On the road, down five points at halftime, with a trip to the state tournament on the line, we were filled with confidence. We knew Modesto was tired and couldn’t keep up with us. We hadn’t played the best. We didn’t make our run yet. I said something. Elijah Mobley spoke. Elliott Mobley spoke. Even Richard Banks, and he’s just a freshman. Both our coaches. We knew the other team was tired. We were just getting our groove going. We got that. So it was just a lot of a lot of energy, a lot of positive talk. That’s when I knew we were going to state. Just the energy we had in there. No one was pointing fingers. We were all together.
The energy that got us through, you could feel it even before the game. That vibe of togetherness didn’t start at halftime. But as soon as we got on the bus for Modesto. We spent Friday night together in a hotel. We had the music blasting, of course. Playing EBK Jaaybo and NBA2K. Having a good time. The vibes were good. We, honestly, were all pretty positive. We knew the game plan going into the game was spot on. We knew we had to execute. Our style of play gives us an advantage. All we had to do was not think too much and not put too much pressure on ourselves because we would be playing in front of a big crowd.
So when the moment came, we were ready. We dominated the second half. Beat Modesto 78-69 and earned our spot in state. It belonged to us. So we took it.
But make no mistake. We’re here because of the losses.
We only had four of them. But they were close together. A well-timed rut that prepared us in a way winning may not have. We won 20 straight games to start the season and rose to No. 1 in the state. Then we lost three out of the next four.
It wasn’t because our earlier success wasn’t justified. But our conference let us know we had to get to another level. The Coast Conference-North is tough. We had some real battles. A few of them we lost.
But a lot of teams don’t make mistakes early in the year. Like Modesto — who we beat in their own house with a spot in the state tournament on the line — they’re a front-runner type of team. They started off really well. They didn’t play anybody tough in their conference. They didn’t play anybody that could give them a battle. So the fact that our conference was so tough, and we had to play teams like Skyline and City College of San Francisco and Chabot, we went through our rough patch. We didn’t worry about the miscommunication, the arguments and little stuff like that. We fixed those. We regrouped and we trended upwards in March.
This really feels like the perfect way to end this journey. Las Positas has been a life changer for me. I came out of Vanden High looking to develop my game so I can get to the next level. Coach James Giacomazzi told me he could help me get there. Not only are we three wins from being state champions, but the growth we’ve experienced together is going to have an impact for the rest of our lives.
I really appreciate this team and the bonding moments we’ve had. The team dinners or team breakfasts. I knew this season would be different from our very first team breakfast before our first home game. Kentrell Kelly and Damian McAllister made pancakes and eggs and grits. That was one of the best moments and different from last year.
Even on the trips, when we went to Chico and Sonoma and places like that early, the team felt different. We did stuff outside of the court, building those bonds with all the guys. I knew this season was going to be different just based on that, not even the basketball aspect.
It definitely wasn’t all pretty. Not off the court. On the court, things usually fall in place. But off the court, sometimes, I’ll just say we’ve had some moments where the guys didn’t have the right mentality coming into certain days. Whether that be due to playing time or certain off-the-court things. Some guys were feeling like they were not being used to their full potential. So we’ve definitely dealt with some bad practices, some arguments and miscommunications within the team. They were difficulties we did have to get over. But we had the right captains and coaches who did a good job of talking and making sure our team talked. We got past those things.
Sometimes, it comes down to something bigger than basketball. You have to look at the person. It really came down to having those real conversations with people, just either one-on-one or within the group. We wanted to build a brotherhood at the beginning of the year. That’s what we all said. So when it goes down, you’ve got to talk to them as brothers. Treat them like brothers. Listen to them. Check in to see how they’re doing and what’s on their mind. Find out why they’re acting a certain way. That’s why we were able to get past things so smoothly. Through it all, we’re brothers.
The road to state, and most importantly to where we are as a team, actually began in the 2024 playoffs. We finished 17-11 and earned a home playoff game. But we really struggled in conference. We only won four games. On our own home floor, we lost to Los Medanos 81-69. It was devastating.
We knew it was going to be a lot different coming into this year. We knew that we had a better team and a better chance. Our culture was way different this year compared with last year. We learned a lot about ourselves from what went wrong and what kind of team we wanted to be. Being a freshman, I didn’t really have the power. My word didn’t really mean as much as some of the sophomores. So I stayed a little quiet. I never really helped. This year, I wanted to play a big role in getting guys back. Having those conversations, being a captain, being a sophomore, dealing with the stuff last year and not really having an impact. We just wanted to handle it and not let last year affect this year. We definitely had some feelings on our shoulders for the sophomores knowing we wanted to get past the first round. We remember how embarrassing that felt. It was bad.
Now, we’re in the state championship tournament. Like I said before, we’re here because of the losses.
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TOP PHOTO: Sterling McClanahan, the sophomore leader, takes The Express inside the team on this historic playoff run.
