The Riverside Press-Enterprise
Leduc reaches career milestone
Damien coach notches 1,000th victory on a very familiar court
GLENDORA » It was the perfect setting for one of the biggest achievements in California coaching history.
Damien boys basketball coach Mike Leduc returned to the sidelines of Glendora High on Wednesday, and it was much more than a trip down memory lane for the Tartans’ former coach.
Damien’s 82-47 victory over Glendora gave Leduc his 1,000th career coaching victory, making him the second boys basketball coach in California history to reach that milestone. Mater Dei’s Gary Mcknight is the other coach with more than 1,000 wins.
Several of Leduc’s former players, friends and coaching peers were in attendance for the historic night, and for it to happen at a place that is so special to his heart made it even more meaningful.
Leduc’s coaching greatness took shape at Glendora, where he built the Tartans into a powerhouse and made wearing sweatpants his own iconic look.
Leduc coached at Glendora from 1987-92, took a season off, then returned from 1994-2014. During Leduc’s tenure, the Tartans won four CIF Southern Section titles, made seven trips to the section finals, won 15 league championships and won 692 games.
Leduc, who grew up in Riverside and attended Ramona High, is in his 42nd season as a varsity coach. He started at Damien, where he coached from 1979-86, then returned to Damien for the 2015-16 season after leaving Glendora.
Leduc was presented the game ball and several awards after the final buzzer sounded, and as the Glendora home announcer rattled off his long list of accomplishments, one could tell Leduc, who doesn’t show emotion very often, start to get emotional.
“It’s very humbling, and I’m honored and very pleased and proud,” Leduc said. “And obviously to have former players and current players around, that’s what makes it one of those memorable things I won’t forget.”
Then in true Leduc fashion, he was ready to move on.
“It’s been a lot of years and I’m happy that this thing is over with,” Leduc said. “I get tired of people asking how many wins you got, so now we can make it stop and get back no normal. But it was a great night and very humbling. It’s all good.”
While Leduc will likely finish his career at Damien, where he has plenty of more history to write, it was at Glendora where his legend began to grow, and where he coached some of the Southland’s all-time greats such as Tracy Murray and Casey Jacobsen.
Murray, who was at Wednesday’s game, still holds the CIF-SS record for points in a season with 1,505, which he set during the 1988-89 season. It was also a season in which Murray, who played at UCLA and in the NBA, averaged 44 points a game. Murray remains one of the section’s career scoring leaders with 3,053 points.
Murray said he hadn’t been to Glendora in a while, but he wasn’t going to miss Leduc’s big night.
“We’re all a part of it. He coached us, he was our leader, he was our coach,” Murray said of Leduc. “Not only am I here, but Casey’s here, Adam (Jacobsen) is here, and if my brother (Cameron Murray) wasn’t out of town, he would be here.
“It’s important because this is his legacy and we’re all a part of it. And we’re supporting him on his special day. Support is everything. Coach was there for us and we’re here for him. Josh Giles was here, James Powell was here and Damien greats were here. We all support our coach.”
Perhaps no pairing was more memorable than Murray and Leduc when it comes to Glendora basketball.
“People don’t remember, but he was winning at Damien before he came to Glendora,” Murray said. “But he came to Glendora and was the perfect coach for us and the perfect coach for me and I’m glad that I was one of his players to help launch this thing into the atmosphere and play a part in his legacy.”
Casey Jacobsen also had a brilliant career at Glendora and won a championship with Leduc. Jacobsen, who played at Stanford and in the NBA and is a basketball analyst, played at Glendora from 1996-99. He is the CIF-SS second all-time leading scorer with 3,284 points.
“This is a big deal,” Jacobsen said. “I don’t think coach Mike Leduc or Gary Mcknight started out in coaching to set records like this. They got into coaching because they love to teach the game and teach young people and have an impact on their lives.
“But this is an incredible milestone for sure. It’s a celebration of coach Leduc’s passion and life’s work.”
Jacobsen went on about how Leduc teaches the game, how his read-and-react offense was tailor-made for scorers like him, and the unique offseason work that was required to help prepare him for college ball at Stanford.
And he kind of laughed that there was pressure on Leduc to win on Wednesday and get the milestone with so many in attendance expecting it and waiting to congratulate him.
“Are you kidding, coach Leduc has thrived under pressure his whole career,” Jacobsen said. “But let’s be honest, 1,000? To score 1,000 points is a lot, but to win 1,000 games? It’s hard to wrap my brain around that.
“When I’m gone, and when coach Leduc is gone, they will still be talking about Mike Leduc and what he’s done. It’s a legacy milestone and it’s going to be really difficult for anyone to join Mike or Gary in that club.
“Their names and their legacy are going to live on forever and I’m just so proud that being someone from Glendora, who went to the public high school in Glendora, got to play for one of the greatest high school coaches ever. How lucky was that?”
While Leduc plays down his accomplishment outwardly, Murray knows deep down he feels it.
“He does, coach is competitive,” Murray said. “In the moment this is a distraction, because he’s trying to win games. But when everything is said and done he’s going to look back and realize he’s left quite a legacy. It may not hit him now, but it will, and he has a lot to be proud of. He’s left a tremendous impact on all of us.”
Leduc agreed with his former players.
“I’ve had great players and that’s the absolute truth to all of this,” Leduc said. “The only way to do it (win 1,000 games) is to coach a long time and have great players and assistant coaches. I just hope that the people that have all been a part of this feel like they’ve been part of this.
“This isn’t for me. I’m not someone who looks forward to things like this. But I do realize how special it is, how meaningful it is and I’m truly grateful for it all and to be able to coach this long and be part of something that allows you a night like this.”
While Leduc’s 1,000th win was impressive, the way his teams are winning continues to be impressive too.
Damien reached the CIFSS Open Division and CIF State Open Division playoffs last year and nearly played for the championship in both. This season Damien is already off to a 14-0 start and ranked No. 1 overall in the Southern Section by Maxpreps.
Spivey Word led Damien in Wednesday’s win with 32 points with RJ Smith scored 15 and Kaleb Smith added 14.
Glendora, which dropped to 8-5, was led by Noah Smith’s 19 points and Luke Jacobson’s 9.