USA TODAY High School Sports is unveiling the 2015-16 American Family Insurance ALL-USA Boys Basketball Teams as selected by Jim Halley with input from USA TODAY Sports’ Jason Jordan, high school coaches and recruiting experts.
PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Lonzo Ball, Chino Hills (Calif.)
FIRST TEAM: Honoring the top players
VIDEO: Our breakdown of the first team
SECOND TEAM: See who made the second team
THIRD TEAM: See who made the third team
COACH OF THE YEAR:
Name: Steve Baik
School: Chino Hills, Calif.
Details: The 37-year-old Baik coached the Huskies to 35-0 record, State Open Division title and the No. 1 spot in the Super 25 basketball rankings. He began coaching in 2001 as an assistant at Hercules, Calif. He became a head coach for the first time at John Muir (Pasadena) and has been the head coach at Chino Hills since 2010. Last season, he led his team to the state Division I championship game. He was a point guard at Arcadia, Calif., and at Westmont College.
Best athlete in the family: My sister (Hanna) was a big-time swimmer. She set a lot of junior Olympic records and almost qualified for the Olympics.
First car I drove: My dad’s Toyota Tacoma truck.
First job: Working for Cutco cutlery. I sold door-to-door as a side job when I was going to school.
Season highlight: To be honest, our moments throughout the year. I really loved the way our team came together at the beginning. During the playoffs, everything came together. We beat a lot of good teams by a considerable margin because of the way we played defense.
Favorite musician: Jack Johnson.
Hidden talent: My wife says I’m a better cook than her. I love to eat and I know how to improvise.
Dream car: I’m not too big into all of that. Maybe a Maserati.
Second-favorite sport: Soccer. I grew up playing soccer, but not organized soccer. My dad taught me. I would play at the park. That was the first sport I learned. I’m a passionate guy and soccer is all about passion. I think it’s the most passionate sport out there.
People confuse me with: My old teammates would say I was the first Jeremy Lin. I’ll get that once in a while because of our ethnicity and the way we played.
Basketball influences: I would start with Dave Yanai, a legendary coach at Fremont who went on to Cal-State Dominguez Hills. Dave was influenced by Pete Newell, who was the General Manager of the Lakers and they developed an amazing relationship. For me to be mentored by Dave, who was mentored by someone who is considered one of the best basketball minds is something. I know Pete Newell’s son, Greg. It’s a small world when it comes to basketball. Besides Dave, I would say my high school coach Don Grant and my college coach John Moore. They taught me toughness and discipline.