PIRATE  UPDATE

THE 2003-2004 Reedley Pirates Boys Basketball season

The 2003-2004 Reedley Pirates basketball team hustled their way into the hearts of Reedley basketball fans by producing one of the finest seasons in local hoops history. Led by a young coach with a dream and a plan, this year's Pirates etched their names into Reedley basketball lore.

The Pirates completed the season with a 25-4 record, the best mark in school history. Reedley captured the North Yosemite League title, the team's first league crown in twenty years. When the Pirates defeated Hoover to win the Central Section Division 11 Valley Championship, it ended a drought that dated to 1966. 

Coach Darren Minami took over the reins of Reed ley's basketball fortunes prior to the 2001-2002

season. Minami, a 1991 Reedley High School graduate, believed that Reedley basketball could be

revived and that the local gymnasium could rock again. So he went to work. Minami did his homework

and unearthed offensive schemes to fit his players. He preached the virtues of tireless defensive effort

and an unselfish attitude. He surrounded himself with an excellent coaching staff. Minami persuaded

his own high school coach, Barry Warmerdam, to assist him. He engaged Jorge Delport as an assistant coach and long-time friend Tony Fernandez as his head JV coach. The coaching staff's willingness to work hard and unselfishly set an example for the entire team.

The Pirates' squad was composed of twelve players, nine of them seniors. Prior to the season, the

returning players gathered at Coach Minami's home for a meal and a talk. Together they talked about

the upcoming season, sharing their hopes and aspirations.The players decided they wanted to leave it

all on the court, that they wanted to end the season with no regrets. Thus the team motto Was coined.

"no regrets."

The idea took hold. As the season began to unfold it was abundantly apparent that the values of

teamwork, sportsmanship, accepting one's role, hard work, and mutual respect ran deep in the hearts

of the players and coaches. The team had obvious leaders. Seniors Jon Lepp and Pepijn Dekker were

co-captains. Both played hard-nosed defense all season long. Lepp, a three-year starter at point guard,

consistently hounded high-scoring guards into bad nights. Dekker gave away inches every night but

consistently won the battle for position, rebounds, and crucial points.

Somebody had to score points and those responsibilities fell primarily to Colin Hofer, Jon Wallen, and

Abel Lucca. Hofer, only a junior but a starter since his freshman year, proved himself one of the most

versatile players in the Valley. Hofer displayed the ability to post-up and score with a delicate turn-

around jumper as well as launch his beautiful three-point shot Wallen, a senior, did everything that

could be asked of him. Despite being a marked man throughout the campaign, Wallen led the team in

scoring and in rebounding. Lucca, a senior transfer from Florida, injected speed and a fearless attitude

into the Pirates game.

Minami was unafraid to substitute. Senior Jordan Penner made an invaluable contribution to the

team with his hustle, floor play, and defense. Jose Alvarez. also a senior, grabbed clutch rebounds at

critical points during some of the team's biggest games. Senior lan Brinkman held his own underneath

the basket while sophomore Andrew Busch showed promise for the future with his nifty baby hook.

Senior Chris Ochoa made 50% of his three point shots and fellow senior Francisco Gomez was a steady presence on the team. Junior Stephen Tasy rounded out the squad.

The Pirates began the season with an eight game winning streak that included capturing the champi-

onship of the Kingsburg Tournament. The team was winning but given the competition everyone

wondered just how good the local team really was. When the team lost a disappointing game to Delano

and an overtime contest to a hot-shooting Tulare team during the December Polly Wilhelmsen Tournament in Visalia, the jury was decidedly still out. The Pirates could score points and they played hard, but could they win the big game?

In early January the big three of Lucca, Hofer, and Wallen combined for 62 points in a rout at Clovis East. In the next game the Pirates went on a torrid 19-0 run in the third quarter and Lepp harassed Kingsburg's Josh Kaprelian as Reedley demolished Kingsburg. The pre-season was over and the Pirates were 12-2 as NYL action began.

