Daily Pilot Boys’ Basketball Dream Team: Judah Brown led Pacifica Christian O.C. with maturity
Judah Brown is the fourth of seven siblings, the middle child.
All of Jonathan and Melissa’s seven children, whose ages range from 26 to 10, are currently living at the family home in Tustin. With the Browns on quarantine like everyone else due to the coronavirus, it has made for a bustling household.
“For us, it’s natural, because we do just hang out with each other all the time,†Judah Brown said. “We’ve been home-schooled for most of my life, so we’re just used to being around each other. It’s kind of hard to get bored. Everyone has ideas, everyone has games.â€
Judah, a senior at Pacifica Christian Orange County High, excels most at the game of basketball. He will be leaving quite a legacy when he heads north to play at St. Mary’s College next year.
Brown averaged team-best totals of 16.6 points and 9.1 rebounds per game for the Tritons (22-8, 7-1 in league). Pacifica Christian shared the San Joaquin League title with rival Fairmont Prep, which was the first league crown in the Tritons’ four varsity seasons.
Despite moving up five divisions from last year’s Division 4AA finalist showing, Brown helped lead Pacifica Christian to the Division 2A quarterfinals before losing 62-53 to La Verne Bonita.
Brown is the 2019-20 Daily Pilot Boys’ Basketball Dream Team Player of the Year.
Houston Mallette finishes with 25 points, leading the Tritons past the Mustangs 81-74 on Friday in the second round of the CIF Southern Section Division 2A playoffs.
He accomplished a lot in two years playing for Pacifica Christian. Brown played for Bermuda Dunes Desert Christian Academy as a freshman, then transferred to the Tritons as a sophomore but was ruled ineligible by the Southern Section.
“He’s such a selfless player,†Pacifica Christian coach Jeff Berokoff said. “He plays the game the right way. Anybody who watches him play really appreciates his basketball acumen. He makes the right pass, jump stops, makes the right play. He’s coming from the weak side or behind blocking shots. If he was more selfish, he could have scored a lot more points, but he realized with us this year that we had other guys that could score the ball. For him, he’s a big team guy and very selfless with how he plays.â€
At 6-foot-7, Brown was a wing player for Pacifica Christian, but Berokoff appreciated his versatility. At different times, the All-CIF Southern Section Division 2A selection would guard a point guard or defend in the post.
“He never said, ‘No’ or backed down from any challenge or task that we asked him to do,†Berokoff said. “He’s got a big heart for others and loves his teammates.â€
Pacifica Christian earned a standout victory when it beat Fairmont Prep 62-59 on the road in league play on Jan. 14. The victory was sweet for the Tritons, who lost four times to the Huskies in Brown’s junior year, including in the Division 4AA title game and the CIF State Southern California Regional Division III quarterfinals.
Judah Brown, Houston Mallette and Josh Sims are recognized on the All-San Joaquin League first team for leading the Tritons to a share of the league title.
“It just showed that we’re mentally tough,†said Brown, who had 18 points and 15 rebounds in the victory. “One reason we were able to win was that I felt like they were so focused on last year, and we were so focused on now. Last time was last time, and we’ll leave that where it is, but right now we’re coming out to win.â€
Brown, who made the All-San Joaquin League first team, is used to winning, and he hopes to continue that trend at St. Mary’s. But he’s also able to look back on his high school career with pride. He said the Tritons were close this year. They used the word “agape,†a Greco-Christian term for “love,†as a team slogan.
“It’s really cool to take a step back and see how far we’ve come from the first Pacifica team,†Brown said. “To be able to be a part of that foundation, it’s truly an honor.â€
COACH OF THE YEAR
D’Cean Bryant
Fountain Valley
Bryant, who played college basketball at Long Beach State, was formerly an assistant coach at Riverside King and Orange Lutheran. He has turned around Fountain Valley, a school which had never made the CIF semifinals in 53 previous seasons. The Wave League runner-up Barons got there this year, advancing to the Division 3A semifinals before losing 82-70 to No. 2-seeded Indio Shadow Hills. As the No. 15 seed, Fountain Valley also went on a memorable run to the CIF State Southern California Regional Division III semifinals before losing 78-58 at No. 11 Burbank Providence. The Barons finished the season ranked No. 16 in Orange County and are a good bet to get higher next season, as they graduate just one senior.
