The Hawks ended their regular season 19-12 and made it the third round of the CCCAA state regional playoffs
Hawks’ coach James Giacomazzi’s list of accomplishments at Las Positas can take up every line of a college-ruled notebook.
An elite eight appearance, most conference wins in school history and coaching all-state players are just some of the many accomplishments that will be put on his office walls.
But this season might have been his biggest milestone.
Although they lost in the Sweet 16 of the California Community College Athletic Association state regional playoffs, the Hawks 2022-23 season was defined by the team’s ability to overcome adversity. On the road to their deep playoff run, the Hawks have faced many hiccups and tribulations which included player suspensions, injuries and a no spectator rule that kept fans from cheering from attending the games.
But what came as a result of these difficulties was opportunity. Giacomazzi was forced to go deep experiment with different lineups and strategies just to keep the Hawks afloat.
Several players stepped up this season to become leaders of the team, both on the floor and in the locker room.
“They’re a resilient bunch,” Giacomazzi said. “We’ve had to pivot a lot with different things and circumstances. And we just kept going, so we couldn’t make excuses.”
Sophomore Jordahn Johnson was the Hawks best player throughout the season. He finished in the top 25 of all California JUCO players in points, rebounds and blocks per game.
The big man from Mountain House averaged 18.6 points and 11.6 rebounds per game and was named to the All-State team this past week.
One of the Hawks best players throughout the season was Jaden Phillips. The freshman guard averaged 11.2 points per game on 42% shooting from behind the arc.
On Jan. 20, Phillips was involved in an altercation after a game against Foothill College which resulted in him being suspended for the rest of the season, according to Isaiah Victor.
His loss was a big blow to LPC as he was one of their best two-way players throughout the season and was now off the team completely.
But as the Hawks did all season, they stayed resilient.
Sophomore Isaiah Victor stepped into the role of LPC’s main perimeter threat. Victor averaged 17.2 points per game on 45.1% shooting from the field while also playing in every game this season.
In the final six games of the season, Victor averaged 21.6 points per game and often took on the assignment of guarding the opponent’s best player on the defensive end of the floor.
LPC entered the playoffs as the No. 13 seed in the NorCal Regional tournament. They were heavy underdogs coming into the postseason as an already depleted team lost one of their top players.
In their first game, the Hawks hosted Diablo Valley College, a team that defeated them at home by nine points earlier in the season.
In a back and forth game, LPC snuck away with a 84-79 win.
In the second round, the Hawks traveled nearly three hours to face No. 4 seeded Yuba City College. The 49ers were riding a 16-game winning streak and breezed through their conference.
In the second half, the Hawks rallied from a nine-point deficit to beat Yuba and pull off the biggest upset in school history as they defeated Yuba 79-76.
After the win, a joyous LPC squad was ready to march their way to another Elite 8 appearance. Their next matchup: No. 5 seeded West Valley College.
After learning about a Sweet 16 matchup against West Valley College, Victor said, “It’s our revenge tour right now.”
In their Sweet 16 matchup against the Vikings, the Hawks battled, but fatigue and injuries played a big role as the Hawks fell short in Saratoga 88-75.
Despite the tough effort, Johnson felt that the season did not go the way he planned.
“I will say that this season, especially compared to last year, it was definitely a disappointment for me,” Johnson said. “But I think myself, Brandon (Fisher), Isaiah (Victor), that’s two years now that we had successful trips (to the Sweet 16).”
Through all the adversity, the Hawks pulled through to have a pretty successful season. Despite the loss toward the end of the season, no one would have expected the team to make it this far into the playoffs while playing with just six or seven players on most nights.
Giacomazzi showed that even with a short rotation, the Hawks were able to get it done on both ends to get them to the Sweet 16.
He said he hopes this season will be a stepping stone into the future.
“I think we got a good class potentially coming in,” Giacomazzi said. “We’re excited about people that we’re working with, and that we’re talking to and I think, really, the lights are still bright. We’re really excited about what’s the future.”
Nathan Canilao is a freelance writer for the Express. He was the former sports editor and editor-in-chief. Follow him @NathanCanilao.
