Price High School's Allen Crabbe and Michael Lynch are the Wave Newspapers Player and Coach of the Year in boys basketball. (Photo by Gary McCarthy)
Story Published:
Apr 13, 2010 at 1:00 PM PDT
Story Updated:
Apr 14, 2010 at 2:01 PM PDT
Tiny Price High School’s boys basketball team achieved big things this year, the biggest being the State Division IV championship it captured in Bakersfield.
The main reason was Allen Crabbe, who led a talented Knights squad to a 34-3 record and the sixth state title for the school located at the Crenshaw Christian Center in South L.A.
His 25-point, 10-rebound performance in the 69-51 title-game victory over Berkeley St. Mary’s was typical of a season in which he averaged 23 points and 11 rebounds per game and played tough defense at the other end of the court.
It’s why the highly-decorated 6-foot-6 swingman, who has signed with California, is the Wave Newspapers Player of the Year.
This is just the latest honor for Crabbe, the Gatorade State Player of the Year, the Southern Section IV-AA co-Player of the Year (with Orange Lutheran’s Tyler Funk) and a fourth-team Parade magazine All-American.
Winning a championship as a senior was rewarding for Crabbe, grandson of the school’s founder. After continually seeing previous seasons end in the regional finals, the Knights reached the state title game this year, then took care of business when they got there.
“This feels great because we’ve been trying to do this for four years and kept coming up short,” Crabbe said. “I experienced a little of this as a ball boy, but to finally be a player and win it is great.”
He wasn’t just thinking about himself, either.
“It feels great for the team and the school,” he said. “Me and Casey (point guard Trujeque) kept coming up short. This is the best feeling being able to go out like this your senior year.”
Crabbe, a four-year starter, had his finest season, due in part to a growth spurt that saw him add a couple of inches and 10 pounds. The added size and strength made a supremely talented player even more of a force.
He has virtually unlimited shooting range (he hit 10 3-pointers in a 38-point game against Ventura), and combines that with exceptional quickness and jumping ability (he had four slam dunks in the state final).
“He’s been phenomenal,” said Price coach Michael Lynch, selected the Wave Newspapers Coach of the Year. “When we needed a basket, he got one. He rebounds in double figures, he defends. He’s been an awesome leader and ballplayer. Cal is getting a good one.”
Crabbe, a 3.5 student, and teammate Richard Solomon will both be playing at California next season. Trujeque is off to Montana State.
It was talent like this that helped the institution of just 98 high school students take the state’s top prize in this division. Their previous championships were in Division V, which includes the state’s smallest-enrollment schools.
Lynch also points to a freelance schedule that got them ready for the postseason.
Among the regular-season teams they faced were Newark Memorial, Serra, Bishop O’Dowd and La Verne Lutheran, all of which were playing for state championships in Bakersfield. Newark Memorial was Division I runner-up, Serra defeated O’Dowd in Division III and La Verne Lutheran won Division V.
“I give a ton of credit to our schedule,” Lynch said. “There were no patsies. It toughened us up. We faced athletic teams, we faced slow-down teams, the whole gamut. We were battle-tested.”
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