Sterling McClanahan, Coby Christensen and Jaden Woodard readied their apartment in mid-December before their guests’ arrival. Their residence, about five minutes from campus in Livermore, made for an ideal meeting spot.
They set up the video games — College Football 2025, NBA2K25 and, of course, Fortnite. The snacks of choice: barbecue Lay’s, Hot Cheetos and store-bought cookies. To quench their thirst: lemonades, teas and a selection of sodas. As for the food, butter chicken was on the way, courtesy of their teammate Zach Shamieh.
The snacks and vibes imply a college frat hangout. This was, however, much more exclusive than a fraternity. Just 15 people were invited to this event.
A pre-Christmas team dinner for the Las Positas men’s hoop squad. Which explained the lack of booze.
“We just talked, played Fortnite,” McClanahan, a sophomore guard, said. “Just had a good time bonding with each other, cracking jokes. That really, from the beginning of the year, made us a little bit closer.
“It really helps when you have a brotherhood and a bond outside of basketball. It makes the basketball part really fun.”
They have indeed had a blast on the court. The Hawks set a new program record with 20 consecutive wins to start the season. They earned the school’s first No. 1 state ranking in men’s basketball on Jan.13. They’ve remained at the top for four weeks.
They’ve hit a rough patch since Having lost three of their last four in their first slump of the season, they will drop in the Feb.10 rankings. Still, they figure to be a high seed in the postseason.
None of their success is happenstance. It’s a product of intentionality, of a concerted effort to improve how the pieces fit.
Building this quality of a team took diligence. Head coach James Giacomazzi is the executive chef — manipulating the ingredients, experimenting with recipes — who cooked up a contender. Last season, after compiling the fewest wins since he took over at Las Positas in 2015, and following a gut-punching home loss in the first round of the 2024 playoffs, Giacomazzi got back into the kitchen.
The bounce back has been epic. These Hawks are making the case to be the best team in school history. His recruitment class, meticulously aligned with the returning players, added freshness like a batch of produce. It might be the most prolific team he’s coached. Ever.
His sophomores have embraced leadership. Their multiple scoring options give them life in any situation. The length and athleticism filling their roster, along with their mentality, has given them a defensive identity — one that prides itself on being intense.
But the secret sauce is chemistry. The success they are experiencing was cultivated. This group is invested. A brotherhood on and off the court. They don’t just play for each other, they care for each other. Cook for each other. Play video games together. Enjoy life together.
With the vibes settled, and all of the Hawks pointed in the same direction, their talent and execution has blossomed. Earning No. 1 waa part of the harvest.
And they aren’t satisfied by wins, or by school records. They want trophies. Their eyes are set on the NorCal title.
Maybe even a state title.
“Our goals haven’t changed,” Giacomazzi said. “We wrote that we wanted to try to have an opportunity to win a conference title — it’s never happened here. Then, when you win a conference championship at our level, being that it’s the number one ranked conference in the state, you’re going to get a really good seed… and all that gives you a chance to continue to play good basketball beyond, deep in the playoffs.”
LEADERS OF THE NEW SCHOOL: Top, left to right: Elijah Mobley. coach James Giacomazzi and Sterling McClanahan. Bottom, left to right: Mecca Okereke, Jorren Edmonds, Elliot Mobley. (Photos by Ian Kapsalis/ The Express)
The heart of the Hawks roster is their sophomore leadership. Among them are the Mobley twins. Elijah is the scoring and emotional leader on the floor. When he makes a big shot, you will hear about it. For a while. Elliot is more stoic, the calm side of the sibling duo.
But the title for most stoic goes to sophomore guard Jorren Edmonds. His heart rate never surpasses 60 bpm, the normal rate found while sleeping. At least that’s what it feels like watching him operate in the clutch this season.
Mecca Okereke is the team’s rim-protecting big man. He’s a gentle giant, standing at 6 feet 7 inches, with a deep, calming voice. On the court he anchors the Hawks’ defense, with his 1.9 blocks a game second in the conference.
McClanahan is the voice. He tries to be a calming presence when guys start to lose their cool, on or off the floor. It’s a role he wanted to assume this year, taking some of the freshman additions under his wing — including his two roommates Christensen and Woodard.
A quality they all share is their goofiness. They like to mess around when given a chance. When they are competing, they are as intense as a pack of wolves. Fast. Aggressive. Off the court, they turn into a set of younger brothers, constantly messing with each other. It’s a key attribute to their connection.
“You can’t manufacture,” Giacomazzi said, “and you can’t fake that relationship.”