FIRST TEAM
Jeremiah Davis
G | Fountain Valley | Jr.
Davis was unquestionably the go-to player during the Barons’ historic season and fun to watch, always hustling in Fountain Valley’s fast-paced system. The All-CIF Southern Section Division 3A and first-team All-Wave League selection averaged 23 points, six rebounds and four assists per game for the Barons (20-11, 4-2 in league). His dunks would often energize his teammates and punctuate a win or a run. Davis will return as a senior leader for a team that will have high hopes again next season.
Levi Darrow
G | Newport Harbor | Jr.
Darrow had big shoes to fill, taking over as the Sailors’ starting point guard after two-time first-team Dream Team selection Sam Barela graduated and went to play at Chapman University. He delivered, averaging 11 points and four assists per game. Newport Harbor shared the Surf League title with Edison and advanced to the first round of the CIF Southern Section Division 2AA playoffs before the Sailors (22-7, 4-2 in league) lost 56-44 to eventual semifinalist Eastvale Roosevelt. Darrow also shared the Surf League MVP award, with Chargers junior guard Jackie Kwok. He had a penchant for big plays, scoring six points in overtime as the Sailors won at rival Corona del Mar 58-55 in the league opener.
Jake Covey
C | Estancia | Sr.
The 6-foot-3 senior’s primary sport is baseball as a right-handed pitcher, but Covey shined as the man in the middle on the basketball court for the Eagles. A four-year varsity player, the Orange Coast League MVP averaged 16 points and nine rebounds per game, helping the Eagles (27-4, 10-0 in league) win their first league title since the 2004-05 season. Covey, an All-CIF Southern Section Division 5AA selection, set the tone early in the season, with 23 points and 20 rebounds as Estancia beat Godinez 51-46 to win its Estancia Coast Classic for the first time since 1997. He also led the No. 2-seeded Eagles to the CIF Southern Section Division 5AA quarterfinals before suffering a 49-46 upset loss at Santa Barbara Bishop Diego, which snapped a 19-game winning streak.
Nolan Naess
F | Laguna Beach | Jr.
The 6-foot-7 junior really could do it all for Laguna Beach. Naess averaged 19.3 points, 6.1 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game for the Breakers. He also shot 55% from the field, and 44% from the three-point line. Naess was the Wave League MVP, leading Laguna Beach (21-8, 6-0 in league) to the league title and the second round of the CIF Southern Section Division 3AA playoffs. He was an all-tournament team selection in the Godinez Grizzly Invitational, the Gary Raya SoCal Elite Classic and the Torrey Pines Classic.
Houston Mallette
G | Pacifica Christian Orange County | Jr.
Mallette enjoyed another year of growth in his second season as the Tritons’ starting point guard. The 6-foot-5 Mallette didn’t mind taking the big shot and finished the season averaging 15.7 points and seven rebounds per game, as well as a team-best 4.9 assists and 2.1 steals. He also made 80 three-pointers and shot 40% from beyond the arc. Mallette, a repeat first-team Dream Team pick who has offers from multiple NCAA Division I schools including UC Santa Barbara and Penn State, earned All-CIF Southern Section Division 2A and first-team All-San Joaquin League honors. He will likely step into an even bigger scoring role as a senior for Pacifica Christian, which graduates its other three top scorers in Judah Brown, Charles Erving and Josh Sims.
Jack Stone
G | Corona del Mar | Sr.
The smooth-shooting Stone was the leader of a Sea Kings team that was young this year, made younger when starters John Humphreys and Ethan Garbers elected not to play basketball as seniors after leading the CdM football team to CIF Southern Section Division 3 and CIF State Division I-A titles. Stone, a 6-foot-2 shooting guard bound for Carnegie Mellon, averaged an area-best 23.6 points and 4.7 rebounds per game for CdM (16-11, 1-5 in Surf League). He was a first-team all-league selection and helped the Sea Kings win the Artesia Winter Classic, earning tournament MVP honors in the process.
SECOND TEAM
Position, Name, School, Year
F Connor Collins, Edison, Jr.
F Jace Knowles, Brethren Christian, Sr.
G Ethan Barnella, Marina, Sr.
G Brian Pacheco, Los Amigos, Sr.
G Roddie Anderson, Fountain Valley, So.
G Charles Erving, Pacifica Christian Orange County, Sr.
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