SARATOGA – They’ve heard it from classmates, teachers and even counselors.
Sophomore Elijah Mahi says he and the rest of the West Valley College men’s basketball team has received plaudits from all sides after they powered the program to its first state championship last weekend.
“We’ve been getting incredible praise from everybody around the school for finally winning,” Mahi said Wednesday. “It’s been amazing, even though it’s only been a few days so far. It’s been amazing love from the school and everybody.”
Coach Danny Yoshikawa has also been swamped with congratulatory texts and emails from hundreds, including those from a slew of elated alums and former players, after the program’s 59-51 victory over College of the Sequoias on Sunday in Southern California.
“There’s been a lot of excitement,” Yoshikawa said. “When I woke up on Monday morning, there were like 500 text messages. It’s been insane.”
The final steps of the journey to a 33-0 record and championship glory took the Vikings far from their pristine Saratoga campus.
West Valley finished its perfect season at Mt. San Antonio College in Walnut, where the Vikings defeated Cerro Coso of Ridgecrest in the quarterfinals on Friday and then got past Yuba College in the semifinals on Saturday.
In the Saratoga powerhouse’s sixth appearance in the championship game, its third under Yoshikawa, the Vikings finally staked their claim as the state’s best.
Mahi scored a game-high 30 points in his West Valley finale before moving on to Santa Clara University.
The Toronto native admitted that maintaining the perfect record wasn’t the reason the team felt extra pressure to win.
“Coach Yosh, he’s been at West Valley for years. We were really trying to win for Coach,” Mahi said.
Yoshikawa had recently led the program to the 2022 state title game, a loss to City College of San Francisco.
He brought in key players such as Mahi and Clayton Valley Charter star Jeremiah Dargan that summer to form the nucleus of the championship team.
“This group of guys has been unreal,” the coach said. “They brought that championship approach every single night.”
The team celebrated the championship by spraying water bottles everywhere, to the point that Mahi described the postgame locker room as a “swimming pool.”
That wasn’t the only reason the West Valley team’s eyes got a little watery.
“I was crying tears of joy, and coach Yosh shed a couple, too,” Mahi said. “I think we all did.”
Winning it all was cause for celebration, but it was not a stunning outcome for a program with a rich tradition of success dating to the 1980s under former coach Bob Burton.
“That standard was set by coach Burton,” Yoshikawa said. “We’re just trying to carry on that tradition, a standard of excellence.”
Mahi isn’t the only player who will move on this summer. Dargan will leave the Bay Area for the University of Montana, and Yoshikawa says 6-foot-11 big man Shakir Odunewu has offers from four-year colleges and is expected to move on after a great freshman season.
“I’m meeting with my staff in 45 minutes to talk about the rebuild,” Yoshikawa said on Wednesday afternoon. “We’ve had our few days (to celebrate), but now we’re ready to move on.”
That rebuild won’t start completely from scratch.
Las Lomas alum Jake Davis, Oakland Tech’s Robel Zemmo and Independence graduate Donavyn Washington are all expected to be back for their sophomore seasons.
Mahi, who now considers the South Bay his second home, believes Yoshikawa should have no problem getting talented newcomers to join the state champs.
“I’d hope that a lot of young players think about West Valley, now that we’ve done what we’ve done,” Mahi said.
Source: www.mercurynews.com