Frank Burlison

Two of the best-ever high school boys’ basketball coaches can hit milestones if their respective teams win Friday night.

Mike LeDuc (PICTURED) of Damien – the second winningest coach in California history behind Gary McKnight of Mater Dei – can see his record go to 900-234 if the Spartans (17-3) win their 6:30 home Baseline League contest against Rancho Cucamonga (17-4).

LeDuc would become only the 32^nd boys coach, nationally, to reach the 900-victory plateau.

McKnight (1,096-104 going into his team’s Trinity League game against Servite at 7 o’clock Friday night) is just four victories short of becoming on the fifth boys coach with at least 1,100 victories.

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SPRINGFIELD, Ma. – Some 30 minutes after the top-ranked team in the country rolled to a 26-point victory, No.’s 2 and 3 took to the Blake Arena court Monday afternoon on the final day of the 17^th Spalding Hoop Hall Classic.

And, 90 or so minutes later, Mouth of Wilson (VA) Oak Hill Academy left the floor looking every bit worthy of its No. 2 standing behind Florida’s Montverde Academy.

The Warriors, fresh off a Bass Pro Tournament championship in Missouri Saturday night, moved to 21-0 behind their convincing 83-69 victory over No.

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Many of the top high school basketball programs along the west coast will be involved in “one-day events” on Monday in honor of Martin Luther King Day.

Among those are the “MLK Classic”, just outside of Las Vegas at Henderson’s Coronado High.

The six-game event culminates in the 8 p.m. clash between Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth, CA) and Las Vegas Bishop Gorman. Both squads are jammed with high-quality underclassmen, including Cassius Stanley (Sierra Canyon), along with a terrific senior in University of Washington-bound Tyler Bey (Bishop Gorman).

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SPRINGFIELD, Mass. –  Sunday’s second major day of the 17^th Spalding Hoop Hall Classic in Springfield College’s Blake Arena was as noteworthy for who was watching the action on the court as it was for who was playing.

Head honchos Dana Altman (Oregon), John Calipari (Kentucky) and Patrick Ewing (Georgetown) were among the college coaches who were in the building for at least a few of the eight games played Sunday that tipped at 9 a.m. and didn’t wrap up for 13-plus hours.

Altman was there to watch, specifically, future Ducks Miles Norris (the 6-foot-9 resident of San Diego who is attending Brewster Academy in New Hampshire as a senior) and Bol Bol (the 7-3 son of late NBA player Manute Bol, who played for Mater Dei in Southern California for the second half of last season before relocating to Findlay Prep in Henderson, NV, in the fall).

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Springfield, MA – Onyeka Okongwu of Chino Hills High in Southern California and Zion Williamson of Spartanburg Day School in South Carolina hooked up in a crowd-pleasing confrontation Saturday night to a cap the day’s eight games played in Springfield College’s Blake Arena for the 17^th Spalding HoopHall Classic.

Ultimately, Okongwu, a 6-foot-8 junior, came out on top ever-so-slightly, statistically, against the 6-6, 275-pound Williamson, who made a strong on-court presentation as to why he should be rated the No. 1 player in the national senior class.

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