stresses the fact that basketball is a life lesson, not just a game. It teaches you what to do under pressure and how to handle situations and advance to the next step.”

The basis for Brown’s durability, he said, has been his ability to put basketball in perspective.

“I think I’ve been able to, over the years, get my priorities in line,” he said. “My priorities have always been God first, family second and the job third. It’s like Coach [John] Wooden talks about, the balance of life. When you have that kind of balance in your life, that’s how you can do it.

“The other thing is I’ve been at two great schools where I’ve had great kids to coach. The fun in coaching is what you’re doing with the kids. I’ve been blessed with great kids to coach. I think those are the two key things that have kept me coaching.”

Brown said he’s enjoying this season as much as any he’s ever coached. If it stays that way, he said, he might have difficulty retiring.

“I feel like we’re still competitive with other people. As long as that is going that way, I will continue coaching.”

LOOKING AHEAD

The spotlight this week falls on the Anaheim Convention Center, home to the Holiday Basketball Classic.

Villa Park and El Toro could meet in the championship game at 8 p.m. Saturday, but there will be plenty of other good matchups.

Today’s best first-rounder could be the 6:20 p.m. game between Magnolia and Mission Viejo, a couple of programs on the rise.

The second round on Thursday offers a couple of intriguing possibilities. Los Alamitos could get a chance to avenge its season-opening loss to El Toro, and Villa Park might face a tough test against guard-oriented Brea Olinda.

Unlike last year, parking is included in the price of admission, which is $6 for adults and $3 for students.

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BOYS’ BASKETBALL TOP 10

Orange County Sportswriters’ Poll

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Pos. School (League) Rec Pts 1. Mater Dei (Serra) 5-0 50 2. Santa Margarita (Serra) 5-0 41 3. Villa Park (Century) 5-0 40 4. El Toro (South Coast) 6-0 33 5. Ocean View (Golden West) 4-1 32 6. Woodbridge (Sea View) 4-2 28 7. El Dorado (Empire) 4-1 17 8. Newport Harbor (Sea View) 6-1 12 9. Capistrano Valley (South Coast) 1-0 10 10. Sonora (Freeway) 4-2 8

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Others: Katella (5-0) 2, San Clemente (5-0) 2