Last season, the Hawks won 20 games in a row to start the season and made the state tournament. They averaged 85.9 points per game, eighth highest in California.
Through seven games this season, with a roster that’s mostly new, the Hawks are averaging 92.5 points per game, the third highest in the state.
The Hawks’ offense looks potent so far this season. They’re scoring at a historic rate, and they are doing it with a completely new starting five. The Hawks dominated the Hartnell Panthers 108-62 on Nov. 22 in Salinas. It was their third consecutive game scoring 100 points or more, something Las Positas has never done under head coach James Giacomazzi.
But the competition hasn’t been great. So the question for the Hawks: How believable is their offensive potential?
The Hawks lost all five of their starters last season. The task this season is to find a new identity.
Last season, the Hawks leaned heavily on Elijah Mobley, the leading scorer, along with point guard Jorren Edmonds and three-point shooter Sterling McClanahan. This season, they are learning who they can turn to for reliable offense.
Two returners, Jaden Woodward and Richard Banks, have become the primary scorers so far this year. They’ve also added multiple new players to the rotation. Coming off a trip to the state tournament, and already No. 7 in the preseason rankings, the Hawks have big ambitions for this season. The strength of the offense will be a factor in determining how far they can go.
“We have players that buy into their role,” said Banks, the 6-foot-4 sophomore guard. “Nobody tries to do anything fancy. We just play together and keep it simple.”
Las Positas has opened the 2025-26 season with seven consecutive wins. They have won by an average 50.3 points in the last three games. The Hawks defeated Lassen 102-44 at home on Nov. 15. In the Hartnell Tournament on Nov. 21, the Hawks beat Monterey Peninsula 103-56. Add the Hartnell score, and Las Positas won its last three games by a combined score of 313-162.
The new starting five includes Woodward and Banks along with six-foot freshman guard Johnathan Chapple, 6-foot-7 sophomore forward Kodey Weary and 6-foot-9 freshman big man Ted Bigg-Wither.
The leading scorer so far is Woodward, the 6-foot-3 wing. Last season, he mostly came off the bench and averaged 9.8 points per game. Woodward led the team in scoring in four of the first five games and is averaging 15.6 points on 49.1 percent shooting. He scored 19 points against Contra Costa and 20 against Lassen.
“I do want to be the person everyone looks up to,” Woodward said, adding, “I definitely want to lead by example.”
Banks is another focal point of the Las Positas offense. He’s scored in double-figures in five of the seven games, averaging 10.4 points. He’s known as a defender, leading the team in steals this season, but has become one of the better shooters. He’s making a third of his three-point attempts.
One of the big additions, literally, is Bigg-Wither. He is one of two new players from Australia — along with his good friend Mason Bruce, a 6-foot-3 forward who comes off the bench — and is expected to give Las Positas an offensive presence inside.
“Absolutely,” Giacomazzi said.
Last season, the Hawks had one legitimate big man in their rotation: sophomore Mecca Okereke. But the 6-foot-7 big man was more of a defensive presence. He started 21 games and finished third in the Conference in blocks, but he averaged just 3.5 points.
This year, the Hawks have two bigs who can score inside in Bigg-Wither and Weary.
“We love our interior players,” Giacomazzi explained. “It’ll just make our perimeter guys get more open the better they do.”
The potency of the Hawks offense won’t truly be tested for a while. They’ve won six games by at least 25 points. The only close game so far was the championship game of the Tony Costello Classic where Banks hit a game-winner at the buzzer to beat Cosumnes River 78-77.
The rest have been teams not on the level of Las Positas, which ranked No. 7 in the state in the preseason poll by the California Community College Men’s Basketball Coaches Association. The Hawks’ next three games will come in the 46th Annual James Clark Classic at Cosumnes River in Sacramento. The Hawks will face Siskiyous, Shasta and Lassen. Siskiyous (3-5) lost two of its three games in the Costello Classic. Shasta (0-9) has lost each of its games by an average of 14 points. The Hawks beat Lassen by 58 points on Nov. 15 at Las Positas.
With such a new roster, these games — even the not-so-competitive ones — still hold value for the roster as it develops a rhythm and identity. Everyone on the team is in a new role, even the returners.
The Hawks will have 10 games under their belt before the schedule delivers the first real test. On Dec. 17, Las Positas plays at West Valley, which ranked No. 4 in the state in the preseason poll. Then Giacomazzi and the Hawks will have a better picture of how good this offense can be.