It’s one element they lacked last season, one of the biggest disappointments in Giacomazzi’s tenure — togetherness. It led to finger-pointing and skirting accountability. They lost their first six conference games and were forced to play catch-up. Amidst the collapse, some seemingly gave up, saying they didn’t care about the team.
The returning sophomores vowed for it to be different.
“Last year our bond wasn’t as strong,” Elijah said. “You could kind of see it on the court.”
“Everything we do off the court translates to on the court,” Elliot added. “We know what each other like to do, we know where each other are gonna be like 99% of the time. Even just the little things, like eating breakfast at a teammate’s house — that goes a long way.”
The disappointment from the previous season, along with the lack of synergy, saw Giacomazzi change up his recruitment style. Talent and expected production remained at the forefront. But he needed more. He needed characters. Humility. Work ethic. Good kids who would come in and mesh with his large second-year batch, all while helping form a new culture.
“It was a primary focus,” Giacomazzi said. “Not only in talent, but we wanted good kids that we knew could get along, (players) that guys would want to be around.”
The youth are key to the depth of his recipe. It’s given him multiple options and lineup adjustments to tinker with. It sparked them finding an identity on defense. One that prides itself on speeding up their opponents into mistakes.
To do so, they facilitate a full court press, with freshman guard Richard Banks leading the way. His lengthy, wiry 6-foot-4 frame, along with his seemingly natural instincts, make him a menace to ball-handlers and passing lanes. Jorren Edmonds is alongside him, the pair averaging a combined 5.8 steals per game. The Hawks lead the state with 14.4 steals per game.
That identity is a culmination of their off-court union. To play this brand of defense takes everyone buying in. The pace they require of themselves demands multiple bodies. Expecting five guys to run like they do, body up like they do, is asking a lot. The challenge becomes feasible when the roster has hungry options that can fill in for the starters.
“Coach James told us earlier in the year that we found our personality as a team,” Edmonds said, “which is going to be just overly aggression no matter what happens… It speeds them (the opposition) up to a pace where they don’t want to play.”
Improvements from the second-year Hawks have been pivotal to the offensive success. Elliot Mobley looks more secure on the ball, turning it over at half the rate of last season. Okereke has nearly doubled both his rebounds and blocks per game. Edmonds has improved his free-throw percentage by 11.5% while scoring 4.4 more points per game.
The most drastic improvements can be seen in Elijah Mobley and McClanahan.
Elijah’s scoring average has jumped from 14.7 per game to 19 while improving his shooting percentage from the low 40s to 51.6%. When the Hawks need a bucket, he’s a safe bet.
McClanahan has become a killer from deep. Last season, he made 29% of his 3-pointers. He’s taking the same amount per game but is making 38% this season. It’s turned him into a lethal part of the offense. Outside of him, the Hawks don’t have another consistent threat from behind the arc. It’s proven to be an issue — when McClanahan’s shot is off, the Hawks long-range attack is all but nonexistent.
Elijah, McClanahan and Edmonds have come up huge in critical situations.
“Big players make big time plays,” Banks said. “We know whoever’s taking that last shot is most likely going to make the shot.”
BIG DAWGS: Elijah Mobley and Sterling McClanahan are the leaders of the Hawks and their individual improvements have been central to the team’s success. (Photo by Ian Kapsalis/ The Express)
For the team to reach their goals, they are going to need that clutchness. They need their defense to continue to give their opponents nightmares while jump-starting their own offense. They are going to need to find more consistent 3-point shooting to better combat some of the elite shooting offenses.
They are going to have to prove they can overcome adversity. After starting the season perfect, their last two games showcased their vulnerability. Back to back losses by double digits have brought them down from favorites to challengers.
Issues have creeped into the locker room, questioning just how deep their connection runs. The losses test whether their bond is legit or if it stemmed from their wins. According to the team, they believe these recent struggles are only bringing them closer.
With four games until the playoffs, they will have to find the answer quickly. The postseason figures to be even more daunting.
The Hawks will have to deal with even more powerhouses. No. 4 West Valley, the undefeated champions of last season, inhabit the same Norcal region. No. 3 Mt. San Antonio are set to host the state tournament.
“We play great teams that are going to go at us every single night,” McClanahan said. “We’re just playing together, we just work hard and if we have a target on our back, that’s fine. We’re fine being the hunted. All good.”
***
TOP PHOTO: They won 20 in a row to start the season. The shot to No. 1 in the rankings. Despite their current struggles, it’s still clear the best of the Hawks is as good as any team in the state. (Photo by Ian Kapsalis/ The Express)
Jakob Arnarsson is the Sports Editor of The Express. Follow him on X, formally Twitter, @JakobA2004
