Posted: Nov 07, 2023
MR. 350
Praise came pouring in from across the state after Las Positas College men's basketball coach James Giacomazzi earned a landmark 350th career win in the Third Place game of the Tony Costello Tip-off Classic Saturday, Nov. 4.
The young Hawks defeated Giacomazzi's former team, Cosumnes River, 76-67, in the contest that connected the dots for the highly respected Giacomazzi, the Las Positas Athletic Director and former president of the California Community College Men's Basketball Coaches Association (CCCMBCA) from 2021-23.
"Thank you to all who have reached out," Giacomazzi stated on social media. "… To hear from so many players brought me down memory lane which was awesome. And to hear from numerous coaches I have the utmost respect (for) was a treat."
The Hawks, ranked No. 14 in a state preseason CCCMBCA poll and seventh in NorCal, improved to 2-1 on the season with the victory over CRC. The Hawks fell to American River, 96-76, in the semifinals of the championship bracket.
All-tournament pick Alex Martin led the way against Cosumnes River with 27 points and 13 rebounds. Elliot Mobley added 11 points and 6 assists. Sterling McClanahan had a double-double with 10 points, 10 rebounds, and five steals.
Giacomazzi, a Livermore resident, has a 148-62 record at Las Positas and a reputation for transferring players to the four-year-level. The Hawks have qualified for the playoffs and had an All-State Player every season since Giacomazzi arrived.
The 2022-23 team advanced to the "Sweet 16" of the state playoffs, marking the fourth time the Hawks have achieved the feat in seven years.
Clearly, it has been an emotional experience for Giacomazzi these past few days since he reached the 350 mark. He has heard from numerous current and former players, many of whom credit him with having a positive role in their lives.
"It was really cool to hear that they've dedicated a lot of their success to things that I've talked to them about or I've showed them in terms of the mentorship part," he said. "It really touched me that I've had that kind of impact on our previous guys. That was really cool."
He credited his "terrific" assistant coaches, past and present, with much of his success and considers them "friends and family ... A lot of these guys are all head coaches now and very successful. Obviously, they made me a lot better," he said. "... We've had some many great, great coaches that coached with me and made me a lot smarter and made me better."
He also takes pride in having an over 90 percent transfer rate since he started coaching in 1998 as an assistant coach and 2004-2005 when he got my first head coaching job.
"I'm really proud of that and how guys were moving on and going to college on scholarship, and then getting degrees and becoming great, great products of society with jobs and families and all those things," he said.
He gave the Tony Costello Tip-off Classic this season high marks for having quality teams. His current young squad is on the right path. The Hawks regrouped after the disappointing loss to ARC and got past a quality Cosumnes River squad.
"We showed some resilience. Our young team, we're learning on the job," the coach said. "We're gonna have some ups and downs. We're progressing and getting better, but we still have a lot more work to do, but that's exciting as well."
Before coaching at Las Positas, Giacomazzi enjoyed success coaching at Cosumnes River in Sacramento for 11 years, winning two Big 8 Conference titles and reaching the postseason six times. He was Big 8 Coach of the Year twice. Previous to that, he was assistant coach under legendary Percy Carr at San Jose City after starring as a player at UC Riverside, San Jose City and Washington High-Fremont.