New basketball coach hired for Lake Roosevelt Jr./Sr. High

The school district has hired a new head boys' basketball coach.

Lake Roosevelt High School Coach Mario Adams arrived in the coulee area last week and plans to be a substitute teacher in the district.

"He is passionate about helping develop young men into responsible adults and successful athletes," Athletic Director Rich Black said of Adams in recommending him to the school board for confirmation.

Adams, 25, comes to his Lake Roosevelt assignment from California where he had built up seven years' coaching experience as an assistant coach at his state- champion high school and in AAU ball.

Adams comes from De La Salle High School, near San Francisco, California,where his senior-year team won the state basketball championship in its classification. He later acted as assistant coach in his old school.

He attended William Jessup University, a small Christian college nearby, earning a degree in history.

Black described him as "hard working, enthusiastic, and energetic."

Adams laughingly notes that his nickname at the school was "45" because he had a vertical jump of 45 inches.

The year his team at De La Salle won the state high school championship, it was listed as the number-three team in the nation. Adams played small forward.

His mentor, coach Frank Allocco, won 17 league championships and two state championships in his 18 years at De La Salle. Adams speaks highly of Allocco, who had an unusual gift of raising the character levels of the boys who played for him. Allocco took on an assistant coaching position at the University of San Francisco in May this year.

Raider boys may find their new coach refreshing. "In order to be successful on the court, players must like each other and care about each other," Adams says.

His goal, Adams says, is to help young men reach their potential and build on any natural talent they have.

Basic fundamentals are the key to success, along with hard work, and that's what players will hear when they get together with Adams sometime this month. Actual practice won't start until much later.