Magnolia's Anderson selected girls coach of the year
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The Sentinels coach's work ethic led the girls team to the Division III state final.
People described Hall of Fame boxer Henry Armstrong's style of fighting as “perpetual motion.”
The all-time great, who fought in the 1930s and '40s, attacked his opponents with a whirlwind of punches from all angles and never let up.
“Perpetual motion” would be an apt description of Magnolia's Michael Anderson, who has spent the past two seasons as the coach of Magnolia's boys and girls basketball teams.
He approached every game and practice with an exuberance of energy that was infectious.
Anderson found himself in an unusual position a day after the Magnolia girls' amazing season came to an end with a 48-33 loss to Sacred Heart Cathedral of San Francisco, the top-ranked team in the nation, in the CIF Division III state championship game.
“I don't know what to do with myself,” Anderson said.
There were no more practices or games. There was no video to study and break down.
But he had earned a rest after coaching more than 150 games, including summer league, regular season and playoff games during the past two years. He also earned The Register's award as the 2007-08 girls basketball coach of the year.
Anderson inherited a girls program that was the doormat of the Orange League when he took over in the 2004-05 season. He also was there for the arrival of a trio of talented freshmen – Jhakia McDonald, P.J. Hanson and Brittany Pennell – that would help him turn the Sentinels into one of the top programs in the county.
Anderson entered his team in the toughest tournaments he could find and scheduled the best nonleague games he could get in an effort to toughen up his team and get his players used to the kinds of teams and conditions they would face in the playoffs. Anderson said the Sentinels didn't always win those games, but they always learned from their defeats.
Magnolia has gone 89-34 in the past four seasons, winning four league titles and 39 consecutive league games. The Sentinels reached the Division III-AA finals in 2005-06 and the Division III-AA semifinals the past two seasons.
After getting upset by Summit of Fontana, 49-46, in the Division III-AA semifinals, Magnolia got new life when it received a berth in the Southern California Division III Regionals.
The Sentinels traveled to No. 2 Hanford in the first round and came away with a 76-72 victory. Magnolia traveled to No. 6 Summit for a rematch in the semifinals and pulled out a 45-41 victory. The Sentinels faced top-seeded Muir of Pasadena, which had beaten Magnolia in double-overtime earlier in the season, in the regional finals. Magnolia pulled off a 40-39 triumph to earn a spot in its first state championship game.
“I am so proud of these girls,” Anderson said, who also was quick to credit his assistant coaches Jim Perez, Riki Harada, Damian Kello and Kitina Kitchens. “It would have never worked without those guys (the assistant coaches), especially with two teams.”
Contact the writer: carias@ocregister.com
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