Brand-New Day for McKnight

There was no grimacing when Cedric Bozeman turned over the ball on a needless behind-the-back move that went awry.

There was no outburst when Ricky Porter stepped out of bounds along the baseline.

Mater Dei Coach Gary McKnight had long since decided that, win or lose Saturday’s state championship game, he was going to enjoy the moment. So he let his players’ transgressions slip like water through his fingers.

This was not the same fiery McKnight who took the Mater Dei job 19 years ago and led the program to regional prominence during the 1980s and ‘90s. This McKnight was still intense, but he was quieter now, more serene.

That’s what surviving cancer has done for the coach.

“This is my fifth year of being cancer-free, and that’s supposed to be the magic number,” said McKnight, who had two ribs removed during his battle with the disease, which he contracted from exposure to asbestos. “I feel very fortunate. Every day is a good day.”

Saturday was a great day for McKnight. His Monarchs won their fourth Division I state title under his guidance with a 57-54 victory over Modesto Christian at Arco Arena in Sacramento.

Afterward, all McKnight wanted to talk about was his team, and how it stacked up against his three other state champions.

McKnight said his first team to win state, the 1987 edition, was basically the LeRon Ellis Show, and that perhaps never had he coached a more dominant player. The 1990 Monarchs were perhaps his most selfless, complete team. And the 1995 team, which included stars Schea Cotton and Kevin Augustine, was perhaps his most high-powered bunch.

But McKnight then added that this year’s team, with the UCLA-bound Bozeman and California-bound Jamal Sampson, stacked up favorably against the 1995 team because it had a much deeper bench.

“It’s a great group,” McKnight said. “Cedric, I had for four years and he’s such a treat, such a gentleman. Jamal, I’m only going to look back and say, ‘How good could he have been if he were healthy for three years?’ I think he would have been one of the most dominant players this area has ever seen.

“Ricky Porter and Brian Baker and all the boys--they’ve been with me a long time, and it’s a real special group.”

With a career record of 576-51, which means he has won 92% of his games, McKnight is poised to break former Katella Coach Tom Danley’s Orange County record of 618 victories within two years.

McKnight could break former Santa Clara Coach Lou Cvijanovich’s Southern Section record of 829 victories in nine years if his teams win an average of 30 games a season. This year’s Monarchs finished 33-2.

But McKnight, 48, said there’s no guarantee he’ll stick around that long.

“I have mixed emotions,” he said. “At times, I think I’d like to stay here until I’m 65 and they carry me out of the gym. It depends. If something right came along, or something that attracted me . . .

“My problem is, I’ve always loved baseball. Baseball is my sport. I played baseball. And somewhere along the line, I’d like to coach baseball at the varsity level.”

At Mater Dei?

“It’s crossed my mind,” McKnight said. “But [former Coach] Bob Ickes did a great job, and Burt Call is in his second year and doing a good job. Down the road, I could see myself switching over and coaching a little baseball.”

In the meantime, McKnight is focused on keeping things in perspective.

“Maybe I’m just older,” he said. “I’m 48 now, and I finally passed my waist size. Game time, I’m as intense as anybody. But I really have fun with the kids and enjoy them.”

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Staff writer Gary Klein contributed to this story.