Brea Olinda’s Jeff Sink likes to joke that he started coaching when Moses was still a point guard.
That longevity has also featured a ton of success, and the coach, who has won six state titles and is in his 32nd year of coaching girls basketball, passed another milestone last week.
With a 74-21 win over Highland of Bakersfield in the Wildcats’ season opener, Sink saw his career win total rise to 800.
“I was thinking about the game and realized I’ve coached 1,100 basketball games, and that’s amazing to me,” Sink said. “If you stay around long enough, have good kids and are fortunate, you’ll end up winning some games. It’s an amazing number and it represents a lot of hours in the gym.”
With his number now at 803 after four wins in the Ladycat Classic, Sink says he would like to coach four more years. Even though 900 wins seems likely in that time, Sink says he is not worried about the number. He is concerned about returning the Wildcats to prominence by winning CIF-SS and state titles.
Brea has won 18 CIF-SS championships, from 1986 to 2011.
“My goal is to get Brea back on top,” Sink said. “I think that’s possible and that’s way more important than a number of wins. How many do you really need?”
FAIRMONT PREP PRIMED FOR BREA
If Fairmont Prep hasn’t caught the attention of Orange County’s best girls basketball teams, they should take notice quickly.
The Huskies (5-0) were impressive in their Husky Invitational last week, sweeping the tournament, with a 41-36 win over Santa Margarita in the championship game.
“When we can play a Trinity League team (like that), that’s the first step for our program, for people to recognize that we can play,” Fairmont coach David Esparza said.
Up next for the Huskies is another tough test, but on the road this time, against Brea Olinda (4-0).
Cornell-bound senior guard Samantha Clement has led Fairmont early in the season and is the Huskies’ leading scorer. The arrival of transfer Cierra Hall on Jan. 5 should take the team to another level. Hall, a sophomore forward, led Cypress in scoring (14.2 points) and rebounding (8.3) last season.
“It’s going to make a good team that much better,” Esparza said.
ORANGEWOOD YOUNG AND GOOD
Orangewood Academy appears to be set on talent for years to come.
The Spartans (5-0) won the Vernie Ford Tournament at Fullerton last week by beating Beckman, Nogales, Valencia and Esperanza, all by double-digit margins and every player who logged a point is an underclassman. They also defeated Capistrano Valley, 75-17, on Monday.
Orangewood, a school with only 95 students, doesn’t have a senior on its roster and 5-foot-10 freshman forward Estafania Giner leads the team in scoring (20.6 points per game) and rebounding (11.8). Fellow freshman Jaqueline Saucedo is also averaging a double-double (11 points and 11.4 rebounds) and sophomore guard Carolina Montes is averaging 12.6 points and 4.5 assists.
Contact the writer: jbalan@ocregister.com
