Simply Stunning

Deciding state champions in five divisions does little to settle any debate about which high school has the Southland’s top boys’ basketball program.

Would it be Westchester, ranked No. 1 this season? Santa Ana Mater Dei? Compton Dominguez? Fairfax?

In terms of turning out consistent winners, though -- at least 23 victories for 16 consecutive seasons with five Southern Section titles and 13 league championships in that span -- there’s another school that deserves more than a passing mention.

Glendora.

The Tartans were the only Southern Section boys’ team above the Division V level with a perfect record -- 24-0 -- before losing to Chino Hills Ayala on Wednesday. Glendora, 25-1 after a 60-44 victory over Diamond Bar on Friday night, is ranked No. 18 in the Southland by The Times and is top-ranked in Southern Section Division I-A.

The victory over Diamond Bar is an indication that the Tartans are on their way to adjusting to the absence of guard Justin Sapp, who was the team’s second-leading scorer before becoming academically ineligible at the semester break. The Ayala game was Glendora’s first without the 6-foot-2 junior.

It’s no surprise that the Tartans quickly bounced back. They still have top players Davon Roberts and James Powell. Roberts, a senior, was averaging a team-high 20.9 points and 9.1 rebounds going into Friday’s game, and Powell, a junior, led the Sierra League with 78 steals and 127 assists.

And, perhaps most important, Glendora still has Coach Mike LeDuc.

In 17 seasons at Glendora -- and nine before that at La Verne Damien -- LeDuc’s blueprint for success has remained constant. He prefers fundamentals to flash, ball fakes and pivots to dunks, teamwork and togetherness to individuality.

He rarely sits while coaching, preferring to stand with his arms folded, intently analyzing the action.

None of LeDuc’s teams has ever had a shoe contract, he steers clear of the AAU summer travel circuit, and he rarely checks Internet scouting reports. He also prefers developing home-grown talent.

“It does us a lot more good to focus on ourselves,” LeDuc said. “That way we aren’t distracted by the outside elements.”

Glendora’s annual success starts months before each season. Since 1979, the team has bonded during a summer weekend tournament at Westmont College near Santa Barbara.

Players spend the long hours away from the gym discussing team and individual goals. By the time they return home, each knows his role for the coming season.

“Coach would ask us what we thought our role was, he would ask the team what the team thought your role was and then together we would develop our roles,” said Mike Mehanna, captain of Glendora’s section champion in 2001.

Tokens of the team’s success decorate LeDuc’s office on campus. Photos of every team he has coached -- from his first seasons at Damien through this season at Glendora -- adorn the walls.

There are familiar faces: Phoenix Sun guard Casey Jacobsen, former UCLA and NBA sharpshooter Tracy Murray and the third-leading scorer in California high school history, Cameron Murray.

“They have quality and hard-working players who buy into LeDuc’s system,” said Mike Bateman, coach at Claremont, a longtime Baseline League rival. “It makes Glendora the top program it is.”

LeDuc is proud of more than his on-court success. Many former Glendora players have gone on to successful careers in medicine, law, business and education.

The coach rattles off the accomplishments of players who were his 12th men with the same enthusiasm he has for his NBA players:

“Kurt Bonds is a lawyer in Vegas,” LeDuc said. “Matt Hansen a dentist in Northern California and Brent Jacobsen a doctor in Temecula.”

Team goals almost always include league and section championships.

The loss of Sapp surprised some team members, but LeDuc sees the potential for positive: Other players will have to step up.

“It’s like, how does any team handle an injury?” he said. “Any time you have an adversity, you play on and everyone contributes a little more.”

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Times staff writer Peter Yoon contributed to this report.