League action began inauspiciously. Abel Lucca made two huge free- throws with eight seconds left as the Pirates opened league action with a one point win at Roosevelt.  

Then the team trailed into the fourth quarter before pulling away behind Wallen and Hofer to a ten

point win at McLane.

Everything fell into place when the Pirates entertained Fresno in their first home league game.

Reedley's defensive pressure rattled the Warriors, forcing the mistakes which led to a flurry of transi-

tion baskets. By night's end Hofer had 24 and the final score was a convincing 82-41. The Pirates

were 3-0 in league and 15-2 overall, and the Edison Tigers were coming to town.

The Pirates knew they needed a win over Edison to earn respect. When the Tigers went on a 16-0

run in the second quarter things didn't look good. But the Pirates battled back and finally took the lead

on a basket by Pepijn Dekker with less than three minutes to go. The Pirates hung on for the victory,

which Minami declared was "a great win for the program."

The win over Edison set up a showdown at Sunnyside for first place. At night's end the Pirates were

on the short end of a 60-58 score. But in spite of the defeat the Pirates left town with the confident

sense that they could play with anybody. In the corming weeks they would prove the point. Reedlley

reeled off decisive wins over Roosevelt, McLane, and Fresno to set up a retum match-up with Edison

in the Tigers'gym.

That night Reedley came to play. The Pirates jumped off to an early lead and increased the margin to

32-15 by the half. During the first half, at one key point, tan Brinkman stretched high into the Edison

night and tipped in a rnissed shot, one of the very few Pirate tip-ins on the season. But in the second

half, the tide turned. The Tigers began a comeback and poitguard Jon Lepp went to the sidelines

early in the third quarter with four fouls. That was when Jon Watlen asserted himseff. Wallen took over

the point and handled the ball flawlessly. He grabbed rebounds at the defensive end and scored

clutch points. By night's end the Pirates had an eight point win thanks to Wallen's 23 points,14

rebounds, and superb ball handling.

The victory at Edison set up a February 17 match-up with Sunnyside "for the NYLtitle. The Pirates'

overtime two point win will be long remembered. A standing room only crowd packed the gym. The

atmosphere was electric and the game was taut. Things looked bleak late in regulation but Jon Wallen

scored four points in the closing 90 seconds to send the game into overtime. In the overtime Abel

Lucca made a huge three pointer, Col in Hofer scored a couple of big baskets and Wallen cemented

the game with free throws. On the night, Wallen scored 35, clinching league MVP honors in one of the

great clutch performances in Reedley basketball history. At game's end the scoreboard  read 74-72 as

fans flooded the court and confetti filled the air.

With the NYL title in hand the Pirates earned the number two seed for the Division II Valley play-offs.

The Pirates easily defeated Foothill in the first game of the play-offs and then overcame a stingy North

Stars zone defense to advance to the semifinals. The Pirates hosted an athletic East Bakersfield

Blades team in the third round. Playing before a big crowd the Pirates found themselves down by 12 in

the third quarter. But the team dug down deep and mounted a comeback. By the end of the third

quarter, when Wallen poured home a three at the buzzer, the Pirates were ahead by four. When the

Pirates survived a tense fourth quarter for the win, they found themselves with the opportunity to win

their first Valley championship in 38 years,

It was an opportunity the Minami-led Pirates didn't hesitate to seize. Playing furious defense and

clicking on offense, the Pirates played 32 minutes of great team basketball in defeating Hoover for the

Valley Championship 73-51. After the game the Pirates posed for countless pictures with the champi-

onship trophy, cut down the nets, and roamed the hardwood accepting hugs, backslaps, and high

fives. After all these years, it was a beautiful sight to behold in Reedley, and a fitting tribute to a group

of players and coaches who months ago agreed that they wanted to end the season with "no regrets," and then went out and made their dream come to life,"