Rebibo's connection with players sets him apart
Valencia boys basketball coach Bill Bedgood announced his retirement from coaching Saturday after his team won the program's first CIF State title. His son, Bryce, will be a senior standout next season. But after 24 years of barking instruction, Bedgood has decided that moving forward he wants to be a dad, not a coach.
Bedgood delivered what might've been the best quote of the weekend.
“Being a dad makes you a better coach, but I don't know if being a coach makes you a better dad,” he said.
It's no wonder that Harvard-Westlake coach David Rebibo's best coaching has come in the last few years, since he became the father of a 4-year-old and 2-yearold.
“David being a father now, I think, has made him an even better coach,” Rebibo's wife Megan said.
Always on time. Always dressed well. Always carrying himself with class. Always keeping integrity at the forefront. Always prepared. Always winning.
David Rebibo is a coach you'd want your son to play for.
“Our daughter picks out his tie and socks before every game,” Megan said.
Harvard-Westlake's Brady Dunlap had a lot to say about Rebibo, raving about what he's done for the 6-foot-6, highly touted wing.
“He totally changed my game, my respect for the game and changed the way I prepare for a game,” Dunlap said.
Then Dunlap stopped and began to think about Rebibo's impact on his life beyond the hardwood.
“Coach Rebibo means the world to me. I can't even put into words what he means to me. It makes me emotional talking about it,” Dunlap added.
It's an example of how connected Rebibo is to his players, which was a foundational piece to the program's historic season, which was capped with a CIF State Open Division crown with a win over Santa Maria St. Joseph, 76-65, in Sacramento at the Golden 1 Center on Saturday night.
When parents are in search of a program, they're also in search of a coach who will mentor their children and prepare them for a fast-moving world.
“Work ethic. Morals. Integrity. David won't sell out just to win. Yet he continues to win at the highest level,” Harvard-Westlake athletic director Matt LaCour said. “These are all things that David is equipping our student-athletes with as they enter the world.”
Amy Johnson-Huggins' first moment of trust with Rebibo came when her son, senior Jacob Huggins, was a freshman in the program.
“We thought (Jacob) was going to play JV, but David moved him up to varsity. We weren't sure he was ready, but David knew he was,” Johnson-Huggins said. “That's what makes him a great coach, he sees things in players they can't see in themselves yet.”
“Once you commit to David, he fully commits to you,” she added.
Rebibo is in his 14th year as a high school coach. He spent six years at El Camino Real, where he took the program to three City finals and won a City title in 2012, before being an assistant for two years at the University of San Francisco. Rebibo was hired at HarvardWestlake in 2015 to replace Greg Hilliard, who piled up more than 600 wins, 13 league titles, nine CIF Southern Section championships and two CIF State crowns at the school.
Rebibo is certainly on his way to reaching comparable achievements.
In his eight years, he's tallied an overall record of 193-54, won the last five Mission League titles, claimed a CIF Southern Section Division I title in 2017, a CIF State Division IV crown in 2016, and of course, Rebibo got his hands on the crown jewel of California prep basketball, the CIF State Open Division trophy, Saturday night.
“It's the greatest accomplishment of my basketball career,” Rebibo said.
Rebibo's players wanted it for him, too. They also wanted to return all the love he's poured into them.
“I remember after years we've lost, looking at coach's face and seeing how sad he was,” Jacob Huggins said. “We'd always feel so bad. We did a TikTok after we beat Corona Centennial and he jumped in with us — it was a real wholesome moment.
“We knew he was happy. We wanted to give that to him.”